Space, for every person who believes in having supplies put away for a rainy day, is always at a premium. That’s why organization and consolidation is so important. I’m pretty good at this stuff but I do have places that I would be ashamed to have anyone see. My closet is one of them. On the floor is this horrible conglomeration of photographs. I have thousands. Some are in albums but most are just lying around in bins that take up a lot of valuable real estate and don’t provide what I want which is the ability to pull out pictures to pass around and enjoy on occasion. Yesterday, Bruce and I tackled those photos. It took all day and we aren’t finished but we made a good start. That hardest part was getting started. The second hardest part was throwing out orphan pictures. If they are doubles, out of focus, random people and places we can’t identify, if they just don’t matter, out they went. I made an album. Each page is devoted to part of our lives. I started with dating and I’m up to the adoption of the girls. There are only a few pictures on each page with a few lines that talk about what was going on. It seems minimal but the pictures do jog our memory which is the point. I have one album devoted to awful school pictures and one devoted to the children who have lived with us in foster care. I pulled out several that I can pass on to children who have been adopted and will appreciate them. The rest I sorted out into piles to pass on to each kid. They can do what they like with their pile. At least they will have a choice. This a project I have started before. This time I plan to finish. I picked up a shoe rack and the floor will now hold all of my shoes and sandals. What a concept.
DH and I are catching up on medical, dental and eye care for us and for the girls. I cannot stress just how important this is. I always have an extra set of eyeglasses as well as an eyeglass kit handy. I can’t see without my glasses and I can’t afford the surgery so I put the spare specs at the top of my “gotta have it” list.
Have you all done a winter care check up? I have an appointment on Tuesday to change the oil, top off fluids and replace the wipers. I have already checked out the car kit and replaced worn tires. Every year, people find themselves stranded with no supplies. Nobody wakes up and plans to get lost or have their car break down but things happen. Don’t let it happen to you.
December 14, 2011 at 9:54 am
thanks for the reminder! I need to get the car checked and done. so many things to think about, so little time!
December 14, 2011 at 10:58 am
I love this blog because what you do and advise us about is always useful. It jogs my conscious to get going! I just inherited hundreds of family photos complete with duplicates which need to be passed on. I noticed yesterday that one of my tires seemed low and the car generally needs a clean-out and tune up. Also, an eye exam and a duplicate pair of glasses is at the top of my list. Today, I have hired a recent high school grad(unemployed) to help me clean out the basement freezer – unfortunately it is disorganizsed and some of the food is too old to be of use. With good organization this will never happen again.
December 14, 2011 at 11:27 am
I 2nd or 3rd the emotions! Thanks for the timely reminders. I also need to back-up the pics on the computer. Each time my daughter uses my computer for homework a new virus takes over and I keep putting off the back-up. Need to get some pics printed out for Grandmas too. Still working on the 1st. Aid items and I was thinking about car kits for x-mas gifts. Thanks so much for your posts. Question – I got ham hocks for the first time to make beans & rice. What else can you use them for? Also, as they’re used for flavor, can I reuse them? Hate to use the 1-2 lb for just one dish? I hope this goes along with the earlier posts on pigs head. Thx!
December 14, 2011 at 11:46 am
I’m in the process of getting my calendar ready for next year. On it I note birthdays (of course) but also months that car insurance, home insurance, HOA dues, etc are due. And also routine maintenance for auto and home. That will help with budgeting.
The other thing that I’m noting are the months that I need medical check-ups – I do have insurance but it doesn’t cover everything and my dermatologist is not on the provider list so I have to budget to cover his care (he’s treated me for skin cancer several times over the past 2 1/2 years and I will not change doctors as I trust him completely and I’m a terrible patient and he’s good with me). Again, it will help with budgeting.
I’m not a particularly organized person for pre-planning but the calendar has really helped.
Also – why do you take the vehicle for routine maintenance like windshield wiper replacement (they make those that just snap in place) and oil change & oil filter replacement? These are jobs that can easily be done at home and will save a good bit of money. We can even recycle used oil with our weekly recycle pickup.
December 14, 2011 at 3:08 pm
I bit the bullet a few years ago and copied all my old pictures (going back three generations) to the computer. I even copied old negatives where there was no matching picture. Three great benefits:
1. I got to see old family pictures I had never seen before. This is because years ago most people made a single print of every picture taken but then they gave away the good prints to family members and friends. About half of my parents negatives had no picture to go with them and these were often the best pictures taken at events I never saw pictures from before.
2. I labeled every picture. Many pictures had something written on them so I put that on the file name the picture was stored under. Those with little or no information I researched through friends and family, In the process I learned a lot, answered a lot of never asked questions.
3. Now every picture is in a folder on my computer classified by date, event, family branch, etc. And thanks to the name of each picture being descriptive I can do a search on name and pull out all related pictures across those filing criteria. When I talk to cousins, aunts and uncles on the phone I can bring up pictures on my laptop to talk about or remind me of an event.
One example; I recently began emailing a cousin I never met. Another cousin I knew well gave me her email and we correspond. I had no clue that I actually knew her sister and brother as a toddler. But there in those old pictures are her sister and brother and me and my sister and brother at an Aunts house. Go figure.
Now, you want to see a slide show of our recent trip to Paris???
December 14, 2011 at 8:00 pm
To Gone with the Wind,
Do you use a software program to do all your picture stuff? I have mine in folders but none of the tags or anything you have listed.
My mom is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and it would be awesome to get her pictures done before, well, none of us really want to talk about it…
It would be a good project for her and me no matter what the outcome.
But I would love some organization to it rather than just scanning myriads of pictures. That really helps no one.
December 15, 2011 at 3:15 pm
GoneWiththeWind, did you also make prints of those orphaned negatives, for a non-electronic backup? I’d be interested to hear from others who’ve done similar projects, if they found also having prints a reassuring measure.
December 16, 2011 at 12:12 pm
TO Maxine – Why not install a virus protection software application on your computer? A very good one is available for FREE to download. I’ll not include the clickable URL, but the name is AVG.