Help Me Streamline All the Photos, Video, Artwork from Last Year!

Mary (yes, her real name) recently asked me,

" I have photos, artwork, school papers, little notes and drawings from a year of family activity. I also have photos on my iMac, photos and video in my camera and on my husband's phone. What is your advice to streamline all this?"

Situation sound familiar? It's the reality of the digital world - and we thought all those "double photo prints" were daunting!

Here's my advice to Mary; I thought I'd share it with you, too:

• I prefer to have a digital copy of everything I deem "precious" so if something were to happen to the original, I'd still have a copy of it. So, the first (and often most difficult) step is to go through the paper mementos and determine what is "precious." I define "precious" as something you'd REALLY hate to lose.
• Digitize (or scan) the precious pieces. Hire a professional or do it yourself...please, just do it. (Nike tells you the same thing but they don't suggest you get a professional to work out for you - too bad!)
• When everything is digital it's time to move everything to one place. I recommend creating a folder on your computer called "2010" (or whatever name works for you). Put all the digital things (scans, photos, video from all the various sources) in that file. Sounds simple enough, I know, but moving the digital things from your camera, phone, etc. requires time and equipment. Now where is that pesky cord?
• Back up your "2010" file! (No "please" here - it's a command - really). I'm a HUGE believer in the "belt and suspenders" approach to storing your digital memorabilia - be sure to have more than one way to ensure your pants don't fall down (aka - don't lose your precious mementos.) I recommend storing that file on your computer, on an external hard drive AND on a cloud. I like having a separate external hard drive just for memorabilia - a 1 TB (terabyte) drive should be enough for most people. Make sure it is USB port connected and works with your computer, whether PC or Mac. As for the cloud, I use Carbonite (www.carbonite.com). It is simple and not expensive.
• Okay! Now you have everything together and safe, what story do you want to tell? Don't stop with saving - share the memories. Certainly, you can create a traditional scrapbook from the original paper and make prints of the digital photos to include too. But, you can also:

1. Create a digital scrapbook from the digital images of all the precious pieces and make multiple copies - one per child perhaps? One for your family and one for Grandma?
2. Create a video from the digital photos, video and other mementos combined with the favorite music of the year
3. Show the photos and mementos on a digital frame (put them on a SD card or USB drive, stick it in the frame and turn it on!)
4. Use the images as your computer's screensaver