Digital
1 Download
Get the pictures off your camera and onto your computer as soon as you can after taking them. The longer you let digital photos collect and sit on your camera, the greater the risk of your memory card becoming corrupted—and the longer the uploading process will be when you finally face the music. Setting your camera charger next to your computer will encourage regular downloading.
2 File
Create clearly labeled photo folders for every year on your hard drive. Tonia Gustafson of Brooklyn, a self-employed asset manager and mother of two, makes one folder for each new year and subfolders labeled with the dates and descriptions of events. Another good strategy is to make a folder for each month (e.g., 11_05, 12_05), so the computer will automatically sort chronologically.
3 Upload
Upload the edited photos to an online service, such as Shutterfly or Snapfish, both of which offer unlimited storage space and have a nice selection of fonts and album styles. To minimize confusion, create albums with the same names as the folders you've set up on your home computer. This kind of organization will allow you to easily e-mail photos of Junior's latest milestones to family and friends.
4 Back It Up
Now that you've got your photos up on a third-party site—and maybe even ordered prints—you don't have to worry about a personal-computer crash nuking your precious memories. Any techie worth his ponytail will tell you to back up your data frequently. Burn and label a new CD every month or so. Feeling lazy? Many online photo services let you order a backup CD of your photos.
