You guys, I get it. You love your photos. You really do. But you take so many that you are completely overwhelmed. Like, totally shut down. I was there. As you can see in the image above, I have over 8,000 photos from 2015. Me. A professional photo organizer who is meticulous about going through and deleting unnecessary images. So I can only imagine the volumes of photos those of you who do NOTHING with your photos must have.

To prep for the launch of my new product offering, Year In Hand Family Yearbooks, I felt I should have one of my own to use as a sample. I always feel more comfortable marketing my own products vs. using products with my client's photos in them. In March 2016, I started to design a yearbook for my own family and by August 2016, I hadn't even completed the photo selection process. It took me over FIVE months to go back through the 8,000+ photos to even decide what should be in the yearbook. It was exhausting. I LOVE my photos. I love looking at them; I love the memories and feelings they evoke. I marvel at how my kids are growing and changing and yet, I tired of the process. 8,193 photos, y'all. From ONE year. Ugh.

Going through that process for my own family only solidified that my greatest desire is to solve this problem for you. Yes, you. The family memory keeper. The one who loves taking photos of your family. The one who loves documenting the up's and down's of your life story. And yet, the one who rarely looks at them again, if ever, after you click that shutter. You owe it to your family to share your stories, to reminisce on the good times and maybe even the bad. To laugh at the grumpy face in the photo or the sharpie drawn all over your walls. To re-live special vacations and the daily minutae that you deem important enough to capture.
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I set out to design a service that would be simple, not overwhelming, and cost-effective, not cost-prohibitive. Signing up for Year In Hand Family Yearbooks monthly subscription service will cost you less than a Starbucks a day and will reward you with a stunning retrospective of your family's prior year to proudly display in your home. A gorgeous book that will allow you to bond with your family, to share your stories and to enjoy your photos again. The process is a breeze! I set you up with a privately shared Dropbox folder and send you a monthly e-mail reminder to send me your favorite photos from the prior month. I design your book as we go and you get to review & make edits quarterly. That's it! That's all you have to do! Send me 30-40 of your favorite pics each month and shortly into the New Year, you'll receive the best gift of all: a full-color retrospective of your family's memories, sitting right in your hands.

If you're one of the 2 out of 3 parents who don't enjoy managing your family's photos or one of the 60% of families who haven't printed a photo book in FIVE years, don't hesitate to contact me today!

Photos courtesy of Yehudis Goldfarb Photography

Summer is nearly here for DC Metro area kids and parents will be looking to fill their days with fun activities. One local resource for such information is Kid Up And Go. I recently had the pleasure of meeting with Jen Spatz-Martin to learn more about her all-encompassing parenting resource web site.

M: What is your business origin story? Or, in other words, how did you come up with the idea for Kid Up And Go? 
 
JEN: Whether you move across town or to an outlying suburb, the reality is that everything changes for you and your family and I found there isn't one parenting resource site that covers all of the DC metro area. When we moved across the bridge from DC to Alexandria, I realized that this need was not fulfilled and found that there weren't any reliable resources to search for new doctors or dentists for my kids, nor did I have an established neighborhood "tribe" to turn to for these questions. Most of my friends were still in DC proper or other states so I had no one to ask for recommendations for the things I needed most.
 
Since the DC area is very transient for a lot of families, I figured I wasn't alone. I held focus groups to see if my hunch was right and it turns out that there wasn't one source that parents, including ones that had lived in the area for years, were turning to, especially in the medical area. I worked with area website designers to build the model that would cover all parenting needs: a site that has searchable databases for kid/family-related items where a user can read reviews from others as well as the option to make it more tailored to the user's profile. I was originally going to release the sections in the site in different phases, but decided to put them out all at once.

M: That's incredible. I love how you set about to provide a solution for a problem that existed not only for you, but for many in our area. So, how is your web site different from other kid-focused activity websites here?

JEN: There are a lot of great activity and event resources in the area and I have them listed under the resource section of the site, but there isn't one that encompasses all of the areas that parents might need assistance with. Kid Up and Go allows users the ability to search large online databases including reviews, calendar of events, plus parenting tips and products to help make parenting a breeze.
 
