How to Store Your Family Photos and Memories
Even in this digital age, I find it important to document precious family memories. Some of my most prized possessions are framed family photographs or scrapbooks I made as a teenager. While some of my own baby pictures didn’t keep over the years, I hope that the photos I take of my own child do. I have been quite diligent over the course of the past few years in documenting my pregnancy, life with a newborn, and now my family’s everyday life. Here are the top tools I’ve used to help take and preserve my family photos and memories.
Photo 365: The idea of Photo 365 is to take a photo a day for a year. There are many apps that you can download to your smartphone that help you remember to snap a photo. You can even use the apps to create a monthly calendar with an image for each day. You can then share, print, and save your photos. This is a fun experiment to do over the course of a pregnancy. Every day differences might not be noticeable, but over time, you will be surprised at just how far you have changed.
Buy a Shadowbox: Stop by a craft store and get a shadowbox. Use it to highlight those special moments. From your wedding trinkets, invitation, or even wedding dress, a shadowbox is a great way to preserve those memories. I’ve saved my hospital bracelet from my son’s birth, his first photos, the hat he wore home, and his first outfit for my shadowbox. This craft is definitely on my “to do” list.
Sign up for Groovebook: It may be hard for busy parents to remember to take photos every day or use their precious free time to craft with their photos, so Groovebook is the answer. At just $2.99 a month, you can print up to 100 of your photos into a 4 x 6 album. The glossy paper is high quality, but the pages are thin. You can tear the photos out to display or keep them as is in the book.
Tip #1: Don’t have 100 smartphone photos a month to print? They will just fill up all 100 pages with duplicates of some of your shots.
Tip #2: If you took pictures on a camera or another device, just email them to your smartphone. Save them to your photo roll and upload to Groovebook! This app is available on iTunes and Google Play.
Print monthly 8 x 10s: Sign up for free emails from Walgreens and keep an eye out for photo credits. Usually every other month or so there is a free 8 x 10 collage print or a regular print available. I printed 12 8 x 10s the first year of my son’s life for a photo album. I used a photo from each month. I continue to add to this album, albeit less frequently.
Don’t forget about free prints: Many sites like CVS, Shutterfly, and Snapfish also offer free print promotions. Every so often, take advantage of the promotions to order prints for the past few months. Utilize photo boxes to keep them safe. These memory boxes from Emily Ley are my new favorite. I also have used these email lists to learn about free photo albums or discounts!
How do you store your family photos and memories?
This post was written by lifestyle expert Krystal Sousa of Krystal’s Kitsch. Catch up with Krystal on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!
DISCLAIMER: This guest post was edited by Team PAM. The opinions expressed do not reflect the opinions of PAM or any employee thereof. PAM is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information suppplied. Always consult with your medical provider regarding any personal health questions or decisions (including nutrition, diet, and exercise).
