I haven’t met a mama who isn’t overwhelmed in some aspect of life. I’ve even wondered lately if the writer of Encanto was channeling mothers when they wrote the song ‘Surface Pressure’ as we attempt to carry the world on our shoulders. This has become most evident in the role mamas often take on as keeper of the memories.
We want to take a thousand photos to cherish these fleeting moments with our babies, but then we also have to store those photos, save those photos, print those photos, share those photos, upload those photos, print those photos, organize those photos… Oh, and when you’re done, you have 381 more new photos to start the whole process over again. If you’re like me, you panic every time your phone storage is at capacity, wondering what might happen to your 8,306 photos of your babies and then proceed to delete as many apps as possible in hopes that you don’t have to actually begin sorting through those photos.
We finally get to a point where we just give up because when is there time to go through all of those photos, to print them, to make more decisions like matte or glossy, decide how to capture those adorable toddler confessions even though we desperately need a social media hiatus? I’m no expert, but I’ve learned a few tricks in my mama years and hope these ideas just might help another mama with memory overload.
- Favorite those really great photos in your iPhone instantly.
- Try to delete the remaining photos that were not so great within 48 hours of the event. Your future self will thank you when you find yourself staring at thirteen slight variations of the same photo of your kids fake smiling for the camera in front of the hippo at the Zoo. This also helps when it’s time to upload those favorites for printing.
- Change your settings.
- I learned the hard way that some photo printing apps and websites will not upload live photos. Be sure to use anything but live photos or subject yourself to hours of changing each and every photo so you can print them later.
- You can also change your Insta settings so that you don’t duplicate every photo or story you post in your camera roll. It just adds clutter that most likely isn’t printable anyways.
- Create an email for your child. Shortly after their births, I created an email account for each child. When I’m in my photos and want to be sure my child remembers a special moment, I just email it to them with a quick little caption. On special days like birthdays, I often email them meaningful words to remind them of their interests and funny memories. You can even encourage others to email your child when gathering for birthdays and special school events. We plan to share the email address with our children when they turn 18 so that they can read and enjoy the messages. It’s an added perk that they will have an email address to use later in life assuming Google and email is still around then.
- Limit your photo taking. If you’re anything like me, this was difficult. After years of teaching journalism and yearbook to high schoolers, I became a bit of a photography snob. I wanted action-oriented shots that incorporated the rule of thirds, and I wanted to overtake photos, which only left me with more overwhelm and a whole lot of photos that my children truly do not need. My children, who are ages four and one, have more photos already than I ever did in eighteen years of life. They don’t need photos to remember every single trip to the Aquarium. I’m still a work in progress on this one as I learn to put my phone down and be more in the moment with my children.
- Make a space for the other stuff. While I cannot take credit for this idea, I must share it as it has helped us find a home for the art, crafts, preschool learning, cards, and such. I used to store all of this and photos together, and it became overwhelming clutter. Once I finally created my own keepsake box using Princess Pinky Girl’s online free printable site, I was able to quickly organize my children’s special creations. When my brain can’t make any more decisions, I’ll even ask my daughter which of her three preschool masterpieces should go in the keepsake box. She loves choosing an item that makes her feel proud, and she gets excited to know that it’s worthy enough to go in “her box”.
Surely I have a lot more to learn, but I know that I get smarter the more I talk with other overwhelmed mamas. I’d love to hear what tips and tricks save you from memory overload. Share them in the comments below!
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Stacey Jones resides in small town Ohio where she is currently taking a year of leave from teaching high school journalism and English to make memories with her babies. When she’s not teaching, she enjoys reading, writing, traveling, discovering new kid-friendly places, and indulging in self-care in the form of quaint little coffee shops. After wandering to some bustling big cities earlier in life, she somehow found her way back home to enjoy this crazy, beautiful life with her husband, daughter (4), and son (1).
