Let’s be honest…if my stuff weren’t in storage right now, this post would have been a lot simpler. Sigh. But photo albums/scrapbooks/etc have been in storage since last February and won’t return back into the house until this March. So…use your imaginations please :).
First, I used to love working on scrapbooks before I had kids. I have several scrapbooks dedicated to vacations and such for Andrew and me. They’re lovely (use your imagination) and perfect. And then I had kids…
…and now, I could care less. I just do not have the time. Or patience. And the idea of voluntarily making a mess in my house with more glue, tape, scissors and stickers just about sends me over the edge. Plus, it’s so time consuming…
I will always treasure my scrapbooks dearly but for this season in life, I’m not even going to try and pretend like it’s a reasonable idea for me to make them for my kids. Not going to happen.
If Kensington, Smith and Ashby want to know about their childhood, they can visit www.shayshull.com :).
I did make an online Shutterfly book for each kid’s first birthday of their first year in life, so I’m not a total failure as a parent. But do you know where those books are? Storage. Because no one ever looks at them. Ever. And I slaved hours over them online…sigh.
So, how do I organize the 4,000 pictures a day I take of my kids? Neatly on my computer. Every morning, I upload pictures from the day before on to my computer (backing them up with Carbonite!) and anytime I need a pic of my kids, there they are…right there, easy for me to locate. This is what it looks like…
All of my folders all nice and neat. They’re labeled by date and activity…always easy to locate and sort through. My pics go back to 2006. I’m very happy with this little system. I date everything with the year first, then the number of the month, followed by the month name and then what’s inside each folder. Example:
14 01 Jan Smith’s Birthday Party
This would be my folder from Smith’s party on Saturday. This makes it so simple to find things! Every month I also do a catch-all folder that looks like this:
13 10 Oct Pics of kids
These monthly folders are for all of those random pictures that I take that don’t necessarily need their own individual folder. Like Halloween would need its own folder (13 10 Oct Halloween), but a random picture that I take on October 21 doesn’t need to go into that folder, so it goes in my monthly catch-all.
I love an organized computer 🙂
Some examples…
…so simple and tidy. Just what I like.
And what do I do with all of those Shay Every Day pictures???
They’re all in one folder labeled #shayeveryday2013 and all numbered…because that’s just how I roll :).
There you have it…another Shade of Shay. Maybe one of these days, I’ll pull out my funky scissors, glue and stickers again…but for now, I’m quite happy with my little online collection of pictures.
Here’s what’s coming up on Shades of Shay (because you ladies keep asking!):
Getting Moms Out of the Frump
Naps
An Organized Gym Bag
My Skincare Routine
Being a Morning Person
Girlfriends
Marriage
Moving
Pregnancy
Handbags, Purses and Diaper Bags
If you missed yesterday’s Shopping with Sheaffer and Shay, click here! Gap is still 30% off today and I found some really cute things!
And my sweet friend Jen is giving away a $100 Erin Condren gift card today! Hurry over to her blog to check it out!
Happy Wednesday everyone!!
XOXO
Sheaffer {Pinterest Told Me To} says
Such good tips! I'm gong to go look at my shutterfly books RIGHT NOW. Just because!
Jessica says
Can you hurry up with the moving shade of shay as I'll be moving in a month?!?! : ) ha thanks!! Love your blog!!!
Tara G. says
My kids love our Shutterfly books! And my mantra for years has been , " I'm so far behind!". Kids, moves, and deployments always seem to fill my plate!!
Jessica says
Can you hurry up with the moving shade of shay as I'll be moving in a month?!?! : ) ha thanks!! Love your blog!!!
Aubrey says
Having organized photos is SUPER important. My kids spend hours — literally hours — each week looking at old photos and videos on the computer.
One of my biggest fears (seriously, I have nightmares about it) is that blogger will eventually go away and all our blog content will be lost for.ev.er. So a few years back I started "slurping" my blog with blurb and printing that year's text and photos into book form. They sit on a shelf and no one looks at them (because the computer is way easier) BUT it's all there. Preserved in physical form in case the interwebs fail me at some point. The nightmares aren't gone completely, but at least I have that dream less frequently. 🙂
Ashhog says
So do you print out any of your pictures to put in a photo album? Or are they on the computer only?