M: That's great! I know a few sites I visit to see what activities are happening on any given day, but they don't always incorporate reviews or physician recommendations or general parenting advice. I love that you're a one-stop shop! Do you have plans to expand your services in the future?

JEN: Yes, the goal is to expand to different places throughout the US. Starting with the DC metro area was a no-brainer, not just because I've lived in the area for 14 years, but all that the area has to offer from things to do, three teaching hospitals, two hospital systems specifically for treating children and numerous community resources.
 
M: Nationwide expansion... a lofty goal! I'm sure that process will be fun since you'll get to know other metro areas like you know DC. What do you hope your web site provides for DC-area parents?

JEN: My hope is that parents use it as their "go to" resource tool. The site can also be used by grandparents, aunt/uncles and people that have friends visiting with kids.

M: I know you’re celebrating your 1-year anniversary and that’s a huge milestone! What are some things you’ve learned about being a business owner that you wish you knew before your launched your business?

JEN: Thanks! I was very proud to hit the 1-year mark since there are a lot of businesses that don't and hopefully the site will still be around at the 5-year mark. There are lots of things that I learned and am still learning.
 
I've been very lucky in my career to be on both the startup and Venture Capital side. Having some of that insight definitely helped prepare me for my own venture. However, just like having your first kid, you can never be fully prepared. I wrote a post about it for the anniversary and it's definitely worth a read to anyone considering a startup. One of the things that I wish I would have known before I launched is how much hustle it takes to get the social media numbers up as well as trying to stay on top of the ever changing FB algorithms.

M: Congratulations, again, Jen! I'm sure there are many DC-area parents who are grateful to you and the site you've created to help in their parenting adventures. And thank you so much for your willingness to be interviewed for my blog.

If you want to check out all the incredible information Jen's Kid Up And Go web site has to offer, click here.

Downsizing your home can be stressful and overwhelming. When my grandmother relocated from the apartment she’d lived in for decades, it was filled with things... SO.MANY.THINGS. Shoes, clothes, magazines, trinkets and, of course, her life’s worth of photos. Everything was piled everywhere, hardly any of it being stored properly. Her photos ended up being distributed between her three children, thus separating her life’s story into three new households. Her story matters* and so does yours. Your life’s story is a treasure for your grandchildren and the future generations of your family. Studies have shown that KNOWING their family history, their family’s struggles and triumphs, has a tremendous impact on a child's self-esteem.
 
Your photos are an IMPORTANT piece of this legacy. Photos allow future generations to literally SEE what life was like in the past, the clothes, the cars, the households their elders lived in. In the immortal words of Bob Dylan, “The times, they are a-changin’,” and nowadays at an unbelievably fast rate. Having an organized photo collection helps document your story to show future generations what life was like in the “olden days.”
 
But where to start? Many of my clients feel completely overwhelmed when they reach out to me for help. Photos are strewn throughout their households, in closets, drawers and boxes. Many of them have inherited photos from loved ones and they’re at a loss as to how to begin the task. There are a few simple steps you can take to organize and ultimately DOWNSIZE your photo collection.

1. Go through your home and pull out your photos from all their many hiding spots. Check under beds, in drawers, closets, your basement, wherever you think your photos may be hiding. Collect all the photos you can find and put them in one location of your home. With my clients, it’s often the dining room. This will give you a great idea of the size of your collection and the task at hand.
2. Most importantly, don’t let the size of your collection overwhelm you. Tackle the organization project one box or bin at a time for an hour at a time. You might find that looking through your photos and reminiscing can be emotionally draining.
3. Find a large table in which to work. When sorting through your boxes, put photos into piles according to categories. For example, childhood, school days, birthdays, weddings, children, pets, cousins, etc.
4. At the end of each working day, keep the piles intact by placing them into gallon-size Ziploc bags.
5. Once you have categorized all the photos in your collection, take each category one at a time, look through them carefully and throw away any duplicates, any photos of people you can’t remember, blurry photos that have no meaning, excessive scenery, etc.
6. Once this pruning step is complete for ALL categories, you can then arrange your neatly categorized piles into an archival-quality photo storage box. These often have separate sections inside that you can label according to category. For example, the section might be titled “Weddings” and each individual tab can then be labeled with the names of those people getting married.

