You've taken TONS of photos of your kiddos either with your cell phone or "real" camera but what do you do with all those digital photos? You probably have intentions of downloading them to your computer and getting some printed, right? But life gets crazy and you never quite make time to make it a priority - I totally get it.
One reason why I think it's so easy to put this task off is because it seems overwhelming.
You have SO MANY pictures to go through and you can't possibly print them all. So they sit on your phone, or in the Cloud or on your hard drive and you never look at them again. I've heard someone say that our kids are part of the most photographed generation ever but don't have any pictures to prove it. Digital photos are great but they get lost in the cyber world and since they aren't tangible they will just disappear.
To make things easier and more manageable I have a few tips:
#1 - Set aside a day each week or month to cull your photos.
#2 - Choose the best photos to tell the story and delete the rest.
#3 - Organize your photos and be diligent about staying consistent
Culling means to select the best photos and delete the rest. I know, I just said that you need to delete some photos of your kids! But stick with me for a minute...Let's say your son had a soccer game and you took a bunch of photos at the game, let's say 20. Do you really need all 20 photos to tell the story or to remember the moment? Be honest, there are probably 5-10 that are blurry, another 5 that look exactly the same and the other 5 were from when your toddler stole your phone and took pictures of the ground.
During the time you set aside to cull your photos, try to think about which photos tell the story and which are just "extra". Select a few photos that are great and each add something different to the story. Remember that the intention of taking pictures is to document the moment and be able to come back later and look at the photos to help you relive the memory. In a year, do you really want to look at all 20 photos or will 5 be enough? I know for me, even one photos is enough to bring the memories flooding back. And your hard drive or Cloud space will thank you too.
The reason I suggest culling more often is that you'll be more successful in sticking with it when you do it in smaller chunks. Sitting down for 30 minutes once a week is much more manageable than the 2 hours it might take you if you do it once a month. Set yourself up for success.
Once you cull the photos to the "keepers", come up with an organization strategy and be consistent. You could organize by date, child, activity, etc.
And after you've culled and organized your pictures, please print at least a few. Personally, I have a few prints made a couple times a year to rotate out the collage frame in the living room and for gifts. I also create a photo book for my boys each year and print it after their birthday. Every 3 months I add photos to the book and by the end of the year it's ready to go!
I know it takes a bit of time but the more you do it the easier it will get. And one thing I have noticed for me, is that I am more intentional about the photos I take because I don't want to have to cull through 100 photos to narrow it down to the 10 keepers. Instead I try to take the best photos upfront to save myself time later.