Did you know that September is; save your photo month? Well, it’s been designated that but actually any month you decide to save photos I think is the right one. I’m a firm believer that you need to keep those photos safe. As we see so many natural disasters around us right now it makes you realize that you need to be proactive about scanning those photos and storing them; not just on your computer but in the cloud. By saving them in the cloud you will always have your memories no matter what Mother Nature might do to you.
So where do you start? The first step might be to collect all those photos and put them in one place. You may want to consider one of the bins that I’ve used for “Getting my Poop in a Group” (shown below).
Once you’ve collected everything you want to scan (and don’t worry you can keep adding to it) then you just have to make a decision to do it. I think the best approach is to make an appointment with yourself every day to do the task. I’ve done this with other things in my life such as taking a walk. You wouldn’t cancel an appointment with your Dr. unless you really had to so this can help you have the same commitment to yourself.
Here’s a photo of my commitment this month. I’ve scanned most of my photos but recently when I was tidying up an area in the house I found one of my son’s photo albums. So that’s my project for the month. Your project could be a smaller or larger one.
The next step is to decide when I’m going to do this. So I’ve committed to myself that I will do this every morning for 30 minutes. You don’t have to commit a lot of time; it can even be 5-15 minutes. The important thing is just that you are going to do it. We all start with baby steps and that’s how I think you should approach your project as your commitment has to be sustainable.
The next step is to decide how you are going to save those photos. Whether you are going to use your flatbed or maybe you’re going to use your Flip-Pal and scan them in the comfort of your living room while watching your favorite program. That how I originally scanned most of my photos. One winter I spend every evening scanning photos with my Flip-Pal while watching a favorite television program with my husband.
So as you scan your photos you should also be thinking about where you’re saving those photos. You may want to save them to your computer hard drive but you need to think about alternate ways to back up. What I would suggest is the 3-2-1 backup method. Keep 3 copies of your photos; using 2 different types of media (for example; hard drive and optical drive) and store 1 copy offsite (cloud storage or safe deposit box). That might seem like a lot but this is the best approach to protect your photos from disaster.
I actually do a bit more than 3. First, my photos are saved to my computer using a program I have called Forever Historian. I also have my entire computer backed up on Backblaze as well as on an external drive. Finally; all my photos are backed up in Forever Storage. I know that might be overkill but I feel secure knowing that I have multiple places that my photos are protected. I especially like Forever Storage because it has a unique guarantee; consider it insurance for your photos. They guarantee to protect your photos for your lifetime plus 100 years. They do that through a fund, which I heard currently has millions of dollars in it so that it to cover changes in photo formats so your photos are saved even as technology changes. The fund is fully restricted so this means it’s not Forever.com’s money so it’s there to protect your photos even if the Forever company were to fail. At last count, they have over 50 million photos uploaded to the site. I’m a Forever Ambassador so anytime you’d like to hear more or if you need help please feel free to contact me; Ellen Thompson-Jennings.
So let’s go over your plan for saving your photos;
- Decide what your project is going to be; however big or small
- Decide when you’re going to do your scanning. Set aside a time frame daily. If you can’t make it one day, don’t beat yourself up. You’ve got a plan.
- Decide how much time you are committing. Can be as little as 5 minutes a day if you decide.
- Decide how you are going to scan your photos. Are you going to use your flatbed, your Flip-Pal your Zcan+?
- Decide where you are going to store your photos. Are you using the 3-2-1 method? Do you have an external hard drive? Do you have a place to save your photos in the cloud?
Now you’re ready; because you have a plan. You’ve got this.
UPDATE: Forever has an offer until September 30 to receive your first payment FREE by using promo code FIRSTMONTH. Yes, you can get your storage over a 12 month period. For more info go to Deals click HERE.