Forty-six thousand seven-hundred and fifty. That’s the number of photos I have on my computer - and if I divide that by how long we’ve been Senior Nomads, that means I’ve taken close to 20 photos a day, every day, for seven and a half years! I think it’s time to “downsize”.
If I deleted all the duplicates, blurred shots, pictures with my finger obscuring the lens, cats, me eating, Michael eating, shots of the ground (the photo equivalent of pocket dialing), and sunsets, because we all have too many sunsets - I think I could get down to 34,750 images. But then what? I’d have to start editing my door collection (I have hundreds of doors), and beautiful shots of food, flowers, walls, clouds, and landscapes. And every family photo is precious! Where does it all end?
If I took Marie Kwando’s advice, I would only keep photos that spark joy. Not counting the rejects, most of the pictures I take do bring me joy. Just at different times. And unlike your roommate screaming “Clean up this mess or you are out on the street!” at least for now, my Macbook Air doesn’t seem to mind how many photos I hoard.
If I have a motivating factor for culling my collection it would be my fantasy of having all of my favorites running in an endless loop on the flat-screen TV we might own someday. I think it could run for days! But just like everything that needs sorting, unless you are under a deadline, like moving in two days or your roommate's wrath, it’s easy to put it off.
Besides, as Senior Nomads, we’ve already reduced our worldly possessions down to what fits in a 10’ x 15’ storage unit and the essentials we travel with. Although every year when the storage unit rent goes up we seriously ask ourselves “What on earth is in there?” However, we do know that one of the largest boxes is filled with…you guessed it, photos. At least the photos on my computer don’t take up physical space - or weigh anything!
Our trusty rolling duffles from REI and two day packs hold everything we need.
And when Michael and I are briefly in Seattle we stop at Value Village, our favorite thrift store to swap out clothes we are sick of. That means we must donate an equal number of items back to charity so our luggage stays within most airline weight limits. I find myself gladly tossing things in the “donate” pile without a second thought. But then, at the last moment, I’ll pluck a stretched-out sweater from the pile or clutch at a dress like I’m hugging a grandchild for the last time. That pretty well sums up my attempts to let go of photos as well.
But if I am going to do it - now’s the time. We are currently spending our days in sunny San Miguel de Allende, Mexico where, like the rest of the world, most everything is shut down. The days stretch before us, and they need to be filled!
I have been carrying an actual printed copy of the New York Time’s HOME section around with me since August. It has an article titled “Lend a Semblance Of Organization To Your Photos” That sounds attainable because I understand the concept of “semblance”. It’s like putting all your fiddly plastic containers and lids in the same drawer, just not necessarily paired up. Right? Now, about those 14,566 e-mails.…
Thanks for following along,
Debbie and Michael Campbell
The Senior Nomads
HERE ARE A FEW FAVORITE PICTURES OF SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE
There are hundreds more, just waiting to be sorted. Or really, edited because the Photos app does most of the work. I just need to be brave and delete, delete, delete. Meanwhile, enjoy these photo collages from our favorite Mexican city.
