How would you like to:

ORGANIZE -> Put your hands on a specific photograph in minutes...without tearing apart your closet or attic.

PRESERVE -> Extend the life of your treasured family photographs, books, letters and other heirlooms (gowns, quilts, paintings)...and stop worrying about whether you're taking proper care of them or not.

WRITE -> Add real value to the historical materials you donate to future generations by writing down the stories behind your photos. I teach a simple writing method specifically designed for people who think they can't write. If that sounds like you, I'm here to tell you it's easier and more enjoyable than you might imagine. This is not about winning writing awards. This is about using your natural storytelling voice to...well, to tell the stories of your life. Nobody else can do this for you.

SCAN -> Create a digital archive of your most treasured prints, slides and film. Bring those vintage beauties into the 21st Century where it's easy-peasy to share them with family and friends. Best of all, I'm going to steer you away from the common mistakes people make when they scan photos.

So if you've been struggling with how to preserve your family treasures -- plus the stories behind them -- and you're ready to transform your photo chaos into a collection you'll be proud to show off, then keep reading, because I have just the solution you need.

Joy of Organizing Photos E-COURSE
An entire distance learning workshop, pre-recorded and ready for downloading
right away on the Members Only part of my website.

Hiya! I'm Sally Jacobs, The Practical Archivist.

Ever since I began my training as an archivist, I've been giving friends and family advice on how to organize and preserve photographs and other treasures like letters, family bibles and wedding gowns.

I'm pretty much a hopeless geek on the topic, as anyone who knows me will tell you. Especially the photographs. I joke that I've never met an antique photo I didn't like, but it's not actually a joke.

In addition to my Master's in Library Science with a Specialization in Archives Management I've also worked as an archivist for over 15 years, including stints at the Library of Congress Prints and Photos Division, the Wisconsin Historical Society Archives, and American Girl.

For the past seven years, I've been teaching in-person workshops at genealogical societies, DAR luncheons, public libraries and even one International Harvester tractor collector convention. I've taught folks how to preserve and purge their photographs, how to scan them properly and how to write the stories behind them. The one thing in common about all of those classes was how much I loved doing it. This is an amusing turn of events considering that I went to library school because I didn't want to use my History BA to teach history. But you're not here to for reminiscing, are you? You're here because you want to learn more about what's included in my Joy of Organizing Photos program, and whether it's got the information you need to deal with all those photos you've inherited over the years.

Joy of Organizing Photos ~ E-Course Program Details

My Joy of Organizing Photos program is divided into four modules:

ORGANIZE
PRESERVE
WRITE
SCAN

For each modules, the following is ready for immediate download on the Members Only website:

MP3 recordings of the telephone classes, each one is 60 minutes of me teaching plus 30 minutes of Q&A.
Transcripts of follow-up web chats, all Q&A, each one was an hour long.
Also waiting for you are several Fabulous! Bonus! Gifts! But I'm getting ahead of myself.

What's in each of the four modules:

Preservation 101: All the basics of how to handle and store your family treasures so they last as long as possible. You'll learn the best room to store your treasures and the best boxes to use for housing. Lower budget options are outlined, too.

Organizing, or How to De-Clutter, Re-House and Arrange Photos: We'll go into detail about various arrangement methods as well as the traps to avoid. My philosophy is KISS (keep it simple, silly). This is also the class where I'll share tips for how to succeed when tackling a large project. I'll also give you the neat-o coolio matrix tool I created to help you visualize the best place for you to start.

Writing Down the Stories Behind Your Photos: The motto for this class is "The Shortest Pencil Is Better Than The Longest Memory." It's based on Denis Ledoux's PhotoScribe method, which is the easiest -- and funnest! -- way to get your story written down. Even if you're convinced no one will want to read what you write. This class includes live writing time, so you'll need to have some photographs as well as something to write with.

How to Scan Photos Correctly: Scanning is great because it allows us to share photographs and repair damage digitally. I encourage you to scan your most precious images. However, there are some risks involved as well as some common missteps you really should avoid. You'll thank me, I promise.

Did I Mention That It's Going To Be Fun?
Because I Wasn't Kidding About the "Joy" Part

Everybody knows the more enjoyable you can make a task -- especially a repetitive task -- the more likely it is to be completed. Spoonful of sugar and all that. Tut-tut.

Here are just a few of the joys you will encounter as you sort and select photos, place them in envelopes, write down the stories behind them, etc:

The Joy of De-cluttering
The Joy of Order from Chaos
The Joy of Preserving
The Joy of Scanning
The Joy of Reminiscing
The Joy of Reflecting

Listen, I know you probably dread big organizing projects.

How do I know?

Am I psychic or something?

Er, no. It's just that everyone feels this way. Unless they have a plan, a map of where they're going, a guide plus access to earlier students questions plus my answers. Which is precisely what I'm offering you.

Get the e-course for a fraction of the price of the live class!

Yours now for only $25

That's more than 6 hours of lessons and follow-up Q&A, plus transcripts from 4 web chats. All this pre-recorded content is ready right now for you to download.

Note: This is a download-only digital product, which means there are no shipping & handling costs added to your total. [That's zero dollars!] And unlike the storage kits I sell each October, this all-digital product is available for purchase outside the United States.

P.S. I want you to think of all your pre-digital photographs as what we archivists call a "closed collection" -- meaning it isn't being added to anymore. Organize it once and you are done. Listen, if you're an empty nester who also happens to be retired, you could use the method I teach you to get it done... forever.

P.P.S. I keep forgetting to tell you that the Members Only download page also has Fabulous! Bonus! Gifts! Including a 64-page Guide to Collections Care from archival supplier Gaylord, plus two Practical Archivist radio shows I did on WORT-FM, plus two PDF booklets; one with tips on beating procrastination and the other with ideas for how to combine photos and text in a visually appealing way.