My scrapbook system. PART ONE.

I've mentioned before that I don't scrapbook chronologically. I am more motivated to scrapbook what excites me...not what's next in calendar order. This might sound disorganized or jumbled, but I'm now more organized and productive than ever.

It wasn't always this way! I started out chronological, in an attempt to be organized, with the birth of my daughter in 2000. But by the time my son was born 3.5 years later, the thought of staying "caught up" was overwhelming. We were transitioning from film to digital, and using 2 cameras. Photos were stored everywhere, and getting more disorganized as time went on. And then there are the 'gaps' in time where you forget to take photos, or leave the camera at home. When you scrap chronologically, those gaps in time are noticeable. And what about those photos that other people give you? Where do they fit in?

So I still write the date (month & year is fine) on all my layouts, but I stopped worrying about storing my layouts in date order. For ONE YEAR, without thinking about themes, dates or deadlines, I just SCRAPPED. I told the stories and wrote down my memories. Sometimes it was the photos or stories that excited me. Other times it was a kit or a layout idea that gave me motivation.

On occasion I scrapped the same set of photos from 2 different perspectives, and each layout ended up in a different album. AFTER ONE YEAR I was astounded by a finished pile of layouts, all done by me! The sheer size of the pile gave me so much pride. It felt good to accomplish so much!

Find out what I did NEXT, in STEP TWO of the process. Stay tuned!