 
And voila! Your project is complete! Depending on the size of your collection, you may whittle your collection down to just ONE storage box. One of my clients ended her project with three boxes that each held 2,400 photos. However, she is now able to open the boxes and clearly see photos from her travels, from family reunions, school reunions, etc.  And when her nieces and nephews come to visit, she is able to sit with them and share her life’s adventures with them in a meaningful way.
 
 *My grandmother passed away suddenly in May 2014 and like the cobbler with no shoes for her family, I never found the time to document her stories. I had strong intentions to have her select 20 of her favorite photos, document her stories about each of those photos and create a book of her memories. Alas, I lost my chance. I have to rely on the memories of the stories she told me, and to be honest, I don’t have a very robust memory. Born in 1923, she lived a fascinating life and I want my two children to know the substantive woman who was their great-grandmother. So if this article does nothing else, I hope it inspires you to start documenting your legacy both for your current family and future generations. Your STORY matters.

This week I read an article about a California couple whose camera bag was stolen while they were enjoying a day at Disneyland. In it were all the memory cards they owned filled with every last photo and video they'd taken since their baby girl was born. They are now pleading with the public via social media for those cards to be returned. This sad story got me thinking about our memories and how misguided many of us are about how to properly store and archive our photos.

First and most importantly, memory cards aren't ideal for long-term storage of your photos. They're small, easily lost and/or stolen and are more fragile than, say, an external hard drive. If you DO choose to use them as long-term storage and they are the ONLY place you have your photos, then by all means, store them some place secure, like an in-home fire-proof safe or in a bank deposit box. Carrying around and traveling with your entire photo collection of your first born baby in your camera bag is a disaster waiting to happen. And in this couple's case, DID happen.

Second, and I've written about it before, your photos need to be backed up in several locations. For instance, an external hard drive at home, an external hard drive at a friend or neighbor's home, prints of your 5-star photos and somewhere in the cloud. This means that if your hard drive crashes or your house burns down, you'll always have another copy of your photos accessible elsewhere. All too often, when disaster strikes, we see on the news that the main possession people come back to find are their photos and the memories and comfort they provide.

Third, so many of us harbor stress and anxiety around losing our photos, yet don't take the proper steps to back them up. It's not rocket science and does take a little effort, but once you have a solid back-up system in place, you can rest easy knowing that you'll never lose all those precious memories. And removing even one source of stress in our lives can make a HUGE difference!

It's only mid-October and already I'm swimming in my daughter's Kindergarden art projects. I'd imagine any of you with school-age children are in the same boat. I also imagine there are some of you who aren't overly sentimental and are comfortable tossing them away after a while. But for most of us, we want to hold on to every bit & piece of our children's childhoods, for them to look back on as they grow older, maybe even to show their OWN children some day. But if we were to actually keep every piece of paper and project they bring home over their school years, we'd need to rent a storage unit to store it all. So I'm here with a helpful tip for you. Design and print a book of your child's art. I did this for my daughter's preschool years and am preparing to create another of her more recent artwork. 

It's actually a quite simple process. Gather all the artwork you deem special, AKA "Keepers," then either scan if small enough, or photograph if larger and/or three-dimensional. Upload all the images to a folder on your computer (I called mine "Caitlin's Art") then upload them to your favorite digital photo book site. For the one pictured here, I used Shutterfly's 12x12 size with lay flat pages. You can decide to arrange your book chronologically, by season or school year (you can combine several years as I did) or you can arrange by category. Perhaps they had phase of drawing rainbows, self-portraits, etc. You can group those images all together to visually SEE the progression of their skills. You can leave the book as simple as images alone, or provide captions when necessary to explain a project. Or even have your child tell you a story about the image and include the entire text on the following page.

Once your book is completed, ordered and received, your child will LOVE "reading" it with you. They will feel a sense of pride that you cared enough about their art to turn it into a book, which will in turn increase their self-confidence. As they grow, they will also enjoy being able to pull a book down off the shelf that houses their art in one simple package vs. digging through bins and bins of original art. Once you feel comfortable that your artwork images are backed up in several locations, you can take that final step of throwing away the originals. Maybe not ALL of them, but enough that your house isn't overflowing with children's artwork.

