Got a lot of photos? Do you want to be able to enjoy your pictures instead of having to search and search to find your favourites? Does the thought of tackling your photo collection seem so overwhelming that you keep putting it off? Me too!
That's why this month I'm hosting the 31 Day Photo Decluttering Challenge! Each day I'll share tips to help you declutter your photo collection so you can really treasure and enjoy all the best ones. And I'll share my progress as I declutter my photos along with you :)
Today's tip is to declutter pictures that bring back bad memories.
Today's Photo Decluttering Tip - Declutter Pics That Bring Back Bad Memories
This may be a little harder for some people than some of the easier decluttering you've been doing so far this month. But we've all got pictures that bring us happy memories. Instead they remind us of hard times or negative people. Here are some examples:
- Illness or excessive weight gain
- Ex boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses/significant others
- Family members' or friends' exes
- Friends who were not healthy relationships for you
- Former co-workers, colleagues, or bosses that you didn't get along with
- Toxic family members
- Places where negative things happened (e.g. a home you were abused in)
It's tempting to hold onto these pictures because they were likely fairly significant people or events in our lives. But if you are filled with negative emotions when you see those pictures, why keep them? You've moved on in your life. Let your photo collection move on too.
Keep photos that bring you positive feelings and happy memories. Declutter the rest. You won't miss them. Or you certainly won't need photos to remind you of those people, events or places. It's time to let them go. Give yourself permission to move forward and let go of those negative reminders from your past. You can do this. :)
My Photo Decluttering Progress
I'm still busy celebrating Thanksgiving here so I haven't decluttered any photos again. I will get back to it soon.
Your Turn!
Focus today on letting go of those pictures that bring you negative feelings or bring back bad memories. You may even want to burn them... it can be cathartic.
If you aren't quite sure you can completely let go of these pictures, at least separate them from the rest of your photo collection. Put them in a box and label them with today's date. Set yourself a time frame (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, whatever you think is best) and then gear yourself up for letting them go at that point.
How many negative pictures can you declutter? What other kinds of pictures fall into the "less than happy memories" category?
If you aren't quite sure you can completely let go of these pictures, at least separate them from the rest of your photo collection. Put them in a box and label them with today's date. Set yourself a time frame (3 months, 6 months, 1 year, whatever you think is best) and then gear yourself up for letting them go at that point.
How many negative pictures can you declutter? What other kinds of pictures fall into the "less than happy memories" category?
If you'd like more decluttering ideas, you can check out my Decluttering/Purging Tips & Ideas board on Pinterest.
How are you doing in the 31 Day Photo Decluttering Challenge so far? How do you think today's tip will help you? What photos are you decluttering today?
Happy decluttering and organizing!
Here are the rest of the posts in this challenge:
