What a Week in the Life Says About You

This week, like thousands of other memory keepers, I’m participating in Week in the Life with Ali Edwards. It’s a 7-day personal documentary project to capture everyday life in words and photos. This is my 6th time.

Each year my approach is a little different; but of course, I keep it simple. Most often I’ve created photo collages. One year I did a photo book. This year I’m using 8″x12″ Project Life pages (Design B, cut down).

I love the challenge of seeing our days in detail, noticing all the little stuff that makes up our life. What I love most though is how Week in the Life becomes an intentional effort to document my place in that life.

With regular scrapbook layouts and Project Life pages, I include a lot of details about my family. Aside from a few selfies and shots of my food, however, I don’t record a ton of personal details. Yes, the stories are from my perspective, but a majority are not about me.

I think this is pretty typical of scrapbookers. It can be harder to get yourself in the picture vs. taking another cute shot of your kid. However, from your photo choices to what is captured in them, Week in the Life creates a natural window into what makes you tick.

In just a few days of participation I’ve noticed that:

• I wear cardigans near-daily.
• Coffee and Diet Coke are essential.
• Work is constant, but good.
• I enjoy food (a lot).
• Life is very full.

Week in the Life helps me capture who I am and what I’m all about right now. I love that.

I also love how this project adds to your body of work, your record of life, in a personal and purposeful way. I rarely feel that sense of being behind because of participating in this project—and because of my efforts to intentionally tell my growing-up story as the other bookend.

In 2013 I created an album to document the first 31 years of my life, from my birth to my daughter’s. Along the way I captured the process in photos and videos so that I could share it with you.

If you would like to a more complete personal record, I’m excited to announce that my Before Your Story workshop is now open for registration. This 6-week class will help you document your birth-to-adulthood story with ease, complementing the dedication you give to recording today with stories from before.

The class begins September 17 right here at Simple Scrapper. Visit this page for workshop details, plus save $20 by registering before 9/1.