Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Mama please take my kodachrome away

Have you ever felt so totally and completely overwhelmed by a task that you think about it almost 24/7 but you don't actually do anything about it 24/7? Well that is where I am with my scrapbooking/photography. Holy moly I am the queen of procrastination when it comes to sorting, filing, copying, and scrapbooking my most recent photos. And I am using the term 'recent' very very loosely. I mean recent may refer to photos we took in NYC over Christmas and it may also refer to photos we took in Athens Greece in 2007. And it may possibly even refer to photos taken pre-out of the country move which occurred in 2003. Yeah.

I did some scrapbooking in the UK...slow and steady but steady nonetheless. Then we got crazy busy with blogging move preparations and I told myself that I'd put it aside and really get it organized and caught up once we moved. After all, I wouldn't know anyone in my new little town and I would have hours to fill happily scrapping away. Well that's not happening. Somehow I am filling the hours and it's not with scrapbooking. It's not even filled with organizing the scrapbooking.

We have a huge walk in closet in our office and when we bought the house I had visions of organizing all my scrapbooking supplies in this closet. We had a closet organizer out to give us a quote on customizing the space and we decided we needed to pay college tuition instead so the closet sits un-customized. And unorganized. And I need another quote or at the very least a trip to Michaels and Home Depot to diy it. I have another huge walk in closet in a bedroom upstairs and half of my scrapbooking supplies are sitting in that closet. Also unorganized. Then there are the old photo albums and boxes of pictures that have been in storage but are now sitting in my basement. Guess what? They also need organizing.

Am I giving you a headache? Because just thinking about this job gives me a headache.

My husband is going to be traveling quite a bit in the next two months and I have decided to make this my project while he is racking up the frequent flyer miles. I am determined to dig in and make sense of the boxes and photos and supplies currently residing on all three floors of my house. My husband is neat. Very very neat. I know the scrapbook chaos makes him a little bit crazy so he tries not to open those closet doors. I try not to either but I see it in my sleep. I don't need to open the door to know the closet fairy has not come because, oops, I am the closet fairy. Time to dust off my wings and get busy.

17 comments:

  1. Oh. I really need to do this, too. I am totally avoiding it. Totally.

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  2. So so busy and so I don't get mine done either. Poor little Landon only has about7 pages in his scrapbook and I haven't added anything to the other 3's scrapbooks since he was born...3 YEARS AGO! Right there with you. I think we need to take a week's vacation and get a year's worth of scrapping done!

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  3. It's good to know I'm not the only one with the supplies, the ideas, but not the motivation and action to back them up. Somehow scrapbooking seems to take up more time at one go than I think I have to spend...although I spend that amount of time and more on the computer. ;) Good luck with your project!

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  4. A little at a time. I also plan projects when my husband is away. But I don't tell him about them so that if I don't get them done, he doesn't ask. : )

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  5. Oh good luck with that. I do like a project while the Hubby is away though. Fills the time and then they are so proud when they get home. :)
    That doesn't count the time I had the front door painted red when the Hubby spent 2 weeks away instead of the planned 4 days and I had 3 babies! I thought a red door would cheer me up and be a sign to him to not do that again. Haha He was very careful from then on. :)

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  6. I know exactly what you mean... I am paralyzed into inaction by the overwhelming task of decorating our master bedroom. We've lived in our home for 3.5 years, but we've never done much of anything in the room where we spend most of our time. I am just too intimidated to do ANYTHING!

    ~Elizabeth
    Confessions From A Working Mom

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  7. I didn't start scrapbooking until three or four years ago when I decided it was time to organize all of the photos that resided in shoeboxes. I started going to classes and completed a traditional scrapbook for my younngest son.

    Then I discovered digital scrapbooking, and I did a book for my middle son. Lots of stuff to scan, because his pictures all came pre-digital photo days.

    I am now about halfway through doing a book for my oldest son, and I really need to get back to it. Meanwhile, I've done lots of other digital scrapbooks, mostly for trips we've taken. I do enjoy it. I feel like I can be just as creative as I could with the traditional stuff, and it cuts down on the supply clutter because everything is on my computer.