If you've enjoyed reading my #FeelGoodBlogging challenge posts so far, I invite you to sign up for my monthly newsletter subscription list. Once you join, you'll receive access to my exclusive ABC's of Photo Organizing video!

For Day 4 of Alex Beadon's #FeelGoodBlogging challenge, she's taking a page out of one of my favorite magazines, US Weekly. Each month there's one celebrity sharing 25 things you didn't know about them. Thankfully, Alex only asked us to share 10. Hope you enjoy getting to know your friendly photo organizer a little better! Feel free to comment below and tell me if we have anything in common! :)

We all lead busy lives… so busy that even the things we enjoy the most get put off not just by days, but possibly by months, maybe even years. And like many of my clients, I am very often too busy to ENJOY my photos. But 2014 is the year we’re changing all that, right???

I am embarrassed to say that in the summer of 2013, I ordered a phenomenal new photo product called WeMontage, a customized, removable photo collage wallpaper. I was SO excited, I couldn’t WAIT for the package to arrive. At the time, the smallest size you could order was a 4’ x 6’ panel, so that’s what I ordered. And even though I’d marked out the dimensions on my wall, it wasn’t until the package arrived that I realized just how large that really is. But back to my embarrassment. So my beautiful WeMontage wallpaper arrived in August 2013 and can you guess when we got around to hanging it? January. 2014. Seriously. When I think about it, that’s just ridiculous. But the truth is, it was TOTALLY worth the wait. I now have this stunning collage of my family with larger-than-life photos proudly displayed on a wall that is the focal point for guests entering my home. I have received so many compliments on the product and it has inspired me to share my ideas for its application with practically everyone I meet.

Throughout the entire process, I have gotten to know WeMontage’s owner, James Oliver, and he is simply fabulous. He is so pumped about his product and will bend over backwards to please his clients. He is uber-responsive and so very helpful every step of the way. He listened and responded to feedback from clients wishing for smaller sizes and now offers a 2' x 3' poster-size, too. I envision his product in yoga studios with images of serene landscapes, in gymnastics facilities with images of all the young team gymnasts, in dorm rooms (what a great graduation gift!), in schools, in offices, and of course, in our homes.

So if you’re looking for a creative, one-of-a-kind way to display photos in your home or business, check out WeMontage today. If you'd like assistance creating your own, I would be thrilled to help and can offer you 10% off the retail price through the month of February. Contact me today and let’s get started helping YOU enjoy YOUR photos again this year!

I can hardly believe it myself, but Christmas is officially less than 100 days away! That means it’s definitely not too early to start thinking about how you’d like to incorporate your photos into amazing and unique holidays gifts for all your loved ones.

Here are 15 of my favorite photo gifts (in no particular order) and why I love them:

1) Digital Photo Books: The classic, can’t-go-wrong gift that your loved ones will cherish for years to come. There are so many publishers to choose from, but you won’t go wrong with either of my favorites: Shutterfly and My Publisher. My Publisher has a lovely, simple Pocket-sized book at a great price point that is perfect for sharing your family’s photos with grandparents and other family friends.

2) Digital Photo Slideshows: Easily my favorite photo product because pairing your photos to music never fails to pack an emotional punch. I love to make slideshows for not only major events like milestone birthdays, memorials and vacations, but also of day-to-day events, like an afternoon at the pool or a month’s worth of photos of my children. Regardless of the theme you choose, seeing your photos in this format will ramp up the emotional impact and is likely to bring the viewer to tears (in a good way!)   You can make free slideshows with Smilebox and Magisto to name a few.

3) Photo Calendars: It all started with one calendar gifted to my mom years ago... now it is a yearly tradition that both my mom and mother-in-law have come to expect. It’s the photo gift that keeps on giving each and every month of the year. I love that not only can you design the top half, but you can also personalize the bottom half with photos added to the date squares to mark special events like birthdays. And since I’m already making one for the family, I always order an extra copy for myself. I just love looking at each month’s photos and seeing how much my children have grown from that point a year ago. Shutterfly is my personal favorite for calendars.

