my wife and i ran into our first question/problem as we were minimalizing the magnets on our fridge. what do we do with pictures of relatives?
on one hand, we love the idea of our kids seeing their family and learning their names. and we love our families. on the other hand, there are so many relatives and their pictures are in so many different rooms – trying to design minimalist will be difficult with unmatching frames and backgrounds of dozens of relatives.
our first help – what to do with photos of relatives? any advice/ideas of how to display them in a minimalist home?
Kayla says
As a minimalist myself, the thought of buying more photos and albums for our growing family seemed counterproductive. However, I discovered photo cups on shutterfly.com. We needed new cups anyway, and I wanted everyone to have a matching, yet personalized cup (one cup per person) in our minimalist home. On these cups I picked my favorite pics of each family member and used coupon codes to get them half off. The cups are some of our favorite and useful possessions. I want to get personalized photo plates and bowls too, but I haven’t been able to part with the ugly plates of my husband’s grandmother who passed away. Shutterfly also doesn’t offer bowls yet. Oh, and Shutterfly also was offering 50 free photo prints with the first order…which I stupidly accepted because they were free, why not? Well, I haven’t even opened the package to look at those free pics. Maybe I will divide the photos up and send them to family members or let the kids make a art project out of them this summer.
di says
Just scan them and send them to anyone that likes to look at them. Distant relatives and friends may enjoy them as well.
di says
I meant to say to store them in the cloud and send them via email. CDs and extra hard drives just take up more space.
Maria says
How about scanning the documents in and purchasing a digital frame. This way you can display numerous pictures in one picture frame. It’s a great invention and takes up no room at all, except for the frame itself. just get a simple frame and voila, minimalism with still having pictures of family displayed. it’s a win win.
Mama2one says
With my old photos, I scanned them all and then had a photobook custom designed for me and printed into a slick photobook that is very streamlined and looks awesome!! I strong recommend using http://www.MoreThanaMemoryScrapbooks.com. Very professional and the outcome is awesome and takes up very little space. I got the 8×8 size book. Please don’t use the sticky pages with plastic covering… most aren’t acid free and it will destroy your photos in time… thanks!
db says
I hope you scanned them and did away with the physical photos.
bashtree says
What about a plain photo album – the kind with the sticky pages and the plastic covering? That’s what I’ve used. It’s a little bit out of date, but it gets the job done with no fuss.
K. says
French memo boards! They are available at art stores (like Michaels): fabric covered boards with ribbon criss-crossing the surface. You can slip corners of photos under the ribbon, making it easy to swap out picture periodically so you can enjoy more of your pictures instead of letting them sit in a box somewhere. You can eliminate frames, and if they are on a flat surface, clear that surface. I have a memo boards in my bedroom and dining/living room. I can mix and match photos, create themes (like pics from a particular vacation or event).
Great blog! I really enjoy your entries and ideas. I have been on the minimalist path for a couple of years now, and I love it. The hardest decisions are on items that were given out of love, but do not fit my life. I do struggle with that.
Best of luck in your endeavor! I’ll keep reading for on-going inspiration for my own.