Hi Reader,

Picture this: it’s 6 AM on a Sunday, and I’m finally walking through my front door after an all‑night scrapbooking crop. I was exhausted but proud—I’d finished an entire album and started another. I'd only recently started scrapbooking, and I was really proud of my progress.

But as I collapsed into bed, all I could think about was what happened around 3 AM.

I was flipping through photos for that second album when I found them—random picture after picture that belonged in the first one. The one I’d already “finished,” with its perfectly designed pages and carefully chosen embellishments. And the photo album for that one year in my family.

My heart sank. Those photos needed to live in the proper family yearbook, and there was no way to add them without tearing apart hours of work.

I’d been so focused on making beautiful pages that I’d forgotten the whole point: keeping our family memories together and in order.

When I woke up at noon, something had shifted. Instead of starting another album, I spent the rest of the day doing what I should have done years earlier: I sorted every single family photo into chronological order. Every. Single. One.

It took all day. My back ached. The dining room table disappeared under photo piles. But for the first time, I had a clear picture of what I actually had.

That’s when it hit me: I’d been working so hard—without a plan.

I see this same pattern everywhere. We throw ourselves into organizing with the best intentions. We buy the supplies, clear the dining room table, dump out a box… and then we get stuck. Not because we’re not trying hard enough, but because we’re building without a blueprint.

We wonder: sort by person or by year? What about duplicates? What do I do with photos when I can’t remember the date? And that shoebox with three decades mixed together—where do I even start?

Without a plan, every single photo becomes a decision point. After 200 tiny decisions, you’re mentally exhausted before you’ve made a dent.

No wonder so many of us start and stop, over and over again.

Here’s what I’m curious about: what’s been your biggest frustration when you’ve tried to tackle photo organizing? Is it decision‑making overwhelm, not knowing where to start, or something else entirely?

Hit reply and tell me. I read and answer every response, and your experience might help another family photo keeper who’s stuck in the same place.

With appreciation for all you do to preserve your family’s story,

Warmly,

Fancy

PS: That chronological sorting day changed everything for me. It wasn’t fun, but it gave me the foundation I needed to actually finish what I started. Sometimes the most important work happens behind the scenes.

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