4) Wall Decor: You take a million pictures. Of course, you want to ENJOY them. So why not hang your favorites on your walls? The old school way would have been to print an enlargement, frame it and hang it up. But now, you can have your photo printed onto an actual canvas to hang on your wall. Canvas wall art is a booming business these days. I see Groupon and Living Social deals for them all the time. Just beware you sometimes get what you pay for. Oftentimes the canvas is stretched across a wood frame that will start to sag with time. Also, the corners can often look messy. If this bothers you, you can work with me to purchase an Artsy Couture canvas, whose quality is bar none. Originally designed for professional photographers to sell to their clients, I have partnered with them giving you the opportunity to use your own PERSONAL photos on their professional-quality products. The product is made right here in the DC metro area, is stretched across a solid piece of wood (so sagging can never occur) and they’re known for the tightest corners in the industry. Artsy Couture also offers Couture Gallery Blocks. These products are also handmade locally and consist of a photo laminated over a solid wood box. They are stunning, to say the least, and are one of the higher-end gifts for this holiday season. WeMontage is a newcomer on the photo decor scene, but one of the most exciting that I know: removable photo wallpaper!!! Just select 12-15 of your favorite photos and you'll receive a stunning sheet of wallpaper to hang. Sizes start at a 2' x 3' poster and go up from there. They can even be customized to your space. So go pick of few of your best shots from the year and display them proudly in your home. If you'd like even more suggestions on how to use photos in your home decor and/or other products available, don't hesitate to contact me any time!

5) Smartphone and Tablet Cases: Almost every one of us owns either a Smartphone or a tablet and have them with us 99.9% of the time. A photo case is an excellent way to keep your favorite photo(s) with you at all times, easily bringing a smile to your face in the midst of a hectic day.

6) Coffee Mugs: Although I’m not a coffee drinker, many in my family are, and they have LOVED the personalized coffee mugs I’ve gifted them through the years. What grandparent wouldn’t want to start the day seeing the smiling faces of their grandkids? What parent wouldn’t love to see the smiling face of their child as they perform their daily grind in the office? Coffee mugs are affordable and make a great gift for the coffee or tea drinker in your life.

7) Magnets: Even more affordable than mugs, magnets are a fabulous way to keep your photos front and center in your home. Select a few of your best photos, design a handful of magnets and voila! Your refrigerator becomes a photo gallery for your family and friends to enjoy.

8) Water Bottles: I don’t know about you, but I carry a water bottle with me everywhere I go. Did you know you can put one of your favorite photos on a stainless steel bottle, creating a unique and eco-friendly gift?

9) Placemats: I’ve shopped for placemats recently and have been sorely disappointed. The selection isn’t great and the prices seem high. A better option would be to design my own placemats that display my photos. How about one for each family member for their special spot at the table? These are also great items for events such as weddings and milestone birthdays. Afterwards, they become a unique party favor for the guests to bring home.

10) Coasters: I think coasters make a great gift because it’s an item people don’t often purchase for themselves and it’s an unexpected place to see a personal photo displayed. You can get them in the standard hardboard version or the upgraded porcelain version that comes complete with a wrought iron stand.

11) Pillowcase & Throw Pillows: Who would have thought you could get a personalized photo pillowcase or throw pillow? Not me!!! I designed one for my daughter several years ago, featuring a photo of her precious Maya (a stuffed lamb she’s had since birth.) She has had the sweetest dreams ever since, resting her head upon her favorite lovey. There are so many ideas for gifting a photo pillowcase/pillow, including using a picture of a loved one who is deployed thereby keeping their memory close to the recipient’s heart while they’re away. I think this is one of the most unique photo gifts because very few people would be expecting one!

12) Photo Quilts and Blankets: Here's a great way to display your favorite photos without making a single hole in the wall: photo quilts and blankets! The quilts become a modern-day family heirloom and can be used either as a bedspread or as a wall hanging. The fleece blankets are super cozy for those cold winter nights and are almost always sprawled across our couch for guests to see.

13) Tree Ornaments: One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is decorating our tree. Unpacking and displaying all the ornaments we have collected through the years. When photos are included on your ornaments, they bring back so many great memories from year to year. So let’s not forget that one of the easiest (and, again, affordable) holiday gifts to give this year is a new ornament for their tree! My mom does a gift exchange with friends each year and has received so many beautiful ornaments for her tree. Why not make your friend a photo ornament memorializing good times spent together? Or spotlight the grandkids on a special ornament that the grandparents can proudly display to all their friends? A tree ornament can also make a special and unique gift for your children’s teachers, too! 

