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People prepare to downsize in multiple ways. They get rid of unwanted furniture that won’t fit in their future houses and they donate clothes, art, and books that they no longer need. Another way they save space when it’s time to downsize is by engaging a photo and video digitization service. When all of your prints and tapes are saved in the cloud, you don’t need to hold on to the analog copies anymore.
At Memory Fortress, we specialize in photo and video digitization. We can turn your photo albums, loose prints, videotapes, film, and slides into digital files. We can even scan 12×12 scrapbook pages to preserve them. Learn how digitization can help you downsize and declutter your life and what this process looks like.
1. Turn Old Media Into Digital Files
One of the best ways to downsize and declutter your life without losing your family memories is to digitize your files. At Memory Fortress, we receive thousands of boxes each year and turn them all into virtual files. A 16GB USB drive – a thumb drive that you can store on your keychain – can hold about 10,000 photos or 10 hours of video (roughly 5 VHS tapes). Even if you turned your VHS tapes into DVDs you would still save space and be able to hold multiple VHS tapes of data on one USB flash drive.
When you opt for photo and video digitization through Memory Fortress, we receive your old analog memories, scan them into the appropriate files, and then send back both your digital files and analog media. You can decide what you do with the photos and tapes afterwards. Some people like to store their print memories to have as backup files, while other people throw them away knowing they have digital files that they can access whenever they need them.
2. Decide Which Memories You Want to Save
Before digital cameras, family photographers took photos with film and then sent the canisters to be developed. It wasn’t until they received their prints back that they could determine if their photos were any good. If this sounds familiar, you might have boxes of print photos with various quality levels. For every priceless photo of your daughter playing on the beach as a kid, there’s another where your thumb is covering half of the lens or the lighting is too dark to see the subject. You may want to preserve some memories while getting rids of others.
Sort through your print photos and other media to see which ones you want to keep. This can help you downsize because you might be able to throw out a few hundred print memories, especially if you have thousands of photos in your home. Trust us, you will likely find plenty of duplicates along the way!
Sorting through your photos first can also help you save money in the photo and video digitization process, as you will have fewer items that will need to be scanned.
3. Free Up Storage Space
One of the main benefits of photo and video digitization is that it declutters your life, freeing up storage space in your home. If you have already downsized, you might be struggling to find places for all of your items. While unique storage hacks can free up a few shelves here and there, you might need to get rid of additional items. By digitizing your memories, you don’t need to hold on to the physical copies. You can throw out the prints and open up precious storage space for other items.
Memories come in all shapes and forms. Preserve your digital prints and videotapes so you can hold on to other mementos like your graduation cap, wedding veil, and the blanket they wrapped your newborn in at the hospital.
4. Get Rid of Outdated Technology
Not only do you have to store your family memories in old formats, but you also have to keep outdated technology around if you ever want to view these photos or videos. If you have family VHS tapes, you need to keep a VHS player on hand – which can take up precious space when it’s time for you to downsize. If you have family slides, then you need a slide projector to display them. These pieces of aging equipment are more likely to break or malfunction.
Photo and video digitization means you can move on from old ways to capture family memories and display them. You might be surprised by how much room you save once you donate, sell, or throw away old video cameras, projectors, VHS players, and the countless cables, cases, and chargers that came with them.
5. Store Memories in the Cloud to Avoid Digital Clutter
When most people take steps to declutter their homes and their lives, they mostly look at their physical belongings. However, it’s just as important that you declutter your digital space. Do you really need 12,437 emails in your inbox? Do you need to save an outdated resume from eight years ago or a digital copy of the lease from your first apartment?
Clearing out digital clutter can make it easy to find the files you truly need. It can also speed up your computer in some cases when you don’t have bulky files and programs slowing everything down.
When you choose Memory Fortress for your photo scanning services, you have the option to receive your photos in the cloud. With cloud storage, you can access your memories on any device without having to store them on a hard drive. This means you can keep your digital life as decluttered as your physical one.
Downsize With Photo and Video Digitization
If you think your life could stand to be downsized or decluttered, and you no longer have room for your photo and video prints, take the first steps to digitize your memories. You can easily access your family photos and videos from your laptop or smartphone with all of your memories stored in the cloud. Plus, by hiring a professional photo scanning company, you don’t have to worry about scanning a single photo. We invest in the latest technology and work to quickly complete the project for you.
Get to know the process of working with Memory Fortress and check out our prices. We strive to make it easy to complete your photo and video digitization project regardless of your budget. Start your order today.
We digitize everything right here at our facility in metro Atlanta, processed by US citizens.