Declutter Your Home and Save Memories: What To Do with Old Photos

Old photos are like a time capsule, capturing our cherished memories. But as you work to declutter your home, the question of what to do with them arises. Do we keep them, display them, throw them out, or pass them on? Going through old photos might also uncover some forgotten stories and moments worth sharing with loved ones. Today we share our tips and tricks for preserving our memories without cluttering up your home!
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00:00 Introduction
03:05 Digitizing Images
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Husband and wife duo, Mark & Jody Rollins, inspire and serve as personal guides to meaningful, transformational journeys for individuals who are planning for, going through or are living in retirement. This is everything in retirement beyond your financial plan.
We are not financial advisors or medical experts. Any advice we give is our own and should not be taken as professional advice. This video is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Please seek professional assistance before making any financial decisions or changes that can affect your physical or mental health.
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[@AKim-uu4hg]

It's almost as though you were spying on me as I am currently going through all my old photos and trying to figure out what to do with them!! I am in the midst of the very first drawer of MANY and I just happened to come across your video - thank you!! There's a lot to think about and so much work to do. It's overwhelming but definitely needs to be done! Love all your videos!

[@RetirementTransformed]

We are so glad you are enjoying our channel and appreciate you sharing! Hope this helps to motivate you with this project!

[@helentaylor4911]

I’ve just gone through mine. I inherited my mums photos which I sorted through as well. As you say we had double prints done when I lived overseas. I started by looking at mums and sorted the photos by which sibling was in them. I gave those to each of the siblings. Next Trips that mum had taken if mum or auntie wasn’t on the photos they were all ditched. No keeping photos of strangers or scenery. All photos of ancestors were kept and labelled so my daughter knows who they are. Moving onto mine, I did the same, duplicates were thrown out, scenery were thrown out along with blurry and bad photos. After this I had had enough, so back in the cupboards they have gone. Next time I get the urge I am going to ditch a lot of photos of houses we had built along the way. How many photos do you need of the house building process. I asked my daughter and she doesn’t have any attachments to the house building. So I will keep a couple of start to finish and the rest can go.

[@zulmadominguez6152]

U😮

[@zulmadominguez6152]

O😮😮😮

[@peggymarsh6569]

Meeee tooo

[@highridgemom7899]

My dear brother-in-law started a photo project about 10 years ago. He's retired and decided to scan family photos and transfer them to DVDs. There are 9 children in our family so you can imagine him scanning photo after photo. He's a very patient man to have undertaken that tedious project and we all are so grateful to him. He gave everyone a DVD of my mom and dad's childhood, wedding, years in-between, and their 60th wedding anniversary. Everyone received a DVD of our grandparents lives, and each family member received a DVD of their own childhood and family events. . We have beautiful memories to cherish.

[@susansalvucci4281]

Wow - you are so fortunate to have a family member take on that task! What a treasure.

[@anneahlert2997]

I promise you he's a Genealogist. I cannot recommend enough that people who want to organize and scan their photos FIRST contact anyone in the family who is researching their family tree. The person is likely happy to scan for free, or at least will be VERY interested in copies of the any family images. I'm currently doing the same scanning project for my brother-in-law, as he is getting divorced. Now both spouses and both kids will always have copies of the photos. The organization is the toughest part-- they have literally thousands of photos and moat are mixed up. Some have photo negative strips which have no matching paper copy, so I've had to arrange for those to be scanned by a Genealogist friend of mine.

[@TheImperfectReader]

Yes how do we do that!

[@anneahlert2997]

@@TheImperfectReader I'm not sure which comment you were replying to. Were you asking how to scan or how to identify who in your family is the Genealogist or what? Sorry. Confused.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Such an inspiring story to share. It's part of our lasting legacy to do this project.

[@Rarainthedesert]

I have started this project and just can’t finish…..I’m odd in that I can’t stand to throw the old photos away….the comments on the back, the thoughts of who has actually held these photos…..I just can’t get over it😝

[@lyndabrown3402]

When I retired 15 years ago I organized my photos. I had many, but not like you all have. I found it hard to throw away even duplicates. I ended up making small albums of pictures of my siblings and their kids. They really appreciated this.

