Preserving your family’s past can seem like a daunting task, so we thought it’d be a good idea to share some of the big points at a bird’s eye level. Here with the overview is content creator Ashley Lipman!
Take it away, Ashley!
Make Your Personal History a Priority
Preserving family memories is a very important thing. You never want to forget the past and the memories you have created with your loved ones over the years. This could be anything from birthday parties, to family gatherings, to vacations. But unfortunately, memories do fade over time, and can often get lost forever and/or replaced by new memories.
This is tragic, as often memories can be a major source of comfort and happiness for people. However, there are thankfully some things you can do to preserve these memories and ensure nothing from the past is lost or forgotten. Without any further ado, this article is going to go over some tips for preserving your family’s past and memories.
Take Plenty of Photos and Videos
First and foremost, if you want to remember certain events to ensure they are not forgotten in the future, you need to document them. Whether you take photos or videos, you want to make sure you capture all of the important events that life throws at you.
We take photos of all major events in our lives, and cherish these memories forever. They allow us to relive the past, and help us remember things better, too. There is a good chance you look back at your wedding photos or graduation pictures frequently, and wouldn’t remember these events as well if there weren’t photos.
These photos and videos can ensure that you and the rest of your family are able to take a trip down memory lane, and instantly have the memories of good times rushing back into your mind.
Digitize The Important Things
While photos and videos are great, they don’t last forever. If you have old video tapes and photo albums from your childhood decades ago, these are likely to be showing signs of wear. The photos may fade, and the videos may begin to deteriorate. Before they are lost forever, or damaged, it is a good idea to consider digitizing them.
This is essentially the process of transferring these physical photos or tapes into digital files. This makes it easier to send and share with friends and family, while also ensuring that you won’t lose these memories. As long as you don’t delete the files, they should exist forever and look just as good as ever.
While you can digitize yourself, it can take a bit of time and involves a lot of different tools and equipment, many of which you may not have, and can be hard to find. Also, if you mess up, it could end up wasting a lot of time. Instead, consider working with a company that specializes in digitizing photos or videos, and leave it up to the professionals.
Store Things Carefully
While digitizing is a good idea, if you want to keep keep the originals, it’s smart to ensure that you are storing things carefully. If you store these items without careful thinking or planning, it can lead to them wearing and becoming damaged much faster than they should. For example, if you have old home movies, it is a good idea to learn how to store VHS tapes the right way. They should be kept away from moisture and direct light, be kept at a moderate temperature, and be stored side by side vertically, and not stacked on one another. The rules may differ depending on what you are storing, but you always want to be careful and give your important family memories the best storage possible.
Also, be very careful when handling and/or transporting these items, as well. You want to keep the oils of your hands away from the film, ensure they are never dropped, and keep the items in moderate temperatures during travel, if at all possible.
Make a Time Capsule
One of the best ways to ensure that memories of the past don’t fade away is by making a time capsule of some kind. This is a box or chest that you fill with a ton of items that are important to you. There are many time capsule ideas and they can be filled with anything from photos, to toys, to art projects, to school work, and anything in between.
Then, once it is full, you need to close the box and not open it until a certain period of time has passed. You can open this in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, or whatever you want. Once you open up this time capsule, all of the memories from the past will come rushing back and you will be more than happy to see all these items from many years ago.
In conclusion, if you keep these tips in mind and put them into practice, you can be sure to preserve your family’s past for generations.
Featured Photo Courtesy of Jarmoluk