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  8. I know how you feel. I did about 20 years worth or more in a couple of years..had everything caught up and NOW...I am about 3 years BEHIND, again. I could kick my own self in the butt.

    Blessings, andrea

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  9. Hey Joyce! How are you Friend? And, the answer to the not doing anything about it in your post is YES.... hence my lack of blogging in 4 months. :-) This moving stuff is for the birds! ANd, I just moved over one state, you moved COUNTRIES! Hope this finds you doing great....

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  10. I bet you'll get a lot done this time while your husband is traveling. You can surprise him!

    I haven't done scrap booking, but I try to buy a photo album (if I can find one) when I go on vacation and when I get home I order the prints online, pick them up and get them in the book right away. If not, I will never do it. I know me.

    I've got tons of pictures through the years of the kids that I need to organize. I bought a really cute leopard print photo box a couple of weeks ago at Hobby Lobby. Have I put any pictures in it yet? "NO." I will though. ;)

    You'll do it too & it'll feel SO good!

    P.S. I'm envious of your large closets. : /

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  11. I can totally relate. I have so many pictures that I have not even printed, much less organized or scrapbooked. There is just never enough hours in the day. I at least want to get my things printed and ready to scrapbook. I'm like you, I need to get everything organized and easily accessible. That is part of my organizational plan for 2010. With your husband traveling, hopefully you can get yours accomplished. Good luck! Love & blessings from NC!

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  12. I never was a scrapbooker. I'm just not that creative!

    I have all of my photos in albums and thankfully have kept them pretty much up-to-date. I do have some to file away but can't seem to get the motivation to do it, or the motivation to much of anything these days! I blame it all on menopause! That's my out!

    Good luck with the organizing. It takes alot of work but just think of how accomplished you'll feel when you're done!

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  13. Were you and I separated at birth or something?? We're like twins in some areas and this is definitely one of them.

    When I moved to England just short of a couple of years ago, I had visions of my "friendless" self organizing, scrapbooking, and if that was not enough, quilting my way through my international move. Yeah right!! Did I forget that I would be homeschooling, traveling like a maniac, and trying to make new friends? Granted I did get some scrapbooking done, and I am halfway through making a quilt, but lest we forget, I've also been snapping photos during said travels like a crazy woman. And being a blogger, I take pictures of things that never even crossed my mind in the past. For example I might say, "Hey Honey, take a picture of me next to this dust bunny so I can write a post about it on "Tackle it Tuesday".

    So, my twin, I think we need a support group!

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  14. I'm right there with you. I blame digital photography. I was a pretty regular scrapbooker until everything when digital. Somehow dropping a roll of film off at the store was WAY easier than going thru all the digital pics, choosing the best, then ordering prints. At least that's what I tell myself. My youngest is 7. My most recent scrapbook contains her birth in November and first Christmas. That's it.

    I think this means I win.

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  15. Oh, but I'm with you on this, Joyce, only now I am watching the grandbaby 12 hours a day and I'm about ready to throw in the towel on ever getting anything completed again! :-) Well, other than the necessary daily things!

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  16. Girl, I hear you loud and clear. Such. a. Challenge. to stay on top of. It's just hard to document life while it's happening... thus the blog. ;)

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  17. How have I missed this post? I love it! YOU GO GIRL!
    Suggestion - start small, and recent! Work backwards. And unfortunately you need to organize your photos chronologically. And then I realized, "well there are these 6 pictures from Christmas '94 and I need one for my scrap book, one for Brandon's and one for Justin's - Karen, start a tally of duplicate photos needed . . . " and it just kept snowballing. Maybe I shouldn't do a scrapbook for each boy . . . but then who gets what when it all gets passed down? That's what my sister and I encountered - we both wanted the photos. So I feel I really need to do multiple books. UGH! and now that I'm taking photography - THERE JUST AREN'T ENOUGH HOURS IN THE DAY!
    You let me know how this goes! And if you've made any progress at all towards organization by the end of January - pat yourself on the back and don't get discouraged. This is s HUGE undertaking, and people just don't realize it.
    GOOD GIRL! :) Karen

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