I am sure you’ve heard the saying: ‘everything needs a home’. It is no different for photos! But what on earth has it got to do with my sock drawer?!

 

 

Well, the organising principles for your socks and your photo are pretty much the same and I often use this example when I talk with clients about photo management. Especially digital photo management can be extremely overwhelming and I’m hoping to make it more relatable by using an everyday object to visualise the process.

Let’s have a look at a common decluttering and organising process:

1. We start by thinking about our goal and outcome.
2. We gather everything in one place.
3. We declutter.
4. We sort.
5. We put it away in its home.
6. We maintain the order by getting into a good routine and habits.

This process works for socks (or pretty much most other items in your home) – and guess what … it works the same for photos!

Now, for socks: let’s assume their ‘home’ is a drawer in your wardrobe. As for your photos: the home should be your photo hub (or photo central as some prefer to call it).

Let’s have a closer look at the benefits of having a photo hub.

 

 

Three Benefits of creating and having a photo hub

 

1.    Everything in one place

All photos will be in one place! Even if they are not organised (yet), you will at least know where to go and look for your photos.

Socks: all in that one drawer.

 

2.    Easier to manage

Your photos will be easier to manage because they are all in one place. You get a better overview and hence, you can confidently delete or throw out the unwanted ones because you can now see everything you have. You can then organise and curate them in the most efficient and effective way possible.

Socks: the same thing … you throw them all in the drawer in a big hot mess. That’s still going to take time to find a matching pair but you’ll find it because it’s somewhere in that drawer. If you want to be able to grab the required pair quickly, you’ll have to organise them a bit better (just like photos!): find the pairs, fold them neatly and maybe even sort them into categories.

 

3.    Easier to backup and/or replace

It is easier to back up the photos if they are all in one place and hence it is also easier to restore them if something should go wrong. Some might say the risk of losing them is way too high if they are all in one place. True – and that is why we need to use the 3-2-1 backup method at all times (find out more about it here and download your free guide). Technology is going to fail, it’s only a question of when. With a backup, you can easily get them back.

Socks: well, we don’t backup socks, hehe. However, we will need to replace socks over time. When we are organised, we know what we have. That means we are most probably not going to buy new socks unless we really need to. It helps us to save money and minimise the space we need for something that is not necessary. When it’s time, we simply throw out the old ones and put in the new ones, just a little bit like restoring from a backup, don’t you think?

 

 

Can you see how in principle organising photos is the same as organising socks? The latter is just a bit less challenging because there is no software involved ;-).

Don’t forget you can always book a free 30-minute discovery call with me in which I am more than happy to answer your questions and to help you get started.

Also, check out my current available courses here which are designed to help you manage your photos!