Everyone has photos. According to Saveyourphotos.org we took 1.2 Trillion photos in 2017. How to store photos is a big organizing challenge for a lot of  people. Christmas and Holiday photo cards add to this dilemma; if you send them and/or keep the ones sent to you. I consider my annual Christmas photo card and letter a tradition.

Photos are keepsakes worth saving. If you have sent Holiday photo cards for years, or if you plan to start this year, you can create a scrapbook of all your photo cards and letters. Depending on how  ambitious you are you can add a few of your favorite Holiday photos for each year. I love this idea and plan to do it. Do you have a photo project you have been dreaming of doing? Why not now?
Jiffy Page, owner of Pixorium, a storytelling company, based out of Atlanta shares these 5 Organizing Tips for anyone with photo memorabilia.

1. How precious are photos to you?
2. What would you like to do with your photos at some point? If you currently have no interest in organizing them at this time Jiffy, suggests doing the following.
   • If you don’t want to do anything now then move your photos out of the attic, basement, garage or barn and into your house. Photographic images of all types should be kept in a dark location with stable humidity and temperature. A perfect spot would be a closet inside the house, away from bathroom or laundry pipes.
   • Store in big clear, clean zip-top bags. If you have loose photo prints or slides, put them in clear plastic bags. Stack the bags carefully on top of each other in a box. This will keep things flat and protected from water damage. Photo albums are typically best left intact as they protect the photos from light and keep them flat. Securely stack albums. Consider storing all photo memorabilia in plastic bags to protect them from water damage.
   • Store everything off the floor
3. If you do want to do something with your photos here are a few ideas:
   • Consider sharing them
   • Sort tangible photos and give each person the ones you think they would like
   • Digitize the photos and give each person a digital copy. The additional benefit of digitizing (scanning) is there are multiple copies in case of loss or damage to the original, tangible image.
   • Create something fun with the photos - note cards, playing cards, digital frame with photos, a disc of the photos, a book, a video
4. Are you having a family gathering for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah or other Holiday gathering? Enlist the family’s aid in sorting the photos. It can be a fun and meaningful activity for a multi-generational group to do together. Also, suggest they record the sorting session to capture the inevitable storytelling.
5. Finally, recommend spending the money to digitize the memorabilia. Start with the photos you would be most devastated to lose --- typically those are the photos in frames displayed in the home. Digital photos mean easy sharing and the peace of mind of knowing those memories won’t be easily lost.

As I mentioned earlier in this blog post one fun photo activity is creating a scrapbook of Holiday Cards that you have sent each year. You can make a digital or paper scrapbook of other special memories like birthdays, vacations, holidays, or anything unique to you and your family. Check out Shutterfly,and MPIX for a variety of interesting and unique gifts that you can make and give with your photos.
I think the most important thing you can do with your photos is to view them with friends and family. If you are more likely to do that online, in a scrapbook, or in a photo box….great!  Get started, dig some out and begin enjoying all the photos you have taken through the years. Need help? We organize photos (paper and digital). We can help you get started, create a plan,  and/or organize your collections to completion.

Happy Photo Organizing,

​Adele Gross
Simple Solution Organizing LLC
706-714-1314

All About Bills – 3 Things you can do now to Lower Your Bills

Regardless of your income or net worth of your Estate; do you really want to pay AT&T more than you need to? When is the last time you reviewed your bills? It’s really important. I have helped many of my clients save hundreds of dollars on their bills.

Many of them were paying too much for a service. Here is one example that I found with multiple clients. They were not on a fixed rate plan for Gas. They were on a variable rate plan, which can be up to 100% higher than a fixed rate plan. A fixed rate consists of a contract for a year. If you break the contract there is a fee. Companies offer this so you won’t switch to a competitor during a 12 month cycle.

Some of our clients were paying for the same service with multiple companies. You might be asking yourself, “how is that possible?” Well, if you use different companies for phone and internet service; it’s not as hard as you think. One client was paying for long distance with 2 different providers and another client had paid for internet service with 2 providers. These types of bills are difficult to decipher, especially for the Elderly. Here is an article from “U.S. News and World Report” that addresses this.

Review your Credit Card Statements with a fine tooth comb. You may have signed up for a service that Automatically Renews Itself, year after year. This is a trend that is here to stay. Here are a few companies that regularly do this: Subscription type companies like Angie’s List, Magazines and Newsletters, Online companies such as Netflix and Amazon Prime will bill you monthly until you cancel the service. Travel discount programs and many more.

Start reviewing your bills (if you don’t already) you may be very surprised at what you find.
Simple Solution Organizing LLC offers this service. We call it our “Bills Reviewed” service.
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• We meet with you at your home
• We help you gather all your bills (find them); if they are not readily available
• Interview you to determine which services are important and which ones are not
• Call your Service Providers on behalf of you (if requested). Phone, Internet, TV, Cable and Power Companies to determine what you are paying for and make adjustments if necessary.
• We can recommend and implement systems to keep your bills organized 
• We can help you organize your office.

Please visit our Financial Organizing page on our website for more information.
 
Adele Tusson-Gross
Simple Solution Organizing
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