[@kamhart]

I was A MAZED at how intense ‘ & beautiful my parents & grandparents slides are!! .. The COLOR IS GORGEOUS!!!

[@RetirementTransformed]

Thank you for watching!

[@LindaM1976]

When going through pictures I sometimes keep some of them simply because sometimes they have a bit of history in them. I was born in the 50’s and some of my childhood pics have things like my dads old car from that era.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Nice! Thanks for the comment!

[@nflinn8680]

When my parents died, we had this problem. We ended up buying an app for our phone called Photomyne. We were able to scan photos onto our phones, and then put them in a on-line album. We could put in captions, identifying people and the situation, and share them with siblings and nieces and nephews.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Thank you for sharing this app. I just checked it out and it looks pretty good. For many people who love their phones and apps, this is a great option.

[@kimschneider6833]

I use Photomyne

[@ScoobyDoo646202]

Thanks, really needed to hear your advice on photos right now. Looking forward to hearing about videos as well. Will be getting boxes of super 8 movies from parents soon.

[@sandydewall2629]

We are going through the same thing. My husband and I lost both lost our parents within 2 years, so we have all of their pictures and slides. Plus, we have our own, as well. Your video was very helpful and gives me a starting point. Thank you!

[@RetirementTransformed]

Sorry to hear that about your parents. I too have so many photos of them. But I have my favorite and I have that framed and a copy in our two homes. Just one. I know where it is and look at it when I’m feeling like I want to see them.

[@margaretmcgill526]

I was a single parent of two children and a full time professional. I always felt really bad about not organizing my children's childhood photos into albums beyond infancy. My daughter as a teenager told me "You're never going to do that, Mum." When she was an adult, I told her she was right and she was so disappointed. I moved into a new home and in my room (office/den/ craft and exercise room), I basically lined two of the walls with bulletin boards. All the photos were in a trunk, so I went through them and pulled out my favourites. I filled the bulletin boards with the photos , report cards, class photos, in a fairly random way and my adult children absolutely love them. Their friends are very interested, too. Photo albums get put away and are largely unlooked at. I thought of taking the photos down and my children vociferously didn't want me to do it. So they're still there and we all enjoy them.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Great idea! Thank you for sharing.

[@hibernogirl]

I would worry about light damaging the photos especially the colour ones.

[@margaretmcgill526]

@@hibernogirl I don't worry about that. They are on the two walls in the room that don't receive direct light. Also, I prefer to have them out and seen than hidden away in pristine condition.

[@elizabethcarr5226]

I used a company called 'Nembur' out of Logan, UT to digitize some VHS tapes. They had a great turnaround time. They also sent us a link I was able to pass to all the family members. We could download the pictures we wanted to keep directly from that or pay to keep the link up as long as we wanted. They were better price than any others I found. And their customer service was fantastic!

[@lindsaywilson6719]

Do you have to continue to pay to have access or is it you own it? Is it guaranteed? Do they automatically convert it to the most updated format or do you have to redigitze?

[@RetirementTransformed]

Great suggestion

[@lorigraham2496]

Just went through my mom's photos. I had photos of cousins as children at family events with my mom and dad and sent them back to those cousins. They've loved getting them and it cleared out a lot of photos.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Memories keep the love alive. Thank you for watching!

[@deloresredman4792]

Love photos. You don't realize how important those photos are as we move on. Sharing and looking back ...beautIful. important for our I history. Digitizing is a great idea

[@RetirementTransformed]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@carollorion5130]

Thank you for this video. I am going through my photos now. My daughter went through our slides and uploaded them and sent them to her siblings.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Wonderful! Its a wonderful trip down memory lane.

[@maryellenstark9383]

What a helpful video. Thank you for sharing your resources!

[@RetirementTransformed]

You are welcome! We hope they help!