Alaleh says
So excited for skincare post! Have you tried Dropbox?? (There is an app also) automatically saves any pic or document to your comp…it's changed my life!! So easy!
Narci says
As if I needed another reason to love you! I am so impressed that you are so organized with your photo storage–I save folders the same way–year, month, event! Nice work, mama!!
Anonymous says
Hi Shay! Love this photo on the computer idea! Just had a quick question… I saw a while ago on your blog that you used the GLO whitening system. Do you still, did you see results? I'm debating going to get it today! Thanks 🙂
Tab & Erika says
Loved these tips and love that I have such smart friends!! 🙂
Alison @ Get Your Pretty On says
We use the same method of organization for our photos. If there were ever a fire, that hard drive would be the first thing I'd grab! Well besides the kids and dogs. 🙂 Sadly our oldest still doesn't have a scrap book, just boxes and boxes of keepsakes. He's almost in college so what's the point now, right? LOL!
Tyree - Party of Five says
You are an amazing and organized mama!!! This is a great example of how to organize photos on the computer. Great tips!!!
Shesabigstar says
You know I'm an organized nut because this post just made my OCD super happy! 🙂 My pictures are stored the exact same way, in neat and organized folders on my computer… great minds! Although it's driving me a little crazy that you have the dates at the beginning since I put mine at the end… haha! #organizationproblems
Amy Culbertson says
Do you know of a program that will detect duplicate pictures on your computer? I have them everywhere…. discs, hard drive, external drive, thumb drive, SD cards, etc. If I could get them all in 1 place and not have duplicates it would make me 1 happy momma!!!
Colleen Sullivan says
You are so organized!! I love these posts and seeing how other people get (and keep!) things in order!
Jenny says
What do you do with the shay everyday pics? Do you print them out somewhere, make a book? I started the same thing this year and not sure what the final product should be. Thanks.
cmcdonald says
WOW! That is an impressive system! I am sooo looking forward to your posts on girlfriends, skincare, marriage and PREGNANCY! Yay! I'm 16 weeks pregnant with our first and will take all the info I can get! 🙂
Ashlee Simon says
Hi Shay!
Just a disclaimer, this post has nothing to do with organizing photos. I have just finally worked up the courage to post on your blog!
I love your blog and read it every day. I don't have kids yet, but I hope that when I do, I am an involved and awesome mom like you!
I actually had a question regarding Beth Moore's bible studies. I am looking to start a bible study and was wondering if you had any suggestions on where I should start? I have been a follower of Jesus for many years but have made it my 2014 goal to really dive into the word and really grow in my faith this year. Beth Moore has so many and I was just wondering if you had a favorite or if you know of any other good ones to start with? Thanks so much!
Mindy says
i too organize all my photos in folders on my computers & external hard drives, but i so want to get them printed into books. no one ever gets to see them & that is sad to me. my goal this year is to print a few yearbooks & catch up on my son's stuff. he is 5 & everything is in boxes….aargh!!
Hollie says
You can print your blogs through blog2print.com or lulu.com. It loads automatically and its super fast and easy. It's a pretty good price and then you have a hard copy that your kids are you can look through. I love mine and it's so much easier and cheaper than actual scrapbooking.
Beth Hoden says
I love this idea, but now the big question is….do I start this from now on or do I go back and try to organize the last 5+ years??
Jaren says
I do love the idea of your family blog being a way for your kids to look back and learn about their childhood and a lot about their mom. I scrapbook, and yes, it is one of the most overwhelming hobbies. But I love it. When I just had two kiddos, I was able to keep up. However, our baby girl who will be 2 next month still doesn't have her 1st year done, and we have #4 on the way. I have to re-prioritize! But the babies will still get their first year scrapped even if it takes me years. My older kids (6 and 5) now really like looking at their baby albums. It makes it worthwhile.
