As a new “empty nester” with kids who graduated high school in 2021 and 2023, I know from personal experience that organizing your family photos and memories while your children are still in high school will help you prepare for the many big transitions ahead for both you and your kids. And as a professional photo organizer, I’ve helped many families who’ve put off this task for years because they find it so overwhelming.
When we’re in the whirlwind of parenting school-aged kids, it’s easy to get caught up in organizing the daily details of carpools, sports schedules, homework, and laundry. We take tons of photos and assume there will be plenty of time to sort through them later. But before you know it, you’re the parent of a high school senior. While you’re navigating the emotional year of “lasts,” there will be a seemingly unending need for childhood photos to celebrate your senior in slideshows, Senior Nights for athletics, and class parties. Then graduation party season begins, and you’ll be looking for photos for grad party décor, photo boards, photobooks, and gifts for the graduates.
In today’s high-tech world, it’s estimated that the average family takes 3,000 digital photos and videos per year. Multiplied over 18 years, the average family will have 54,000 digital photos to sort through by the time a child has grown into an adult. (And let’s face it, some of us are above the average)!
Through my own experience and my work with families, I’ve learned that parents are overwhelmed by the task of organizing their family memories due to three main concerns: 1) the sheer number of photos they have, 2) the bittersweet emotions that inevitably surface and 3) fear of technology and choosing the right photo storage platform. If any of these hit home for you, here are some tips to help you through:
- Take it slow: Remember that you accumulated these photos over decades, so don’t expect yourself to organize them in a weekend. Set small goals for yourself, like sorting through a photos from a couple of months at time. Reward yourself when you achieve your goal.
- Ride the wave of emotions: Nothing forces a middle-aged mom to confront the bittersweet passage of time like flipping through photos of her kids’ entire childhoods. The nostalgia comes in waves and while most memories are positive, some can be accompanied by difficult feelings like longing, loss, or regret. If you find yourself moving into a negative space, be kind to yourself. Take a break and a walk outside, chat with a friend, write in your journal, or simply watch Netflix. Then, come back to the project when you’re feeling up to it.
- Don’t overthink the tech: You can select a permanent home for your photo collection later. To get started, you simply need a cloud storage service or external hard drive with enough storage available to hold your photos. Copy your photos from various locations to this central location, and then do your organizing work there. Knowing that your original files are safe and easily retrieved will help lessen tech-related anxiety. You can choose a photo storage app later when your collection is pared down and better organized.
Organizing your family photos before high school graduation will allow you to relax and fully enjoy the final months of your child’s school years before they embark on the first phase of their adult lives. Get started today and remember to reach out to a professional Photo Manager if you get stuck.
