1. Your files need to be in more than one place!
Nothing in this life is guaranteed to stay the way it once was. CD’s are easy to scratch, break, lose, etc. but, the same goes for prints, hard drives, and even online. So NEVER EVER rely on one source to keep your images safe and sound.

2. Organize, Organize, Organize!
If your child’s 1st birthday pictures are spread out in seven folders on seven different CD’s and two different hard drives you’ll never find the ONE picture you want out of them. ORGANIZE! You will rarely remember exactly where that one picture you’re looking for is. Make sure your system (whatever, it may be) is easy to follow for YOU!

3. MAKE AN ALBUM/BOOK
My biggest suggestion is to  print your pictures in a book. Why do I say this? Well most people automatically organize their pictures to put in books. I personally like to make each book follow a certain occasion, child, event, etc so that I know exactly where to go for what picture. I also prefer books because they are WAY easier to store than prints. If printed well ( I suggest for important events you take your pictures to a professional to first photograph the event and then document it for you, it’ll last forever and you’ll LOVE it!) they will last forever.

4. Find a secondary storing device.
I have an external hard drive as well as an organize CD storage unit that houses my files. There are plenty of online resources for storage as well. Whatever you  use make sure it is easy FOR YOU! (otherwise you’ll end up back here drowning in the files that are EVERYWHERE)

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT leave your files sitting on CD’s unprinted and filed away! CD’s ALL go bad after a long time and files will get corrupted and become unusable. What does that mean? You’ve lost your image! It is gone and NEVER coming back…memory DELETED!

Good luck preserving those memories!
Heidi