Now onto a different kind of paper 📷

Oy, there’s more …

“Most people don’t take snapshots of the little things: the used Band-Aid, the guy at the gas station, the wasp on the Jell-O, but these are the things that make up the true picture of our lives. People don't take pictures of these things.” -One Hour Photo

I almost quoted Michael Corleone from The Godfather Part III because when it comes to purging paper clutter “just when I thought I was out …” you know the rest. But that was a bit too on the nose so I went with a more topic-fitting quote from One Hour Photo. Granted, it’s a creepy movie featuring a creepy character (an excellent, underrated performance by the late great Robin Williams) but as I’m sitting in a pile of photographs, it seemed appropriate.

A few months ago, I boasted the cross-generational advantages of being a Gen Xer. Today, I’m going to highlight one big disadvantage when it comes to decluttering: even more paper clutter but not like last week’s kind. We’re talking specifically about a very tricky type where each one is “worth a thousand words.” I grew up with a ton of photographs documenting every stage of my life from birth to grad school and beyond. If my life were a movie, the photos showcase a huge cast list: friends from across the years, family members, and a roster of background extras that would give Central Casting a run for its money. While the last two decades have mostly been documented by digital cameras and smartphones, the majority of my photo life has been in print.

As I’ve been purging and decluttering, I’ve discovered that photos have a way of finding themselves into every nook and cranny of our homes, offices, and even our garages. Over the past several months, I have unearthed albums of various shapes and sizes, envelopes in drawers, and boxes galore; all stuffed to the gills with prints. If photos could come to life like the toys in Toy Story, I’d be run out of house and office with a population the size of a small country.

So now I turn my attention to sorting through a very different kind of paper; one that requires combining the best of tech with a purging process I’ve become quite accustomed addicted to.

-John

Moving Forward

Catch this week’s episode any prior week’s episode on Spotify.

Moving Forward is also available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, CastBox, Pocket Casts, Spotify for Podcasters (formerly Anchor), and Audible.

Some things I learned this week:

• The library is truly a wondrous place for finding solutions to big challenges.

• I really enjoyed my first Agatha Christie novel and can’t for the life of me understand why it took me so long to read one.

• I completely missed the mark on Memorial Day weekend; mistakenly believing it to be this weekend.

Check out the most recent episodes of Moving Forward:

• MF 470 : Inspiring individuals: Dr. Lauren Zimski (mid-season finale)

• MF 469 : Inspiring individuals: Angelo Spenillo 🎸

Hacks

Scan and go

I’m onto the next phase of my decluttering journey, which involves a different kind of paper: print photographs. Photos are extremely tricky as they represent more than just postcard sized pieces of paper. As the adage goes they are a “thousand words” of important memories and moments. So purging them isn’t as simple as tossing them out. These snapshots (pun intended) are currently the closest thing we have to to time travel. You don’t need a Harry Potter potion or suped up Delorean to relive your school dayz, trips abroad, breezy summer romances, and the many wonderful Kodak moments you’ve shared with friends, family, and loved ones; especially those who are no longer here today. Photos tell a story of who we are and where we came from. They also allow us to reminisce and wax nostalgic over simpler times.

As a practical matter, I can no longer keep all of the prints I’ve accumulated as they take up a closet’s worth of space. Yet, I can’t just throw them out either. The solution is a paradox of being both easy and difficult at the same time: scan and digitize the prints, then discard the originals. While seemingly straight forward, it’s a real problem of scalability. While digitizing a small number of photos is easy to do on any smartphone, it’s too time consuming and inefficient when they number in the hundreds or thousands.

Here’s where the library once again becomes a steadfast partner in my decluttering journey. I saw a Facebook post a few months ago advertising a nearby branch with a preservation station and equipment for digitizing media. Specific to photos, they have a scanner that allows you to offload digital copies onto an external hard, cloud, or USB thumb drive. I saved the post, resharing it to my own wall (one of my simple hacks for using Facebook as a reminder tool) and decided to make photos my next decluttering category. As I finished purging the last box of documents last weekend, I went back to the post and discovered that I could book three hours at a time.

As I’m writing this, I have three a hour appointment later this morning with a large box of photos, and a high capacity USB drive ready to go.

The thing about photos is that I will inevitably want to keep some in physical format. But I know that I’ll purge most of the prints once they are digitized. This is where the next shredding event comes into play (cue that Godfather III quote).

I’ll report back next week but in the meantime, here’s my photo (print) purging hack in a nutshell:

1. Collate all of your photos into one spot, including boxes, envelopes, albums.

2. See if your library has a digitizing station so you can convert your prints into digital versions.

   • You can also find businesses and services that will do this for a fee.

   • Or you can DIY - I recommend invest in a high capacity, high speed scanner (affiliate paid link).

3. Be sure you have a high capacity storage unit or cloud service to house your digitized files.

4. Once you’ve digitized your prints, separate the ones you want to keep in physical form from the ones you want to discard.

5. Since photos may contain sensitive and personal information, dispose of them as you would important documents. Look for community shredding events in your neighborhood. As I covered last week, I recommend ones sponsored by the BBB or your local library. Condo associations often host them too.

6. Remember, arrive early. Shredding events are extremely popular.

7. Reorganize your leftover physical prints into albums or frames. Try not to keep any hidden in boxes or envelopes.

Available now at my bookstore on Pangobooks

Perfect beach reading or for the Fourth of July, which is just around the corner 😳

Quirky reads 📚

Speaking of beach reads, here are some titles I’ve been reading lately.

[Affiliate disclosure: these are affiliate links to Amazon through which I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.]

• The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (****)

• Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver (****)

• Poor Charlie’s Almanac: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger by Charles T. Munger (****)

Follow me on Goodreads for book recommendations and to see what else I’m reading.

Upcoming

Summer is around the corner and so is my next writing and self-publishing class!

Upcoming

Learn how to declutter your closet and drawers while starting a side business at the same time!

Resources

Teach a man to fish, you know the rest (if you don’t, check these out).

• Book a coaching call with me on Clarity.

• Follow me on Goodreads for book recommendations.

• Check out one of my favorite daily newsletters Morning Brew (affiliate referral link).

Books

I wrote most of these so spruce up your home library and look smart in the process.

• The Poshmark Guide for Individuals and Small Businesses (Paperback, Kindle, Audible) 

• The Poshmark Guide for Individuals and Small Businesses (Apple audiobooks)

• The Poshmark Journal for Individuals and Small Businesses

• The Corporate Cliches Adult Coloring Book

• I Am a Professional Metalhead (audiobook) (Audible affiliate link) written by Angelo Spenillo, narrated by John Lim

Support the newsletter and podcast

“What are you selling?!?” -actual quote from a b-school classmate

• Books! Check out my used bookstore on Pangobooks.

• Try out Audible (affiliate paid link).

• Try out Amazon Prime (affiliate paid link)

Affiliate disclosure

Note: Links to Amazon and Audible products are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.