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I am sitting here as I sift through boxes and boxes of family photos. If you have read about my Decluttering Journey, you know that last year I removed about 50% of everything from my home. Literally, my home took a huge sigh of relief. And, you might think that I sat back thinking “Wow, so much more space, no need to let go of anything else”. But that is far from the truth. Letting go of so much helped me to truly see how much more I can let go of, and how much more “space” I will have in  my life. So, since my brain is on letting go today, I thought I would share the journey through my current project, and 6 Steps to Letting Go of Old Photos, and of course, why that is okay.

Grandma Wilma Larsen

Now, you might have had a knee jerk response to my last sentence, and think, “No, it is not okay to let go of old photo, and momentos, and things that mattered to someone at some point in the history of who I am”! I totally understand how you feel, and know, I am not letting go of all of the things that I found in my current box. In fact, because I have so much less in my house, closet, and this particular box, I was able to really see what I want to keep, and what I am ready to let go of.

Prepare your area for sorting

This is critical to success. If you truly want to make positive progress, start out with a space created for sorting. Typically, when I sort through anything, I clear the kitchen table off, and even put in the extra sections if it is a big job. Or, if that won’t work I bring in a few folding table. Some sorting jobs take hours, or even days. In those cases, I think having a few folding tables that you can sort on work really well. That way if you have to walk away for an hour or two, you don’t have to clear it off to have dinner. Also, get yourself a sturdy box or storage container to place the contents you are keeping, and a trash bag for anything that is truly trash. And of course, you can always keep a box in case you find items that you want to sell or donate (things other than your old photos). 😊

6 Steps to Letting Go of Photos

Set aside the needed time.

Today, I shared with my family that I was going to be working on sorting and letting go of some of the photos and mementos. I put away my phone, and all distractions, and planned to spend about 3 hours sorting through photo boxes.  I think it is important when going through old artifacts of your family to take the needed time to see what you are really seeing, and make decisions without being rushed.

For instance, my Grandmother kept a lot of newspaper clippings. A LOT!!!! Many of them were of her husband or son’s life events, family events, or death notices. I saw a big stack of newspapers, and truthfully, I almost threw them out. I was thinking, These are full newspapers and I will never find why she kept them. This would take hours. But, when I took a moment to focus on the headlines and look at the dates, the newspapers were of huge world events, The Bombing of Pearl Harbor, the end of the War, and other worldwide events. I was definitely glad I didn’t throw them away, and now realize the value in taking a moment to look at these events.

6 Steps to Letting Go of Photos

Sort by Family, Ancestor, Person, Event, or Trip

As I started sorting, I first started going through a large photo box of my Dad and his Family. My Dad passed away about 20 years ago, you can read more about letting go of some of his things in this post on letting go again. My Dad was an only child, and he has no living members of his family, or extended family that we know of. So, there is the situation that if a photo is not labeled, and we don’t recognize the person, we have no idea where or who the photo is of. I started sorting the box by making piles of my Dad’s family and his life events. My grandmother and her life. And my Grandfather and his life. And then a pile of all the rest of the people and events that I don’t recognize. I also made a pile for newspapers and clippings.

Keep the Best of the Best and Label, Label, Label

If a picture is very blurry, of low quality, or is of a only landscape, throw them away.  Maybe you have already done this, but I continue to find them in my home. Also, most scenic photos are of more value to the person who took the picture, than people 5 generations later. Last year, I tossed almost all scenic photos and slides that my other set of grandparents had taken over their 50 years of marriage and many, many vacations. And I don’t miss them. I have been to so many of those places and have my own scenic photos! Right? ! ?

Thanks to sorting my Dad’s pictures by person, I was able to clearly see the number of duplicate photos that were in the box. For instance, There were 15 different photos of my grandmother and her sister that were exactly the same photo. So of course, I am keeping one, and letting go of the rest. In this box I found about 15 cards and art projects that my Dad had made for his parents. They were really sweet, and I kept 2. A Valentine my Dad made for his Mom, and a card for Thanksgiving that read, “Dear Mother and Father, Happy Thanksgiving, Your Son Billy”. I just thought it was so cute that he called them Mother and Father. So it made me happy to keep it. I continued to sort down photos of each family member, and reduce based on duplicates, or similar photos. I still have at least 30 photos of each grandparent, and my Dad growing up, and now they are all special.

6 Steps to Letting Go of Photos

Do something creative with what you want to

I found some really cute pictures and items that I definitely want to keep, and a few I want to frame and do something creative with. For instance, my Grandfather was a Nebraska Cornhusker. Meaning, he played football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. We have a lot of newspaper clippings of my grandfather, “Pappy Morrison” and his success on the team. He didn’t start playing college football until he was 30, so they called him Pappy. But, I never met my grandfather. In fact, my siblings and Mom never met him either, so posting these artifacts all over the house does not make a lot of sense.

But, during this sorting project, I found a little birth announcement about my Dad, announcing him as a future Cornhusker. And then I found the clipping of his birth announcement in the paper, and two of the most adorable pictures. The pictures show my grandfather putting my Dad into his Cornhusker jersey, and then another photo of just my Dad as a teeny newborn in the jersey. These pictures tell a story. A story of a proud Dad, with his newborn baby, and the hope of the future. Because of that, I want to not only save them, I want to frame them and from time to time take a look into the past, and this special moment between Pappy Morrison, and his new baby Boy.

6 Steps to Letting Go of Photos

Let go of the Rest

As I said, I am letting go of the rest. I ensured through sorting that I had sufficient photos of each person to tell the story of their life. And, for people that I did not recognize, I looked at the time frame of the photo based on fashion. I then kept a set of the person or families life, and then let go of the rest. I don’t need years of high school basketball photos from my Grandmother’s Basketball Team, I just need a really good one that tells the story. This is just an example of things I let go, but let go of what you don’t need to tell the story of a person’s life.

Finally, I am letting go of the funeral photos, well, I am keeping one. I don’t know if your family has any of these photos, but our family probably has 20. Huge, 12 x 20 framed photos of peoples coffins adorned with flowers. None of them are labeled, and really, none of them matter to me. I am keeping one, so than my kids, and their kids, and so on can look back and think, wow, people were different back in the 1800 and 1900’s. But, I don’t need them all. I also found postcards form various trips that had never been sent. Two buttons that probably came on someone’s favorite suit, and of course dust! I let all of that go with ease.

Conclusion

I hope that these steps to letting go of old photos has been a help to you. Now, I feel so productive after successfully sorting, labeling, and letting go of so many photos and momentos. I know that the photos that are left will be much easier to look through and reminisce. We will enjoy the framed photos that I have put up in the house. And of course, no one will ever miss what I let go of. In fact, letting go of so much is probably the best gift I can ever give to my kids and grandkids.

6 Steps to Letting Go of Photos

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