Are you deleting enough?

When I first started getting serious about memory keeping through photography (pre-scrapbooking for me), I saw how easy it was to be overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of digital photos. Yet, I trudged on for years, saving every single image on CDs, Zip disks (remember those?) and DVDs.

Then I figured out something important – my photos were becoming the same clutter that I had tried so hard to minimize in my home. My digital life was becoming as messy as my real one.

I decided to take charge of my images and started with one simple step. Coincidentally, this is the same step many of us take when trying to reduce clutter in our homes – we say no to bringing in excess stuff. With digital photos this meant immediately deleting extraneous or poor images before they begin to pile up.

With aggressive paring down upon each import, I am able to prevent my photo library from being unmanageable. I no longer have to make hard choices later, when volume can lead to indecision. I had let go of the guilt of thinking I might need a photo someday and chosen to embrace the very best snapshots as symbols of my life’s story.

Do you need to delete more? If so, you might be interested in some of these previous Simple Scrapper posts on digital decluttering.

• And I repeat, please hit delete
• Strategies for better photo organization
• 9 ways to find more hard drive space
• Spring clean your routines with five simple steps
• 7 spring cleaning tips for scrappers
• How to spring clean your photo library
• Are you a digital clutterbug?
• 10 secrets for stash-busting magic
• Clutter and the true price of freebies