Welllll.... I did manage to get started on the task after taking the rest of the day away from it. I talked to DH too, which was helpful and he was supportive of organizing them in a more efficient manner- including the possibility of getting rid of the old albums.

Started this morning by quick sorting the box into piles based on time frames. Tried not to let emotions interfere. After looking at the old albums, I realize that they had been rearranged already and were out of order, as well as having quite a few blank spots. Add to that they are older and starting to yellow, so all the photos are out of those and into their proper piles now.

So far have sorted a few piles, getting rid of any duplicates and any photos that are just bad condition or that I've always hated. Putting them in labeled plastic bags temporarily as I go. I think it will require a bit of fine tuning and for now I'm pulling out the obvious and seeing what is left- from there I can go through them yet again, and cull them further. It is time consuming, but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Sort of thinking about going with photo storage boxes, where you have a bigger box that then holds a number of smaller boxes, which hold about 100 photos each. I like the idea of having the photos in that type of system, where you can pull them out and look at them by category if you actually do want to look at them, but it will depend on how many photos we are left with in the end, and if the boxes will be compact enough to make that a good solution.

DH also offered to scan some into the computer. Might end up doing that too- not sure if we'd need the smaller organizing boxes if we just did that. Oh well, just thinking out loud now. If anybody here has done such a thing, I'm still listening.

OK, now this topic can start moving down the list :)

It sounds like you have made wonderful progress! Photos are really so tough - memories, good or bad, can really make it a daunting task. Definitely a great idea getting rid of blurry photos, duplicates and any that spark unhappy feelings - keeping photos that give you wonderful memories of experiences or people (even if the memory is sad) is the best way to go. Scheduling short blocks of time with enough of a break in between for when it gets really tough may help you get through the emotional parts. There are plenty of the type of photoboxes you are talking about available on Amazon. Definitely scan any first so you don't end up with a too large box. Another thing you can do is have some scanned and made into photobooks for display if you have particularly special photos and the photos are going yellow etc. and need to be thrown away. You can do this yourself online for a reasonable cost. The thing I love most about your post is that you are maintaining a limit for your photos, and then reducing it as much as you can. It keeps the clutter away! :) Best of luck with the rest of the process!

If you only have one shoebox... Buy one or two blank photo albums and pick the best photos and put these in there. Best means the most meaningful to you -- people you really appreciate, or if you are a photo hound, those with the best imagery. Or places that meant the most to you when you visited them. To be honest, people still do like paging through physical photo albums, as long as the photos just don't continue to have the same fore drop of the same people in the same pose each time around, in front of the same background.

Or scan the best, and save on line.

Thanks for the support and feedback :)

I got a lot done yesterday, but realize that it is going to take a lot longer than I initially thought it would. It's a matter of sorting, resorting, restacking, repurging--- repeatedly. It really is an editing and refining process. Since we aren't adding any/many more photos to our collection, I think it will be worth the trouble in the end.

Thanks m_madd, that's a good idea to scan a bunch, though it occurs that a lot of photos we will keep are ones I don't care to scan--- things like relative's weddings, or friend's kids, pics that I won't want to access much, but don't want to get rid of either. Many of my favorite photos are more recent ones, so they are already digital! Choosing which to scan will be another chapter of the project!

atermis_ma, I think I will go ahead and get a couple of small photo albums to keep some pictures easily accessible and better protected. We have a couple of 'brag book' type albums which are small and hold just 1 pic per page, but a total of about 3 dozen per book- maybe a couple of those would work, then they would also be easier to change up in time. That was the problem with the old albums we had--- took out old photos, put new ones in, stacked 3 in a compartment, they were a jumbled mess! And, haha, you hit on something I discovered yesterday after categorizing--- how many times did someone take 10 nearly identical (and not very good) pictures of something or someone? If it's good enough, we'll keep one, but it's amazing how often that happened. When the pictures were not organized together, I never realized it.

Thanks again. More updates later...

I suggest gathering all printed pictures in one place and sorting them by year (and if possible, by month). Once this is done, digitize (scan) them and DISCARD the prints. Not only the clutter will be greatly reduced, but your collection will be safe in 1/100th of the space. Also, in digital form, pictures can be enhanced and repaired. Whatever project you might wish to create with them, you can do. Having all your pictures in digital form, you can truly select what you want to display, the size, the format, etc. You can correct all imperfections, crop, and take care of all details you want to adapt before completing the project. Best thing is you know your collection is safe. This means when you feel like changing your gallery or display, you can discard those prints previously exposed. You always want to have a back up of your important documents in a very
safe place. I would include your collection of pictures along with the
most important documents! The digitizing process sounds monumental but many companies do that these days. If you are not comfortable with sending your pictures far away, deal locally with companies like Costco or Walmart. Also, there is the Association of Personal Photo Organizers that can help you!!! Check them out at http://www.appo.org/?page=aboutappo. There are also Professional Organizers that specialize in this (called Legacy Preservation). To avoid this situation in the future and rip all these benefits from your current pictures as well, include all those pictures stored in your phone or computer in your digital collection. I would start by organizing those first (by month and year) and from now on, try to sort and store them in their corresponding electronic file on a regular basis (like once a month?). Good luck and happy memories!