topic Re: What do you do with old pictures?!? in Home

What do you do with old pictures?!?

barb40 — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:03:36 GMT

I have several framed photographs that I have just stacked in boxes...I am trying to decide what to do with them. Mostly 5 x 7, and 8 x10 size...so they don't really fit in a photo album.

Also...my mother in law has bins of old photographs...What does one do with those? She has not gone through them, and I doubt she will. Do things like this just get thrown away?

Any helpful suggestions and organization tips are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

software — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:06:54 GMT

I scanned many of mine to a CD rom.

I have many albums too, my grown kids like looking at the pictures

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

sunshine45 — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:09:34 GMT

@barb40 wrote:
I have several framed photographs that I have just stacked in boxes...I am trying to decide what to do with them. Mostly 5 x 7, and 8 x10 size...so they don't really fit in a photo album.

Also...my mother in law has bins of old photographs...What does one do with those? She has not gone through them, and I doubt she will. Do things like this just get thrown away?

Any helpful suggestions and organization tips are greatly appreciated! Thanks!

if we dont know who they are we have thrown them away. if they are people that meant something to my parents we still throw them away. if they are people we know but dont want the photos, i have asked the people or their relatives if they want the photographs. if the kids want them they are welcome to them. if they are special to us they are kept.....photos and slides.

we have done the same thing with greeting cards that have been saved. almost all of them have gone into the trash.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

Puppy Lips — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:14:50 GMT

One of the few things I am obsessed about is labeling all my photos. Every photo has an acid free label that states the date it was taken, where, who is in the photo, and the occasion (if there is one).

For your mother in laws box of photos, I would go through them and ask her NOW who is in the photo and any other info she may have, such as when and where. You may not care, but maybe other relatives for future generations would like to see photos of their long past relatives. You could lightly write on the back of the photos in pen.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

Azcowgirl — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:29:08 GMT

Over the years we moved many times and I always wondered what to do with the boxes of framed pictures.

Now that we are retired and just have the one home, I created a picture wall in the office by removing the old frames and buying all black frames of different shapes and sizes, and arranging them on the wall along with the words family, love, and memories. It turned out quite nice. I left space to add to it if I want to.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

LindaSal — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:31:34 GMT

My mom was always so good at pictures and labeling them. I tried to do the same over the years. We have storage bins full of old photo albums, some my brother has scanned onto cd's but I would never have the heart to part with them since she has now passed away and they meant so much to her. Hopefully my kids will feel the same or at least finish the scanning project!

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

Mz iMac — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:38:12 GMT

Last year I had the same issues. I had a stack of albums plus envelopes (stacks of them) w/photos inside.

This is what I did.......

Went through all the albums. I divided them all up & shipped to my daughter & baby brother to do whatever they wanted w/them. I also included all the photos that were framed. Frames were shipped too.

Went through the photos in the envelopes. Half of the folks I didn't even know or recognize, in the trash they went.

What was left I burned onto discs, made a slideshow called "Memory Lane" & mailed them to family & relatives as "gifts."

The only thing I kept was a huge portrait of my parents wedding day which is currently hanging in my hallway. My mother is still alive but my father has passed. The portrait was left in my car when my mother moved 3 yrs ago. She told me to keep it. For four years, it was stored under my bed.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

suziebee1 — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:51:10 GMT

I have the same problem. I have my parents photos and have no idea who most of the people are. I have my photo albums, and then albums of my children. What do you do with them all? I could fill an entire wall with just albums. My kids aren't going to want all those albums. I am going to follow this thread to see what great ideas you all are coming up with. thanks!

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

barb40 — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:58:27 GMT

Thanks for all these great replies! Please keep posting your wonderful ideas! They are inspiring!

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

Mz iMac — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 18:10:02 GMT

@suziebee1"My kids aren't going to want all those albums."

