I am between laptops, the old one is being migrated over to the latest version of wonderfulness. (That was sarcastic, you know I hate change.) It’s a slow process, mostly because of pictures. So while I don’t have full access to stuff stored there, and now other places, I have been trying to wean myself away from the camera.
It’s not easy.

My husband says I had over 250,000 images stored on the laptop. No wonder it was just chugging along. I know that I don’t need all of those and I had started the process of weeding. But I got bogged down, and that was before I was knew and became intimidated by the sheer number.

Anyway.
I will find some images to add to this post, pulled from an external hard drive, of which I think I now have 4. How about I randomly just pull some pretty pictures and stick them here and there in this post and see how it turns out?

I’ve been wondering, but not seriously, if I could pick just my favorite images and put them in a file folder and let the rest go. Of course this wondering was way before I knew there were 250,000 to choose from.
I wonder how big the favorites file would become?

And would the favorites have classifications? You know, like Katie, and night skies, and barns and Penny, and Alabama, and camping, and family and my Great Lakes?
Wait. That’s kind of what I have now.

Maybe I should just find another hobby to obsess over. But I haven’t learned all I want to learn with photography yet.
It’s the same with watercolor painting. I like to paint, but what do you DO with all the stuff you produce?

I need to learn to be ruthless and throw stuff away.
We remodeled the basement, and in that process moved everything that was piled down there out to the garage, into the guest rooms, the dining room, the living room. What once were slightly disorganized piles of stuff hidden away are now slightly disorganized piles of stuff all over the house.

The remodel is essentially done and it’s time to move this stuff back. But would it make more sense to put most of it at the curb? Perhaps without even looking at it? Because if I look, well, that’s how I ended up with 250,000 images stored on my laptop and me with decision paralysis.

Stay tuned. Or not. We can always figure it out tomorrow. Or next year. I think I’ll go look through some old image files.