[@joannecalcutt6724]

I had 3 containers of photos. Before I retired I spent 3 weekends going thru them and sorted (had a lot of duplicates especially school pics of the children which I trashed). Had these scanned and sent to cloud. I now have these rotating randomly on my Nixplay constantly. I trashed all the hard copies. ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I HAVE EVER DONE!

[@RetirementTransformed]

Oh wow! That’s inspiring. Many people have left questions about what to do with the original photos. This was comforting to know that throwing out the hard copy is ok as we have the digital copy at our fingertips.

[@StephanieWatson-qo6tx]

Thanks for the tips. I’m in the middle of decluttering and preparing to move. I have at least 8 bins of photos 😮 thanks

[@RetirementTransformed]

Good luck with your move! We have some great videos on decluttering and preparing to move. Hope you find them helpful.

[@jeanniestaller797]

My husband won't let me throw out a photo, even if it's so dark you can barely make out what it is. The problem with digitizing is that technology changes and you're stuck with no way to access them anymore.

[@annw1395]

Exactly!

[@RetirementTransformed]

I think keeping some traditional photos around the house is great. Always brings smile to my face

[@lizvardon5357]

Ha ha haaaaa, just discovered you. Am overwhelmed just thinking about it. Not retired yet but getting there. Sorting our family photos, organising and creating books is my dream. Thank you for all your advice and gudlines.

[@RetirementTransformed]

We are so glad you found us! Feeling overwhelmed is very normal. You are smart to start thinking about it before you retire. It makes the transition that much easier. We hope you watch more of our videos and that it helps you look forward to this incredible phase of life!

[@christine55416]

great info, currently my sister and I are going through my mom's estate and sorting through our family photos, but it's gotten me to start looking at all of my own photos too... although I don't think I've hardly printed a photo since 2008! Luckily I'm able to scan photos for myself, but it's a HVGE time commitment, and trying to find a place to make shared albums where everyone can access (google, ancestry, etc) has been a challenge too.

[@RetirementTransformed]

You can do it! Sounds like you are moving in the right direction on this project

[@sydpoindexter6642]

We made two sets of our pics and keep one set in storage in case of a fire. We have backup plus some are online.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Good idea.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Good idea

[@abbibrennen2549]

thank you!

[@RetirementTransformed]

You're welcome!

[@kimberlyschreder2046]

I use Legacy Box and then receive a link of the photos and upload them to my Amazon Photos so they scroll through my Firestick or Echo Show. They spent years not being looked at, and now I can see them every day.

[@RetirementTransformed]

That's such a great idea! It's amazing how technology allows us to bring old memories back to life and enjoy them every day.

[@jeanne-marie8196]

I’m using the Swedish Death Cleaning methods to declutter, but the photos are too personal to me to deal with disposing of them in any way. When I checked into some companies who digitize photos, I was stunned by the cost! I plan to check the recommendations given, but for me, cost is a big factor. I’m so glad Mark suggested checking what they do with the original photos. I really need to be prepared before I contact the companies! As Mark said; if you take them back, you have the same problem you started with! Thanks for all of your suggestions

[@RetirementTransformed]

Heard about the Swedish Death Cleaning years ago and I looked up just now. I’m definitely interested in learning more and my do a video on it. Thank you for commenting and being a subscriber

[@dawnfoster6530]

I looked at digitizing my photos a long time ago - at that time, you could have them put on a disc or a thumb drive. Now, it seems like all of them want to store them in the cloud and charge you for it - thank you for including/finding (2) that provide the thumb drive option!

[@RetirementTransformed]

Your welcome. Yes it’s not easy keeping up with technology.