Andrea says
Cannot wait for the NAP segment!!
dresselfamily.blogspot.com says
my husband said we can't be friends anymore, I am costing too much $$$ on all the adorable clothes you post.. I just ordered the pink sweater from gap, you are right, it doesn't even look cute on line.. you need to be a model for them!!
ps, am I the only one that cannot wait for sunday night's wedding, I can barely wait!!! I hope Kensington and smith are in the wedding party, and as much as I cannot wait to see catherines dress, I am dying to see what you are wearing too!!!
Anonymous says
I enjoyed this post so much! Thanks for the tips. I also hope that you'll show us how you organize your mail/office and also your pantry. 🙂
Mix and Match Mama says
As for what Beth Moore Bible Study I would start with, if it were for a group of ladies, I think I would start with her David study. If it's just for you, I would do her new study called Whispers of Hope. They're all fabulous!
Anonymous says
How do you remember to take a photo every single day for Shay Everyday? I had a new baby in August and was going to take a picture of him every single day for his first year, but kept forgetting. I finally gave up. How in the world do you not forget? Also, I hope that you will post on organizing your mail and your pantry. It probably seems simple to you since you are so organized, but for someone like me it is very difficult. I am an unorganized mess!
Anonymous says
What kind of camera do you have? Looking for an upgrade!
Anonymous says
I would love for you to talk about how you organize your family bills/finances! I read somewhere on here that you take care of those. I do them for our family too and they are the thorn in my side!
Cory says
Hey Shay! So I just thought i'd share a tip of mine that you might be interested in with the photos. I also made scrapbooks for each of my kids for the first year then just stuck with the blog. Then I found where you can print and bind the blog into a hardback book. It's a really cool thing. My daughter LOVES looking through the blog books. I print a year per book. In case you're interested, it's http://www.blog2print.com. Love your blog!!
Andrea says
I was the same way, I loved scrapbooking before I had my daughter and now I'm lucky enough to remember to download all my pictures onto my computer. Thanks for the great tips!
Sarah E @ theteacherswife.com says
I am totally with you on scrapbooking! I love the concept, but it just doesn't seem worth all the time to me and I have no extra time to devote to it anyway. We organize ours on the computer too on our external hard drive. It works well so far!
klmoore23 says
Oh my word! Love, love, love the scrapbooking comic today. Totally defines my scrapbooking lifestyle! Thanks for the great post. Loved your organization. 🙂
Andrea Brant says
Hi Shay. It's sort of ironic that you just did this post. I was watching Shark Tank last week and there was a couple who started a company called Groovebook. It's $4.99 a month and you select 100 pics a month from your smart phone and download it on their app. They print out the pictures on pretty glossy paper. They come in a cute jacket wit perforated pictures so you can tear them out easily if you need to. I just signed up for my first one. Maybe it's something to look into. Anyway, thought I'd share!
{Hi Sugarplum!} says
Ugh, I used to be so good about this! I made Snapfish books for every year, made another book of each of our trip, uploaded by the month….then I started blogging. And all my pics were for the blog. And I just fell off…I'm so behind! I think I may just skip the last 3 years and pick up now…think anyone in the family would ever even notice?!?!?! NO!
Cari Burnett says
Do you have any good Sean & Catherine's Wedding posts coming up?
Leslie says
You should check out Project Life by Becky Higgins at Beckyhiggins.com.
It is the most fun and fast way to document without all the hours and hours of craziness and mess. So easy and beautiful. 🙂
C says
Yes, Project Life is where it's at!:)
I have taken pictures of my kids every day since they were born — just quick candids on my phone at this point usually — and Project Life is the quickest, easiest, most beautiful way to get them into albums. Not that I'm caught up. At all. But my eleven weeks of bed rest last year helped me get closer;)
C says
Yes, Project Life is where it's at!:)
I have taken pictures of my kids every day since they were born — just quick candids on my phone at this point usually — and Project Life is the quickest, easiest, most beautiful way to get them into albums. Not that I'm caught up. At all. But my eleven weeks of bed rest last year helped me get closer;)
The Seidel Family says
Do you use only your phone for all of your pictures or do you use a regular camera as well? I love love love all of your posts on the blog! I look forward to them every day!
Unknown says
Shay, once you download the pictures on your computer do you delete them off your phone? Are you still using this system for organization or have you updated it all?