A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 11 – Happy Memories
November 13, 2020
“Sort your phots” is what Fiona Ferris titled Day 11 in her book, 30 Chic Days At Home. She describes an excellent way to easily sort old photos and put them in an album. With her sorting method, a box full of old photos turns into a lovely and enjoyable photo album with a few hours of effort.
In The Happiness Project, author Gretchen Rubin writes about how happiness can be enjoyed and amplified by happy memories. She writes that studies show that recalling happy times boosts our happiness in the present. We’ve all experienced that unexpected yet delightful giggle that results from remembering a funny episode from our past. I’ve certainly walked down a street with a silly smile on my face because somehow a funny episode from who knows how long ago popped into my mind. A photo album is a natural storehouse of laughter and smiles just waiting to jump into our day whenever we open it. Happily, Fiona gives us a quick and (almost) effortless way to stock an album with all those old photos sitting in a box.
I don’t have boxes of physical photographs hiding in the back of a closet here in Paris (sadly, my petit Parisian closets are not that large.) What I do have is a very large collection of photos sitting in electronic format. I did an admirable job creating printed annual albums when the children were younger. Then, one year got very busy and … before I knew it, here am I with about 5 years worth of albums-in-the-waiting. However, here I sit, in lockdown, looking for a creative and rewarding project. I think Fiona might have just pointed out a creative option that I could enjoy. Maybe I could allocate 30 minutes a day to her approach? (It would work the same way with e-photos now that I think about it.) My family and I get such a kick out of going through our old albums, I know I could have fun making a new one – as long as I keep my focus very narrow. If I approach it as putting this month’s photos in an electronic album – just going to make a few pages this afternoon – nothing too overwhelming…I think I could actually start on making one album. I just felt paralyzed at the thought of 5, count them, 1-2-3-4-5, 5 years worth of photos to address.
PS. Notice that I didn’t describe Fiona’s actual method. It’s a really good one – you should go purchase her (very inexpensive) book for the idea alone!
