January has a way of making us feel like we need to reset everything.

The house.
The schedule.
The routines.
The goals.

And somewhere in the middle of all that motivation, there’s usually a quiet guilt sitting in the background — the thousands of photos on your phone, scattered across cloud storage, hard drives, texts, and social media… completely unorganized.

If that’s you, let me say this first: you are not behind.
And you don’t need a perfect system to start.

You just need a simple one — and permission to begin where you are.

First Things First: Start Where You Are (Not Where You “Should” Be)

One of the biggest reasons people never organize their photos is because they think they have to do all of it at once.

Years of photos.
Multiple devices.
Every memory perfectly labeled.

That mindset alone is enough to stop anyone before they start.

Instead, I want you to flip the script:

👉 Pick one starting point.

• This month

• Last month

• Or even just the photos currently on your phone

You don’t need to tackle 10 years of memories in one weekend. You just need to choose one small place to begin.

Progress matters more than perfection.

Create a “From Today Forward” System (This Is the Game-Changer)

Here’s the simplest system I recommend — because it actually gets used.

Step 1: One Folder Per Year

Create a main folder labeled with the year:

• 2026

• 2025

• 2024

Step 2: Inside Each Year, Add Monthly or Seasonal Folders

Examples:

• January

• February
  or

• Winter

• Spring

• Summer

• Fall

Step 3: Name Photos Simply

You don’t need fancy labels. Something like:

• 2026-01 Family Game Night

• 2026-03 Spring Break

• 2026-09 Fall Family Session

That’s it.

Simple naming keeps you consistent — and consistency is what makes organizing sustainable. You may not even want to re-name the images, but it does work best when you are organizing them on the computer. 

Now the Gentle Part: Work Backwards When You Can

Once you have a system in place going forward, you can slowly work backward — without pressure.

Try this:

• Pick one old month or year to organize when you have time

• Do it while watching TV or listening to a podcast

• Stop when you feel done — not exhausted

You are not failing if it takes months.
You’re succeeding because you started.

Your photos aren’t going anywhere.

Make Photo Taking Intentional This Year

Organizing photos naturally leads to something even more powerful: intentional photo-taking.

Instead of reacting to moments, you begin to anticipate them.

Ask yourself:

• What moments do I want to remember this year?

• What seasons of life am I in right now?

• What deserves to be documented — even if it feels ordinary?

That could look like:

• One family photo session a year

• Seasonal mini sessions

• Branding photos as your business grows

• Or simply being more present when you take phone photos

Photos don’t have to be perfect to be meaningful — they just have to exist.

A Gentle Reminder Before You Go

Your photos are not a to-do list.
They’re proof of a life lived.

If organizing them has felt heavy or emotional, that’s normal. These images hold joy, growth, grief, change, and love — sometimes all at once.

So take this January as an invitation:
Not to catch up.
Not to do it all.
But to take the next right step.

And if one of those next steps this year is intentionally documenting your family or your business, I would love to help you do that — in a way that fits your real life, not an unrealistic standard.