Some of you have been internet friends for a long time and might remember that I used to scrapbook a ton. LIKE A TON. And now, I don't. LIKE AT ALL.
This is because (I realized five years ago), I enjoyed the creative outlet of making stuff with photos and paper more than I liked the memory keeping aspect. As my hobbies and interests have shifted, I now have different ways to fill myself creatively (hello, knitting and sewing).
But I do still take photos! I do still love to reflect on memories! Here are some of the tools and methods that currently work best for me.
1 Second Everyday | this is an app that helps you document a video snippet daily. I have done this for full years (see one here) as well as trips (see one here). I took a break the past two years but am coming at the project with renewed energy in 2020. (It's SO FUN to start again.)
5 Year Journal | in late August of last year I decided to start a 5 year journal. It has a page a day and five spaces to fill in what happened. The goal, of course, is that you'll fill it all up and be able to eventually look back at 5 years of January 14ths. I keep mine by my bed and love the simple ritual of writing a sentence or two down each night. So far it holds cute things the girls' said, work updates, life events, what we ate for dinner, ideas I just had... it's all over the map.
framed photos | I have tons of framed family photos. I love larger scale projects and (of course) hanging frames in a grid. Here is a tutorial for my most recent project that hangs in our dining room.
Instagram | Instagram has become a big part of my work for sure. BUT ALSO it's a documentation tool. I use a variety of personal hashtags to "collect" photos of similar things over the years like projects (#ejbcsews #ejbcknits), events (#cripesdodisney #cripechristmas), my kids (#ellerieatfive, #piperat2) and truly, on and on and on. I love seeing them all together so much. And eventually I have plans to print books by hashtag theme which I think will be fun. I also have private accounts for both of my girls. This is a spot for me to share more photos plus things they said, artwork, spelling tests, funny videos, etc. Again, someday I plan to just print both accounts as books and give them the handles if they want them.
And that's it. HA! Depending on your relationship to memory keeping this is an absurdly large amount of documentation or sorely inadequate.
One of these tools might be great for you. All of these tools plus 45 more might be great for you. The key is for you. The key is trying to find hobbies and methods that don't feel like chores. The key is remembering that whenever you decide to start is perfect.
You are not behind. You haven't missed anything. You can start today! You can stop today. You can take a six year break and then start again!