[@Nausome_nana]

I was in the same position had lots of old photos. When our adult children came home for Christmas, I pulled out the totes. We went through pictures and shared memories and they took what ones they wanted. Months went by and I finally was in the mood to go through the old photos again. I had piles of photos, then I broke them down into smaller piles by roughly the years they were taken.Each morning while I was having my tea, I would take pictures of the photos with my iPhone. My goal was to go through a stack every morning. In the evening I would upload the pictures to a cloud and to an SD card. With the SD card I am able to put the in my electronic picture frame and view them. I have the frame in an area where I can see it and have it on when the family comes to visit. I am so happy the process is done. Every so many months I go through my photos on my phone and upload them to the cloud then transfer them to a SD card or delete some. I also use a pic collage app to consolidate similar pictures into one.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Such a great comment and ideas. Thank you for sharing

[@ashleymitts]

Espon has a great scanner that is fast. It's the Espon Fast foto 680 I think.

[@cathywojcik2420]

There are many Junk Journal Artists who would love to have your old photos, especially if the photos are black and white! Pam at The Paper Outpost does wonderful things with old slides as well as photos. I have put many of my photos in scrapbooks. I find it relaxing to look at the finished project.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Good idea!

[@DVB1848]

I have hundreds of photos of my in-law’s family and my family plus my own family. During the lockdown I ordered 10 photo albums from Amazon. Sorted all the photos, kept only that I thought important, and put them in relevant albums. I believe in having photos the old fashioned way stored in albums, clearly labelled, and written at the back of each photos people’s names and approx date.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Good idea. We still have a few albums around the house and I love flipping through them.

[@phyllisbruce213]

Labeling those photos is a great gift! I had so many old, old photos with no idea who those people were.

[@marilynharris4238]

I’m helping a younger distant cousin do this now. Since I’m the oldest of her husband’s mother’s cousins still living, she delivered pictures to me of my grandparents and all the 9 uncles and aunts for me to label.

[@Joce123]

When I look at my furniture for one and look at my photos? It's the same thing nobody wants my old stuff I just have to get over that😂

[@angielu3273]

You're right- just gotta get over it and move on.

[@motherofcatsnz]

Most desktop printers have a scan function, so you don't have to buy a scanner or pay for them to be scanned. I also bought some digital photo-screens so that these can be automatically screened.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Absolutely. Cloud storage is another option as well.

[@sueparker1466]

Yes I have to do this. I also have done photo books with real photographs. Done one book each for my 4 Children and grandson. I love photos and don’t totally trust digital

[@RetirementTransformed]

Yes, a great idea

[@regenaguinn]

Thanks. I have been purging my house this week. Found 8 large boxes of photos so far.🤪🤪🤪

[@RetirementTransformed]

It’s definitely a lot of work and a process. Taking a trip down memory lane

[@wendymartinez7366]

I do my own digitizing and put them on picture chips that the go into a photo machine where Icanview. Hubby loves this but still can’t stand the thought of throwing out the originals

[@nanmn9050]

I've been dreading this task, but your video helps inspire me! I don't know what to do with pictures that are stuck in those "magnetic" sticky photo albums. When you try to remove them, the pics tear. Ugh! I'll be watching your future videos in how you deal with old videos, too. Thank you!

[@regenaguinn]

Had the same problem.

[@kathyzahner1485]

You can take a picture of those pictures, then toss the album

[@kimschneider6833]

To get those stuck photos off a page, use dental floss behind it and wriggle it down the photo

[@widowswatch6610]

Wow 15 tubs of photos I have 2. I like the idea a commenter said. Put them in photo albums I think I am going to do that.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Yes, having a few photo albums of your favorite photos is fun.

[@kimpollard6021]

Your hair looks great!

[@RetirementTransformed]

Thank you so much!

[@wowzieee]

I years ago transfered vhs and the small tapes to digital myself. Hours of watching slow and long story lines, but it was fun. Any computer store will have a transfer device that will connect to the vhs and camera to your computer. For photos, before trying to get out of the old sticky photo albums, I d take a photo of it with my phone and transfers those to my computer. Slides and negatives, those would be tricky. I have bought photo albums with photos pre 1960s, as i love the clothing and am interested in looking through them. Travel photos donate those, as cities sky lines and places change and there are people who could reuse those photos.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Awesome!

