Hands up Girl Guides/Boy Scouts?

12 May Hands up Girl Guides/Boy Scouts?

A very special potential client who is also a friend recently said to me;

“Mara, I definitely need to hire you to scan my photos.  Have you got a post to tell people what they need to do before getting you guys to scan photos?”

So this post is for Melissa and all the other Girl Guides and Boy Scouts who want to be prepared.

STEP 1:

Your best foot forward is to contact us FIRST.

In an initial fact finding session we help determine the best strategy for your specific needs, it is then that we identify anything you might need to do before we meet so that we can plan together for the project.  In fact your preparation could be as little as gathering everything into one place.

STEP 2:

Secondly, we can allocate a handover meeting date.

This is a key step, as all Professional Organisers have found for any organising project be it the garage, the spare room or the office, is that for 99% of people unless you have a deadline to work toward (e.g. you are aware that I will be knocking on your door in a weeks’ time) you are highly likely to procrastinate and not do anything. Being unorganised is after all one of the primary reasons you contacted us in the first place.

With that meeting date locked in, it also allows us to ensure that we have allocated enough time in our schedule to complete your project.

STEP 3:

The third step will be different depending on the type of project you need completed, which is why it is so important to have those initial discussions and meetings.

A key factor in what preparation needs to be done also depends on the level of detail you want in your finished product.

• Some clients are just happy to have everything digitised
• Some clients are interested in prints being converted AND then organised using written data on the prints, as well as being in date order
• Some clients already have everything digital but on many devices without any system or order
• Others have organised everything but need help creating a backup process
• And so on and so on, there are again many variables and options, which as Professional Photo Organisers it is our job to help you identify a unique solution that will help you organise, utilise and enjoy your precious images.

So here is an example using a specific scenario:

Readers – meet Melissa, the friend I mentioned earlier.

Melissa has a number of printed images that she wants to digitise; so that they are taking up less space in her new home, so that they are readily accessible and shared and so that they can be backed up and safe.

Currently her photos are in; I quote “big piles”.

Melissa wanted to prepare them for me – her exact words “I plan to set aside a weekend and sit down, sort them all out, group them, then label them with the name of the folder they should go into, is that right?”

My answer is “GO FOR IT” if you are confident that you WILL DO IT, for some clients they need some help and guidance as they can get derailed or distracted by memories or confusion recalling dates.  For some people having us with them during the stage ensures it gets done quickly.

On Melissa’s shopping list before her ‘organising weekend’:

• Post it notes
• Pen
• Notepad
• Ziplock bags
• Sharpie

Then I suggested that Melissa should sort and group the following way:

• Separate into YEAR bundles where possible or decades depending on what she has
• Discard doubles/triples into giveaway or discard bundles (or better still discard all multiples then share the digitised image later)
• Discard blurred, scratched, unidentifiable or irrelevant images immediately
• Group and label any special events, holidays etc in their own bundle kept with the year.

If you have a birthday book have it by your side as well, as it can really help with noting dates.

If Melissa can achieve all this on her own, the task of scanning and digitising is simple and straight forward.

But you don’t have to do all that work alone or at all, a recent client found it much easier to purge and re organise digitally AFTER everything was scanned – the choice is yours to make and it is our job to help find the right fit for you.

I probably left something out.  Don’t be shy; please let me know what I have missed in the comments below.  I’m happy to answer questions here or send me any email direct mara@thefilingfairies.com.au

Next week I will outline another scenario as an example of what is involved with preparing for a digital organising project.

Have a magical day

Mara