Dr. Seuss once said, “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” Today we live in the golden age of technology. We capture every moment on our phones, sometimes in excess. As great as it is that we are capturing these moments before they become memories, the problem is the frequency in which we capture them allows for the truly special moments to drown in a sea of more mundane ones.
I currently have 614 photos in the camera roll on my iPhone. I truthfully don’t even know what most of these photos are. Every once in a while, I have to dump them all on my computer to clear storage space in my phone. Once I do this, the photos exiled to my laptop are out of sight, out of mind. If I wanted to recall a fun day my friends and I had last March when we went to New York for spring break, I’m not sure I would know how to find these photos. My computer is a jumbled, disorganized mess, so thousands of photos from the last eight years of my life are lost in translation.
It is for that reason I have been wishing lately that I had more printed photos, from my favorite moments and memories in life — my first trip to Europe in 10th grade, my 18th birthday party, the day I moved into college. All of these moments would have so much more meaning if I could look through these albums in a moment of nostalgia, instead of them being drowned in with some of the more insignificant days.
Here are some easy and creative ways to print and display your photos to avoid the clutter.
Shutterfly allows you to order prints at an affordable price. They often have sales and free print specials, so it’s easy to upload your photos and order! Shutterfly also has cool scrapbook and photo album options, which make great gifts and meaningful mementos.
2. Print by flash drive at CVS, Walmart or Target
If you didn’t already know this, it’s super easy to print photos at your local chain pharmacy or warehouse store. All you have to do is bring the photos you want to print saved on a flash drive or memory card. At the self-serve kiosks, your prints are instant and affordable.
Fracture is a company based in Gainesville that prints photos directly on glass, which ends up looking pretty rad. This is a great way to place emphasis on your more special photos. Fractures make great gifts and wall decor. And by purchasing a Fracture, you’d be supporting a local business with a great idea.
I encourage you to try to make note of the valuable moments in life when they are happening. Consider that capturing these moments and printing them will allow the moment to live on forever.
Photo credit: mashable.com