Memory Keeping

How do you keep up with the memories you collect, thousands of digital photos, stories you want to remember, keepsakes you think you want to hold on to?

I'm a memory keeper but I despise clutter. I don't keep everything. But I do want to document our family's story. Hey, my memory is already going and when Annie asks "how old was I when I got my first tooth?" (answer to that still to be determined) I want to be able to tell her.

So I record our memories in lots of ways and have lots of fun doing it.

For photos, I upload the pics from my camera card to my computer and to Shutterfly each month. Selected relatives have access to my Shutterfly account so if they want a certain picture of Annie they can download it and I don't have to email huge photo files.

For actually viewing photos, I pick out my favorites and keep a family scrapbook (old-school Creative Memories style). I also plan to create a digital book on Shutterfly for Annie (and future children) each year. I add photos to it each month and by the time her birthday rolls around it will be finished. Digital scrapbooking is much less time intensive so I think I'll be able to keep that up pretty easily.

To document the blur that has been Annie's first year, I have kept a traditional baby book (Honey got it for her at Hallmark) and it gives me a great place to keep track of her growth and new developments. I also keep a journal and I write a few sentences in it every day or two, about what we've been doing and what she is learning and my reflections on being her Mama.

For everyday updates, this blog is perfect!

And for all the little keepsakes, we each have a box (the Gent, me, and Annie). We just throw stuff in there for a year or so. When it starts getting full we go through our boxes and decide what we still want to keep. Keepers go in a bigger box in the basement, the rest goes in the trash.

Told you I despise clutter. :)

Any other suggestions for keeping up with memories in a meaningful way?