[@shelteredsparrow2736]

I have tons of photos from before the digital computer age. I went through them and took pictures with my phone. While not the clearest, at least I was able to share them with my kids so they would have a copy at least

[@RetirementTransformed]

Haha, I bet your kids were like, "What's this ancient artifact you're holding, Mom?" But seriously, it's great that you found a way to share those precious memories with them!

[@deloresredman4792]

Collages are a great idea too

[@RetirementTransformed]

Great advice!

[@alicemallen8997]

Scanned all my photos & my moms. Copied them onto drives & distributed them to sibs & kids. Then mailed all the actual photos according to who was featured in them. Best thing, can now see some of those fading photos from the 40’s & 50’s so much better on a computer screen.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Isn't technology such a helpful tool to use? Thank you for watching!

[@wendyalexander1893]

You guys are amazing. Thanks for all of your work. You are right, the kids do not want. So my question is, after digitizing, what them. Are you digitizing for you or your children. I’m pretty sure mine wouldn’t want the digitized either. So maybe a no-go for me.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Good question! I like the saying less is more. We don’t have to digitize every photo, just some special ones. I also like the idea of making an album for each of the kids. Someone else made that comment. They can stick it on a shelf somewhere and look through it when they feel inspired.

[@phyllisbruce213]

I can remember, as a child, spending hours looking through photo albums and I had TONS of them but not as many as I inherited from my Mother in Law. I digitized many of them and I'm wondering how smart that was. Not really, at least they are preserved but they are all on my computer! They are not on the table where I can show them to my grandson. I think that problem could be solved by printing an album of select photos?

[@RetirementTransformed]

I agree and I just left that comment on another post. There are many online choices to upload photos and make albums

[@pamelagoodson9034]

And how many years will it take me to organize 🤣. I have photos and slides. Slides by far are the worst! 35 mm movies were the easiest as they were organized by date. How much time is this taking you?

[@lindadupuis1531]

I bought a digital cloud account called “Forever” and you own the account for 99 yrs. It will take me the rest of my life to scan the non digital photos. Then you have to delete the duplicates. I also have many albums. I decided to remove the photos from the album and file them in a photo box by year or person however you want to sort. Then you can ship to Forever to scan or you can buy a scanner and do it yourself. It’s a huge task. I also inherited my parents’ photos too. My Mom immigrated to Canada after the War so has many documents that would be sad to throw out. Those too would be scanned. Forever is the name.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@Matt-yz3gq]

Be very wary of that "Forever" account. ABSOLUTELY have all those photos backed up to another storage online or to external hard drives. It has happened many times in the past where an online storage company decides to close shop/go bankrupt/change terms and conditions and you were given zero warning or no way to bulk download all those photos!

[@regenaguinn]

Can identify with your having to go through the parents’ house. Been there. My mom gleefully told me she’d just let me take care of that. 😒

[@RetirementTransformed]

I bet it was hard! It was for us.

[@cassieoz1702]

I can recommend some reading: "The Gentle Art Of Swedish Death Cleaning" by Margareta Magnusson

[@RetirementTransformed]

I have been looking into this. It's very interesting.

[@ahupam]

You didn't mention one more option. Anyone can scan slides and photos themselves. It is an easy and straightforward task.

[@RetirementTransformed]

You are right but it takes time. If you have time, then yes it’s a wonderful project to undertake.

[@angielu3273]

I thought about having a "letting go of the past" "new beginnings" ceremony and just burning them. I even thought about burying them in a time capsule. It's quite a dilemma.

[@RetirementTransformed]

It would be kind of fun to make a gift box for all our kids that include photos and other memorabilia so that when I pass, they all get the box full of great memories.

[@shoebill181]

My kids pretty much said enough photos mom. So I am throwing the rest. I am old already gave them the things they want. No trouble with throwing or burning them . Iam past being sentimental, to me that is a painful state.

[@angielu3273]

@@shoebill181 This is the best and most sensible advice. You're right- being sentimental is a painful state. I am starting a new life in another country. I will carry with me the memory of my loved ones. I've tried on a few occasions to get rid of them but chickened out. It's all about making decisions and excuses not to move forward.

