Organize each of your piles chronologically. Place duplicates in separate piles so you don’t end up scanning the same image twice. Pictures not associated with specific events can be grouped by person or family. Sort pictures into events such as vacations, weddings, and birthdays. Gather all your photos in a place with a large, flat surface that you can leave messy for a while-a dining room you rarely use is perfect.
You don’t want to create a big disorganized digital mess. It’s tempting to jump right in and start scanning, but take some time to sort your photos first.
So what do we do with all these old photos? The answer is to digitize them, and here are six steps to get the job done. Even those of us too young to remember when a “camera roll” meant around 30 shots of film will soon inherit piles of printed photos from our parents. If you have boxes full of old photos, you’re not alone-billions of lonely family photos gather dust in closets and attics around the world.
