Saving Memories

I was the 3rd of 3 kids. I think there exists maybe 4 pictures of me from birth to the age of 18. In defense of my parents – a camera used to be a luxury item that was big, bulky, and came with a huge carrying case and a thing called film. AND THEN you had to go to the drive thru FotoMat to get the pictures developed. For reference for those of you born after 1990:

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In short, taking pictures and capturing moments has become so easy I don’t think my kids have blinked without us capturing it in real time. Now we have SO MANY pictures we’ve created a new first world problem: how do we organize every memory to be enjoyed by more people than with who I share a snap or two on my phone? Here are a few ideas!

Shutterfly: Look – I am no artist and my artistic visual skills are not even in the “meh” category. YET – every time I have created a photobook for a friend or family member, it has quickly become a prized possession and a favorite gift. My husband and I are actually in the process of creating photobooks by year to capture those moments we don’t want to forget (and as parents to small kids in our 40’s – we forget a LOT of stuff…).

Online photo sharing sites: There are various websites where you can easily upload, comment on, and share your photos. You simply share the URL with your friends and family and VOILA! – they can create an account and have access to all of the photos you’d like to share with them. Photos then can be printed, saved and shared to other family and friends! A few examples:
Google Photos
Amazon Photos
PhotoBucket

Scrapbooking: Ok so remember earlier when I said my artistic skills are “meh” at best? Given I have both a time and creativity problem (self diagnosed…) I have steered away from scrapbooking. I would say I have scrapbook envy. My MIL (Mother In Law) is a master scrapbooker and pretty much an overall creative genius. Scrapbooking is an excellent way to incorporate all of the little nuggets you’ve saved along the way of creating memories. Notes from your husband, hand drawn pictures from your kids, a dog tag of the most beloved family pet – trinkets that are so very special and deserve their place in your host of memories. THIS is where scrapbooking becomes a go to! Although there are many places to get your scrapbooking goodies, I’ve been sucked into Scrapbooking.com on more than one occasion – dreaming of the day I become creative and organized enough to create my first very own scrapbook.

LegacyBox.com: Full disclosure – I have used this service and it was SO easy, quick and brought back to life so many moments of times gone by. All you do is go online to https://legacybox.com/, choose the package that you think best fits the number of products you have. Once you get your box in the mail (usually next day or two days), load it up and send your Legacybox kit, filled with old home movies and pictures. They do the rest, digitizing your moments onto thumb drive, the cloud, or DVD. If you happened to order a package that was too small or too large for your memories, they are very good about emailing you with updates and choices!

There’s never a bad time to create and share treasures, memories, moments and more. Whether you have an hour or a month – there are easy-to-use choices no matter your preference!

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