[@dobycorder3206]

Oh gosh, you’re talking about my situation- and been try to figure something out for the last 10 years. Slides are the worst cause they’re hard to view to even know if it’s important.

[@pamgross1084]

My parents had hundreds and hundreds of slides in those carousels We bought a zonoz FS-Five Digital Film & Slide Scanner for around $100, and it works great. I got them all scanned. Sent by email to cousins etc. for deceased persons, I uploaded to family search which is free to anyone. Now I am thinking about asking my sister if she wants me to do her slides to.

[@luannelillianrossiter6681]

It's really hard.... I made a decision to digital up all my photo's.... ❤

[@RetirementTransformed]

Good for you

[@sandralantau7395]

I don't know if this is relevant consideration, but might there be historical value if the photos are from a couple of generations ago, i.e. from your grandparents? If you have a local museum or library, is it worth checking with them first before discarding old photos?

[@RetirementTransformed]

Absolutely. Many villages have a local historical society or the library may know who in your village may want copies.

[@natalialopes719]

This is great. But throughout my life I have seen that tech changes. I have CDs and DVDs that nobody can watch anymore. Is that gonna happen with these ways of saving photos also?

[@RetirementTransformed]

Technology is constantly changing.... so you can assume given enough time, yes! However every so often saving your memories to an updated format that you and your family can easily access allows you to continue to enjoy those old photos. And in addition, by moving to a newer technology.... it allows for upgrading and saving to a different technology down the road. Sometimes if you wait too long, they don't even have the ability to convert from too old a format or it gets much more costly. Just a few things to think about!

[@amandahouser9824]

What do you do when it's just me with my pictures and everyone wants me to keep them so they can go through them. I have really need to get rid of them, plus all another things they feel I need to keep them. It's fine, but there all live far away. When they come once a year! But we get going out and never want to!

[@RetirementTransformed]

It's a hard process for sure. We are getting better at constantly sending more and more photos to be scanned, then give the links to our kids.

[@JacobPaula]

Retirees who struggle to meet their basic needs are the ones who could not accumulate enough money during their active years to meet their needs. Retirement choices determine a lot of things, my parents both spent the same number of years in the medical profession, my mom was investing through a financial advisor while my dad through the 401k. On retirement, my mom retired with about $5 million, while my dad retired with roughly $3.8 million.

[@pineedbydmoon]

You are right. I'm in my mid 50's now, my wife and I were following this same trajectory. Last two years, I pulled out my money and invested with her wealth manager. Not catching up with profits over the years, but at least I'm earning more. I'm making money even before retiring and my retirement funds have grown way more than it would have been with the 401k.

[@JaneBlac-]

Do you mind sharing info on the adviser who assisted you? I'm 40 now and would love to grow my stocks investment portfolio and plan my retirement..

[@RetirementTransformed]

Thanks for the comment. We are believers in financial planning for sure!

[@RetiredLovingIt]

In the same boat….we need to save ours on the computer and then toss

[@nelidaflores1286]

This is helpful. I will scan and trash.

[@RetirementTransformed]

You're welcome. Thank you for watching!

[@patriciaanzelc5386]

Yeah but it’s scary to send your pictures through the mail. 😮

[@RetirementTransformed]

Yes, but mail rarely gets lost, or at least in my experience.

[@Zar2244]

I guess scenery pics are easier to downsize

[@RetirementTransformed]

You may be right

[@angielu3273]

Thanks but some of us don't have anyone to give them( photos )to. Were leaving the country soon. Tried going thru them but just got more depressed about trashing them. These were left to me by my parents. Some of the folks I don't even know yet it is painful. I will not have them digitized. It would be too costly anyway. Would appreciate some other suggestions about how to get rid of these pics. I even asked AI for suggestions ! If you've had to deal with a similar situation let me know what you did.

[@anneahlert2997]

I held onto some photos for a lifelong friend of my mom, who had passed away. I was able to find a Genealogist relative of hers online who wanted the photos. He was so grateful, he drove an hour to get them and gave me a huge box of fancy chocolates. Someone DOES want those. Please don't throw them away.