April 3, 2025 at 10:25 am
I feel every single word of this, Dawn. I have no idea just how many photos I have. Stored here and there and do I ever look at them? Not really. I have been more and more ruthless in cutting the fat, so to speak. On one walk, I do not really need 15 pictures of basically the same thing. Sigh. It ain’t easy.
And I have to tackle my basement, too… which includes a sh*t-ton of printed pictures, too!
Aye! Yeah… later…
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April 3, 2025 at 10:49 am
Oh yes. I have bins (BINS!) of printed photos to look through from prior to digital. I bet there are hundreds, thousands of images of trees and blurry mountain ranges in places I don’t recall.
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April 3, 2025 at 10:55 am
I hear you. Same! Same and Same!
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April 3, 2025 at 10:26 am
Oh! I left too quickly. I wanted to tell you that every single picture you have shared on this post is gorgeous. That lighthouse is stunning!
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April 3, 2025 at 10:50 am
Thank you. I cheated a bit because I do have (from a challenge years ago) 10 favorite pictures saved in a file labeled favorite pictures. And several of these are from that series.
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April 3, 2025 at 10:58 am
I’m not calling it cheating at all!
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April 3, 2025 at 10:28 am
Oh, that process of sorting, sorting, sorting, and deleting or putting out to the curb – it’s a tough one. We have a pile of clothing which has grown large that is to be taken to the local thrift store – it was started a couple of years ago. I have added to it, then gone back and retrieved some of what I put out there. I tell myself, nearly daily, that I need to sort out my closet because there are things I haven’t worn for a year or more. I tell myself that – but so far I haven’t done a thing about it. That old “what if I get rid of it and then decide I really need it” thing. And photos – well those are memories. . .
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April 3, 2025 at 10:55 am
As I get older I am acutely aware that I need to get rid of stuff. No one ele wants it. Or most of it. I will have to convince a 2nd cousin to take a few things that were from her grandmother. Other than those things I have so little that anyone would care about. I don’t know why I care about it all.
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April 3, 2025 at 11:58 am
Because it’s all part of your life?
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April 3, 2025 at 10:41 am
I love all the photos you post, Dawn. But I gotta tell you, cutting the fat–without looking–is most liberating.
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April 3, 2025 at 10:57 am
I think it might be. But it’s sooooo darn SCARY! Why is it scary? I feel like I’m tossing my history, so maybe I’m tossing me? But that’s ridiculous. It’s also feeling like the end of the line. On the other hand, the end of the line will arrive when it arrives whether or not I toss this stuff out!
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April 3, 2025 at 10:47 am
You shared some wonderful images, Dawn. I pay for premium Dropbox which automatically moves pics from my phone to “camera uploads” and allows me to add images from my camera as well. It’s up to me to catalog them. They’re automatically dated so that helps. I’ve learned to minimize the amount of images files on my devices. I frequently go through and delete duplicates.
I’ve heard too many sad stories of friends who lost all sacred images from their phones. Good luck!
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April 5, 2025 at 11:33 am
My phone is a whole other story. A few thousand photos there too. Sigh.
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April 3, 2025 at 11:35 am
You have some great photos in this post and throughout this blog! I have a remote hard drive I use for backing up photographs and can access it remotely (I just did to see it I could) it even backs up my iPhone photos, but I rarely use a camera to shoot photos. It is a Western Digital but I wonder, what is going to happen to all of this photos when I am no longer around? I need to learn to pitch some things as I learned when I wanted to find a photo of my mom about a month ago. I tell myself it’s important stuff, but is it really? Keep taking photos, making memories, and loving that puppy! Peace
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April 5, 2025 at 11:35 am
I find myself taking fewer and fewer photos with the camera, unless I’m on a trip or out there trying to shoot something specific. I have a couple external hard drives and we moved all the photos from the laptop there. I find it awkward and hope I can get back to saving at least some to the laptop, but I’m adjusting. Meanwhile the pup keeps me busy and I’m hoping this is the year I get to travel a little bit more than we’ve been able to do these past 3 years.
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April 3, 2025 at 2:13 pm
What a gorgeous selection of photos! It’s always good to see Katie again. You and I must be kindred souls because I have the same problem with photos, art (watercolor, mixed media), and with just stuff. I often wish I could hire someone to come in and just get rid of it for me. I wouldn’t have to make any decisions that way. 🙂
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April 5, 2025 at 11:35 am
I guess after we’re gone someone will toss it all for us. But I hate that it’s probably family stuck with that. They should really hire someone to empty the house without them having to slog through all this stuff.
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April 3, 2025 at 2:14 pm
I need to change laptops, too, but I’m dreading it for just the reasons you’ve laid out. Ugh, all those photos and files! I’m still going through my mom’s stuff and finding it next-to-impossible to toss away all her and Daddy’s old photos. But as you mentioned — who wants this stuff?? I guess it’s a blessing that so much of my own stuff (scrapbooks, etc.) were destroyed in The Great Outdoor Shed Debacle! At least I didn’t have to make the decision on what to throw away. Oh, and it’s great seeing Katie again, and Penny in her spiral, and those cedar waxwings that look freshly painted, and the Milky Way…..
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April 5, 2025 at 11:37 am
We still have mom and dad’s HOUSE…talk about stuff to sort through. It’s 20 years now…and we haven’t thrown away much of anything. A couple old sofas, some pots and pans. My sister got brave and started emptying the attic, but I know it’s hard for her too.
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April 6, 2025 at 1:14 pm
Yikes!! I’ll just slink off into my embarrassed cubby-hole. I’ve done pretty well, compared to that. Twenty years?? Oh, my, at least I’ve gotten rid of clothing, ha!
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April 3, 2025 at 4:36 pm
Ugh. I hear you, Dawn. But I thought I had it bad with 50K… can’t imagine a quarter mil! At least Apple (phone) shows you duplicates, and you can search by subject, location, even words that are in the picture. But good old Windows… it’s 7-8 bracketed pix of the same stupid sunset…after spending 30 min and deleting 50 pix, I wander off to see what’s on NF 😎😂
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April 5, 2025 at 11:37 am
I would be overwhelmed with 50K. I can’t really think about 250K. I know I will never get through them all…especially when all I really want to do is go take some photos of old barns. Or something.
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April 3, 2025 at 7:12 pm
I understand Dawn. Looking thru photos takes one down memory lane. It is almost impossible to speed thru them, at least for those of us who are sentimental. Yes, if possible sort thru things before putting them in their final resting place in the basement. You will thank yourself later. Good luck! I am sure Penny will be happy to supervise. 😊
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April 5, 2025 at 11:38 am
I’m sooo sentimental. But I will try.
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April 3, 2025 at 9:58 pm
