So I have wanted to write this post for a while, but I have been dragging my feet to actually sit down and write it.  Why??  Well, because I actually need to do what I am saying you should do in order to get all my photos organized on my computer.

Like, I have to actually take the time to look at ALL the adorable pictures of my kiddos, and sort them into files.

Because I won’t write something that I don’t actually do.  I don’t roll that way.  So if I say that you should get your photos organized on your computer, you bet your tush I will do the same.

How To Organize Pictures On Your Computer

Now, where to start when you have over 11.000 pictures on your computer… I’m not counting the pictures I have on an external hard drive!

Create Folders

Well, you start by creating some general folders within your photo library.  I will start by creating folders for each family member.  These folders are where I will put all our selfies and individual photos of each family member.  I also will create a folder for the dog, because I take a lot of pictures of him too!  And I created an album that will hold pictures of both kids together.

Start Moving Photos Into Family Folders

Start at the very beginning of your photo library and start adding pictures of your family into the different family albums.  If you are using iPhoto, just drag your picture into the designated album.  You can also click “command” and select multiple photos to drag and drop into an album.

Add Folders As You Go

As you start going through photos, you might find that you have some holidays, events, or other groupings of photos that will go together.  Add folders as you go with the different topics together.

If I notice that there are multiple people in a photo, I might move that photo into two different albums so I can find it easily.  It’s like cross-referencing your photos!

Delete, Delete, Delete

As you start to go through pictures, you might find some really bad pictures.  Like pictures you kids took on your phone that is now on your computer, because “the cloud”.  Delete those pictures if they aren’t cute or funny.

My son like to take pictures of the carpet so I had a roll of like 12 photos of his carpet in his bedroom.  I just deleted them all so they aren’t taking up space on my computer!  Honestly wouldn’t have known they were there unless I started to clean them out!

Keeping It Up

This entire process might time time.  Like a few days.  I will be honest, I am still working on organizing the pictures!  But it feels soooooo good to have them started!

Now, when I upload new photos, I will just drop those few into the different folders so I don’t have to keep spending large amounts of time on organizing my photos!

My goal for the rest of this week is to slowly, but consistently, put the photos into folders.  I will also delete the unwanted photos.  And I will print off some photos!  I have been so bad about printing off photos because it seemed too overwhelming, but now they they are (mostly) organized, I can see what cute pictures I have of our family!!

My challenge to you is to start organizing your photos on your computer.  Follow the steps above to help you get started!

And for more organizing tips, sign up for my fun mail!!  I have tons of info that you get sent directly to your inbox!