How to Organize Your Digital Images

Consider this a Home Edit for your digital images. I’m all about snapping photos so you can remember all the good that you’re experiencing in life. But what good are those pictures if they just sit in some virtual junk drawer and are never looked at or used ever again? In this post we’re going to focus on how to organize your digital images.

There are so many cloud options for storing photos (you can check out my blog about storage options here) but today, I’m going to focus specifically on hard drives, whether they be external or internal. (Do I sound tech savvy yet?) When you upload photos to your computer or hard drive, it can be really tempting to simply upload everything into one generic “Photos” folder. This makes sense and honestly, that’s where my photos sit.

HOWEVER, clumping all your photos into one generic photo will only stress you out later. It’d be like if you walked into your closet and saw every single article of clothing you’ve ever owned. You’d be totally overwhelmed and not even know where to start. I don’t want you to feel that way when it comes to reliving your glory days! So here are the categories I use to organize my photos. Basically, I go from big to small.

1. Years

   Within my “Photos” folder, you’ll see a bunch of folders named various years. 2020, 2019 (which doesn’t have very much since that year kind of didn’t happen. #thankscovid), etc. alllllll the way back to my college years. Impressive, right? I love having the years because that helps me see a timeline of my life and how all the major moments fit together.

2. Months

   Within each year folder, I have folders for each month of that year. They’re simply labeled 1 - January, 2 - February, etc. You can label them with either the month name or just the number, this is my personal preference because I want them to be in chronological order. Most computers will automatically organize your folders and documents alphabetically by name. If yours doesn’t, you can set it up by going to the “view” option within the folder. Then click “sort” and then “sort by name” (or some variation of this). Feel free to google how to do this as well if your computer is a little different than mine! In order to keep my monthly folder chronological, this view set up is essential.

3. Events

   Obviously you may have more than one occasion worth documenting happen within each month. Here is where I keep all those different events organized. Within my month folder, I’ll have sub folders for the different things I want to remember. I’ll either list them by date and the event, or simply put a number in front of the event name so they stay in chronological order. Example being , within the April folder you’d see: “3 - Good Friday, 5 - Easter, 20 - Spring Break”

   Another option here is instead of doing sub folders within each month, just have your months and events folder listed in the year folder. So, for example, if you clicked on my “2020” photo folder, you’d see folders that say “2 - Valentine’s Day, 2 - Snowmen Building, 3 - St. Patrick’s Day, 3 - Anniversary”. How many levels of sub-foldering you do is up to you! Just do what feels right.

And there you have it! You may be thinking, “Jacquie, I have YEARS of photos. Where do I even start??” Girl, the digital clutter can seem sooooo daunting! I get it! Here’s my advice: start with the most recent and work your way backwards. If you start where you are, you’re more likely to feel like you have the freedom to experiment and find the organization that fits you best. If you go way back in the archives, you’re likely to get shell shocked and never try it again! So just start today and get those images in a place where you can adore them for years to come!