Mine didn't either. My daughter is the oldest. I wrote a short note telling her "if you & your siblings do not want your baby albums, trash them. I already know what ya'll looked liked through the years."

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

KathyM23 — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 18:13:31 GMT

@barb40 What I have done with 8 x 10 and 5 x 7 photos is buy 8 x 11 3-ring binders and 6 x 8 3-ring binders and packages of 3-ring plastic sheets 8x 11 and 6 x 8. You can insert two photos in each sheet one facing front and the other facing back and insert the plastic sheets in the 3-ring binders. Same as using a photo album except for the larger pictures.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

fthunt — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 18:14:42 GMT

I have more to 'eliminate' but when I get at the job - I keep those that mean something to me....and put those not worth taking up space.........through my shredder. Older relatives are gone - younger relatives wouldn't know who was who in the snapshot.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

Puppy Lips — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 18:17:16 GMT

@suziebee1 wrote:
I have the same problem. I have my parents photos and have no idea who most of the people are. I have my photo albums, and then albums of my children. What do you do with them all? I could fill an entire wall with just albums. My kids aren't going to want all those albums. I am going to follow this thread to see what great ideas you all are coming up with. thanks!

I don't think my boys will want the photo albums either, even though I have made many albums for each of them. My oldest is a minimalist and wants nothing at all. I hope that they will not have the heart to throw them out. They could at least scan the photos, but then the info on the back would be lost if they did not scan that too. I spent a LOT of time on those albums. Sometimes I think it was a waste of time.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

Hoovermom — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 18:31:29 GMT

I had tons of pictures from my parents, siblings and myself. I used the purge style for eliminating them. Threw away the ones I had no idea of who the people were. I sent duplicates to my siblings and told them to do whatever they wanted. Keep the ones that I wanted. No guilt here.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

ItsME — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 18:45:05 GMT

I recently cleared out my mother's house. MANY albums from vacations, mostly scenic. If there were no pictures of people I know, they were tossed.... with just a few exceptions for cute animals! Anything with people went into a box for my brother to digitize. Knowing him (and he's great, but slow at these things), it will take at least 10 years!

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

faeriemoon — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 20:22:42 GMT

In boxes. I don't care about saving "stuff" but I can't toss a picture.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

RedTop — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 20:31:34 GMT

I got rid of photo albums last year, put what pictures I kept in photo sleeves that are stored in a plastic tote.

Mom inherited a few photo albums from her mother and sister. Outside of a few pictures, I hope my brothers take those albums after mom is gone. I am not saddling myself with inherited stuff again. If my daughters are ever curious about their family, I have all they would be interested in. Am not going to save everything “in case” my daughters and nephew develop an interest “some day”.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

spiderw — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 20:43:03 GMT

I went through the old pictures years ago. I gave my brother and sister pictures of them as youngsters and pictures they would like and could relate to. I framed pictures of my grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles and placed them throughout the house, most of them in the dining and living rooms. They are mixed in with pictures of my nieces, nephews and their children.

These pictures are my heritage, my family, meaningful and cherished. I don't know what will happen to them when I am gone but for now and for awhile I have surrounded myself with wonderful memories and reminders of loved ones who all have places in my heart.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

CelticCrafter — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 21:56:27 GMT

While going through boxes of unlabeled, undated photos after my parents died, I tried best as I could to to identify who was in the picture and sent them off to the cousins I thought they belonged to.

The rest I posted on FB and if no one could tell me who it was, I threw them out. I know a lot of people may not agree with me on that but I saved my daughter from having to do it.

Re: What do you do with old pictures?!?

Catiele — Tue, 26 Mar 2019 22:13:13 GMT

First I had put this off a long time. I did my mother’s first. What I kept I put in a pretty hard cover box. Take them out once in a while as my granddaughters like to look at them.

My own took longer and it wasn’t easy but I did it. Kept albums but many pictures went. As my granddaughter would say———say goodbye to them. I did along with a few tears.