These are all beautiful images Dawn, my favorite being the Cedar Waxwings in the berries who might have had a spat. Okay Penny, you looked great back when you were a little nipper and Katie, whom I never “met”. I have days that I’d like to send everything sailing out the door – patience is a virtue, but in the end I must do better. I often ask myself how three people and a bird lived here clutter free and now it is reduced to one person, sans pets, but messy?
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April 5, 2025 at 11:39 am
I went back and looked at the wax wings and yes indeed they might very possibly have had a spat! I sometimes think it would be easier to get rid of the clutter if I were living alone here, but I know, in reality it wouldn’t be any easier.
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April 5, 2025 at 10:17 pm
Yes, these little bird traits we notice sometimes. Since it rained a good part of the day, I devoted my time to decluttering the house … I did pretty good, but no way am I done. I look around the house sometimes and just shake my head.
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April 5, 2025 at 10:28 pm
good job getting partially decluttered!
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April 5, 2025 at 11:18 pm
Yes, if I would apply myself just one day a week, but … there are loads of distractions.
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April 3, 2025 at 10:34 pm
Beautiful random pictures! Always a pain to change computers. Good luck.
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April 5, 2025 at 11:39 am
It’s horrible. Change is soooooo hard.
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April 3, 2025 at 11:19 pm
Oh my word, you and me both. I think about “weeding” the photos, and then I start, and I can’t. And the idea of “favorites” too. It’s too hard. Or a FEW photos to enlarge and print and hang on the wall … I come up with dozens of them in just the first few years of photos.
But I LOVE all your photos in this blog post. Oh my word they are scrumptious! My favorites? Katie and Norway … shhhh, don’t tell Penny. 🙂
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April 5, 2025 at 11:41 am
I am pretty sure Penny knows how much we all loved Katie. She says that’s OK, she’s very confident in her own lovability, in a totally different kid of way.
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April 5, 2025 at 10:20 am
Sorting through anything can become overwhelming. And with so many good photos, I don’t know how you’ll do it. But I wish you the best as you tackle this project.
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April 5, 2025 at 11:41 am
I’m going to be an old lady before I ever get this all sorted out. Oh wait. I’m already an old lady.
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April 5, 2025 at 11:19 am
I’ve often wondered about that same question, what do we do with the art or other things that we produce. I’m slowly learning with photography – have been for years and years, so I’m probably relearning some things I’ve forgotten along the way as well – but 250,000 images! Wow! I’ve never felt compelled to save that much in the way of images. I think I don’t feel attached to these pixels. I put the ones I like in Lightroom and play, the others are just on the memory cards. If the memory cards fill ( I don’t think I’ve ever actually filled one now that I think about it) I just buy new ones and don’t give them much thought.
I enjoyed the randomness of this post in both words and photos.
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April 5, 2025 at 11:43 am
I thought about just keeping memory cards, effectively making them external hard drives. And I do have random cards around, in old camera bags, in drawers. I’m just not organized at all. Now I have 4 external hard drives, two of which we FOUND when we were organizing to remodel the basement. I haven’t looked yet to see what’s on them. I’m almost afraid to do that.
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April 5, 2025 at 11:38 am
I hear you about the difficulty of sorting and deleting photos. I did a huge photo delete a few years ago and often regret it.
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April 5, 2025 at 11:44 am
Oh dear. That’s what I’m afraid of. Already I’m a bit stressed because I did a group of photos on Lightoom last week that I really liked and I don’t know what happened to them. Lightroom is now empty. I don’t see them on either of my two main external hard drives. I don’t want to ask husband (who is working on the laptop migration) because it will sound accusatory. So I’m still looking. Odds are they are SOMEWHERE.
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April 5, 2025 at 11:50 am
Good luck. I didn’t mean to scare you. When I deleted somehow more photos than I had planned were deleted too. I definitely did something wrong.
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April 5, 2025 at 11:53 am
That’s what I think is happening as husband is deleting photos that we think are hopefully copied on the hard drives. I don’t think they all got copied and so I think stuff got deleted that we didn’t intend. You didn’t scare me. I know these things happen and in the bigger scheme of life and in today’s world there are other things that scare me more.
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April 6, 2025 at 6:35 am
We are in the process of downsizing and moving to a condo in the next few weeks. I’ve spent the last year getting rid of stuff. It feels so good to be free of so much. But I packed up some boxes months and weeks ago, and seem to be getting along just fine without that stuff. Makes me wonder what I packed it for in the first place 😁 I’ve been using two coffee mugs for weeks now. Why did I pack 8 more?
I took care of photos and momentos first. I scanned every paper photo I had. I had all my photos uploaded to google photos, and it was an overwhelming amount. I don’t think I ever deleted a photo I took of Oreo and Misty. Even really, really bad photos! I’ve been working my way through bit by bit deleting bad and similar photos. Now, it’s easy to find the good ones and “star” them.
But I didn’t have anywhere close to 250000! I think the organization matters more than the number of photos. Good luck!
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April 6, 2025 at 2:08 pm
Wow! That’s a really big change, to go to a condo! I always loved your backyard, with the woods back there. I sort of remember Misty and a white fence too. I haven’t deleted any photos of Katie either, even the bad ones. Especially now that I know I can’t get any more. I miss her so much. I know you miss Misty and Oreo too. Even with Chewy. Penny is a help but sometimes I miss Katie so much I just start sniffling and then Penny will come sit on me, more to figure out what the noise is than to comfort me but I choose to take it to mean she’s worried about me. LOL
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April 6, 2025 at 2:10 pm
PS: You could take those packed boxes that you’ve realized you don’t need straight to a Habitat for Humanity store, or a Goodwill or somewhere like that…unopened. 🙂 YOU could. I don’t think I’d be able to.
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April 8, 2025 at 6:39 am
My desktop died unexpectedly a few months ago, but thankfully everything was backed up on a paid for service. New computer and thankfully all those backups came smoothly over to my new computer- but took a long time because of the photos. Many photos were ones I had deleted but were saved on the back up previously, so I have been going through many and deleting- I mean how many pics of Cardinals do I really need? It feels like a good clean out!!
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April 8, 2025 at 7:01 am
Why, everybody need a couple thousand cardinal images!
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April 11, 2025 at 6:13 pm
You can get you a big external drive and move all the images onto it to free up space on the laptop this is what I do but now I have 4 or 5 externals. I always say I can organize them later and it never happens and I never throw any away lol..
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April 12, 2025 at 10:19 am
I have a couple….well, 4. Lol.
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April 13, 2025 at 2:46 pm
I TRY to sort through and keep only the best images. However I do print out images from my Grands:)
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April 13, 2025 at 3:34 pm
Prints are a great a t way to save and share memories.
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