E-Organization: Photos

colorful photo box

Instead of writing a full blog post this week, we decided to give you a sneak peek of an upcoming class that has everything to do with electronic organization!

Photo Organization Class

Dates Coming Soon!

Are you feeling overwhelmed with the amount of photos you have stashed in boxes and stuffed in drawers? How about  digital images stored on a hard drive, in files on your computer and even stuck on your devices? We can help! We will guide you step by step and provide you with many options on how to best preserve your memories. We will also discuss how to manage your ever growing digital image collection and turn them into priceless photo books organized by the year, event, holidays or person. The ideas are endless and so is the opportunity for wonderful gifts. We are offering a spring class for those who want to take advantage of organizing and creating throughout the year to make meaningful slideshows, photo books and many other beautiful gifts personalized with your own family/friend life experiences and events in time for Christmas!

For this class, we are so excited to be teaming up with local photographer – Diana Critchlow! Diana is a dear friend and owns a business called Memories in Motion.

“In 1999, I saw my first picture slide show put to music and was so inspired by it I set out to figure out how to do this with my own photos. This passion along with my desire to organize my families “memory clutter” became a mission of mine. It wasn’t long before I was asked to create a slideshow for my first client and Memories In Motion was born. As you can imagine, my business, through our ever changing technology has evolved and I want to share what I have learned with you. I never get tired of seeing others “memory clutter” become a personal gift of memories to cherish. I often think about how many households have boxes of old photos and slides as well as film reels and negatives that haven’t seen the light of day for years, sometimes even decades. I believe those dusty neglected boxes hold many treasured memories that can be enjoyed by many with just a little direction, commitment and desire. That’s where this class comes in!”

Spread the word – more information will be posted to our Classes page soon!

E-Organization: CD’s & DVD’s

Guest Blogger: Becca Newboles works for Julie as an assistant and organizer. Check out her profile here.

If you’re like me, you love music and movies. I’ve been looking for a way to store them without it looking cluttered and taking up valuable space in my home. I also wanted the ability to quickly skim through and find the right artist or genre. And in so many homes, I see DVD cases strewn about after children or family members are done watching them. After doing some research, here is what we came up with. We are so happy with the results!

CD/DVD Binders

1. Count Your CDs or DVDs. Donate any that you or your kids rarely watch. This will decide how many binders you purchase – my binders hold on average of 80-90 CDs or DVDs.

2. Purchase Sturdy Binders. If you have kids, buy something that will survive every day wear and tear. These binders are from Russell and Hazel. At $25 a piece, they are a bit pricey, but so worth it. They are reinforced, have a thick rubber band for secure closure, and come in many colors.

DVD BinderRussell and Hazel Signature 3-Ring Binder

3. Purchase CD/DVD Inserts. Out of everything I found, these Walmart ones are the best and only $10/pack! They hold 8 CDs/DVDs per page.

DVDOrganizers DVDBinderOpen

4. Categorize Your CDs or DVDs. If you have a large quantity set aside time to do this. I spent a few hours one afternoon to complete this entire project. I bought four binders to hold all of my DVDs and labeled them accordingly:

  • Romance/Comedy
  • Action/Adventure
  • Kids/Classics
  • TV Shows

5. Insert and Label. Once you have your categories, start putting them into their coordinating binders. I also alphabetized them in each binder. Don’t forget to label!

DVD Binders

6. Discard Cases. I had two large boxes full of empty DVD cases when I was finished. Check with your local recycling company to see if they will take them or your local library!

Success! Now everything is contained and labeled. I eliminated an entire piece of furniture in my home with this process.

We would love to hear how you store your DVDs and CDs!