Now that you've weeded out the good from the bad and the ugly, organizing your photos is the next task at hand. What's your current storage method? A giant wicker basket? A series of shoe boxes? A gazillion envelopes stuffed in drawers and cabinets? Shopping bags loaded down with the stuff? Once you start down this slippery slope of sloppiness, it becomes a habit that gets harder and harder to reverse. Photographs bring us pleasure, but when they pile up and turn into a chore waiting to be tackled, it's something we go out of our way to avoid. There's no question that organizing a photo collection can seem overwhelming, especially if you've got years or even decades of picture-taking history behind you. Start by breaking the photos down into categories to make it easier to sort. Here are a few ways to do it:

• By date

• By special events: weddings, birthday celebrations, graduations, reunions, anniversaries

• By subject: family, friends, coworkers

• By subject matter or theme: landscapes, vacation, holidays, camp, home, pets, hobbies, work

You can inject some fun in the undertaking if you turn sorting duties into a family event. Gather up the kids, and they'll get a chance to hear some good family anecdotes and learn about their roots as the process goes along. If you choose to go solo, take it in short spurts or at least as long as you can manage it without getting overwhelmed by the sheer volume.