[@angielu3273]

@@anneahlert2997 Thanks. I'll keep trying.

[@RetirementTransformed]

It's definitely a dilemma. I almost wish my mom did not save all those photos, now there are my responsibility. My brother is gone and my sister does not want them. And my kids c=dont want them. I'll keep saving them for a rainy day project. LOL

[@karenneiman856]

It is wickedly hard, but try not to torture yourself about them. The pain is from not having your parents here with you, not from getting rid of pictures of people that you don't know. Dig through the pictures quickly and pull out a few (dozen or what fits in an album - you get to decide what amount you can take with you) of the very best that help you to relive a memory or tell a story and let the rest go in peace. I am talking to myself here as well. This is my biggest area left to declutter, and it is very hard. But I believe that we will feel such relief and joy when it is done!

[@angielu3273]

@@karenneiman856 Thanks for your support an wisdom. I started today

[@RobinBarr]

I haven't read all 90 comments to see if this has been addressed. I'll be 72 soon, never married, no children, no siblings. I've already pulled and sent pictures and memorabilia that would be interesting to cousins who mostly live out of state. I have many albums of pictures and love them all, but at this point, there's no one still alive that would be interested in any of them. I've considered digitizing them but its the same problem, no one wants them. Do I just leave a note with them telling whoever cleans out my house after I pass away, to discard the pictures, videos, 8 millmeter reels, etc? There is no executor after I pass away. I've heard there might be organizations that like accepting old pictures, for what reasons, I don't know.

[@RetirementTransformed]

You propose an interesting question and we will give it more thought. The fact that you are thinking about it is a great first step. If you have any older photos perhaps a local historian society would like them. If we come up with any more ideas we will come back and post.

[@hibernogirl]

I had the sad task of dealing with my parents house contents and the photos were left to last. Many years ago I had transferred my father's cine film from 1960's to VHS and copies circulated. In England there is a National Film Archives organisation and they were happy to take them. I donated the old cine camera via a 'freecycle' group online.

[@deevanderheiden]

Once you are done with the paper photos, you can turn them into beads

[@RetirementTransformed]

How do you do that?

[@laurenmaier8742]

Can I ask, honestly I have boxes and singles and more boxes of family photos… I don’t mean to sound crass, but Who are going to want them? I know my sons don’t want them, don’t care abt them, so I’m thinking like your sister….. it’s time to get rid of them. It’s too overwhelming.

[@RetirementTransformed]

We are going to work on this over the winter and do more videos on the topic

[@rubytuesday7653]

I don't think my photos are clutter.

[@RetirementTransformed]

I agree. We have many around the house, but not too many

[@betholabecker3219]

You’re no help! I will never look at pics on a screen, plus, dvds will eventually be obsolete! Highly edited photo albums will be enjoyable for years to come. You can take digital pics of them for back up.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Thanks for sharing. Yes, we are taking a few key photos and making a few albums and giving them as gifts to our kids.

[@Work1963]

Can’t you just snap a picture of them with your phone?

[@katperson7332]

I do that and then use my phone’s editing app to brighten the dark ones or sharpen some of them etc and what a difference it makes. I then use my phone to forward the photos to any family members who would like them.

[@angielu3273]

@@katperson7332 I think I'll try this.

[@katperson7332]

@@angielu3273 it’s definitely worth a try. You can also use an iPad as I do, especially if the camera on your iPad or other tablet is better than the one on your phone. Sometimes I put 4 photos on a table and photograph them together, as it’s quicker than one at a time. By sending them on it means your family already have the most important photos and when you pass on if someone throws out your photos then at least they’ve got them beforehand. I do the same with home movies. I break them down into 3 or 4 minute clips and send on by email, iMessage, WhatsApp or whatever you use.

[@lionheart830]

Wanted to watch this but can't deal with her constant interuptions. So rude.

[@RetirementTransformed]

Hi. I get what you are saying, buts it’s the passion we have when we get going on a topic. We hope it does not push you away.