14) Scanning: A non-tangible gift, but an extremely important one, nonetheless. Give the gift of photo scanning to a loved one to assist them in getting their precious memories, be they on prints, slides, negatives or film, digitizing for lifelong preservation. Once these memories are digitized, a whole world opens up for the family to share and re-live those treasured family stories. I highly recommend using a reputable company, such as Fotobridge, to assist with this process. There are many companies looking to profit off your desire to protect your memories, but who, behind the scenes, ship your items to foreign shores where labor comes cheap. When you send your items to Fotobridge, located in New Jersey, that is the first and last stop on their journey. Fotobridge is family owned and operated and I've met them personally. They handle ALL their clients' materials with kid gloves from start to finish and their track record is impeccable. You absolutely can't go wrong with a gift certificate from Fotobridge to help aging parents preserve their legacies. And if the thought of gathering and packing up your photos is too overwhelming, I'd more than happy to facilitate your order!

15) Photo Organizing: Last but not least, consider giving the gift of photo organizing to a loved one. There are so many of us that are completely inundated not just with our digital photos, but with a lifetime of prints as well. A photo organizer can help downsize their collections and consolidate them from multiple boxes and bags into one or more clearly labeled and categorized archival-quality boxes (see Legacy Box in photo slideshow below) that will take up much less room than before. A photo organizer can also help get overwhelmed families back on track with photos that reside on multiple devices and never get enjoyed beyond the occasional Facebook or Instagram post. And most importantly, a photo organizer can work with you to develop a back up plan so that your precious memories are stored in multiple locations and can never be lost permanently to natural disasters or hard drive failures. The gift of photo organizing is a priceless one! Contact me to purchase gift certificates for your loved ones today!

I sure hope I’ve helped kickstart your holiday gift planning with some truly original ideas to get your photos off your computer and into both your life and your loved one’s lives! Enjoy the slideshow below and please feel free to comment on your favorite photo gifts; I’d love to hear your ideas! As always, if you need assistance with any of these items, don’t hesitate to contact me, the sooner the better, to ensure your gifts arrive on time this holiday season!

It seems hard to believe, but graduation season is just around the corner... and what better gift to give your graduate than a customized photo product that tells their story, either of their college years, of all their school years, or of their entire life.

Slideshows are a great way to share all their childhood memories at their graduation party. Maybe even throw in a few embarrassing ones to entertain the crowd! I know I have a few photos of my children in mind, already tucked away for that future opportunity... like the ones of my 1-year-old son wearing his older sister's tutus and tiaras. Enjoy these tips from Fotobridge on how to digitize your photos to get them ready.

Another great gift that shows how much you care is a digital photo book that tells their life story. There are so many great photo book providers, including Artifact Uprising, My Publisher, Shutterfly, Picaboo, and Blurb, to name a few. This gift can ground them as they make their way in the world and can remind them of where they came from and of how many people love them.

And don't forget that, fingers crossed, they'll be moving in to their first home (and not back in to yours!) so they'll need some decorations. Canvas wall art depicting close friends or their travel adventures is another great gift idea. Artsy Couture's Couture Canvases are the BEST in the business and were previously available only to professional photographers. I'm thrilled to share that as a member of APPO, I can now provide these products to YOU using your OWN photos!

These days there are so many products to put photos on; the list is endless: Smartphone covers, iPad cases, jewelry, blankets, mugs, magnets, calendars, tote bags, coasters, etc. Do yourself a favor and end the quest for the perfect graduation gift by taking a retrospective look at your family's photo collection and designing a unique and truly priceless gift for your graduate. And, as always, if you like these ideas but have no clue where to start, I'm here to help!

I've been meaning to do this for my children for YEARS. I attempt to keep the multitude of toys organized by using these shoebox-size storage bins from Target. But I've never gotten around to actually labeling them with what's inside. Check out this blog post on how to use photos to label your children's toys. It might mean the difference between your toddler's room being a mess or being spotless!