It's been a horrible few weeks. I'm still in the middle of it, and I can't sort stuff out well enough to write it down yet. So Im going to try and just write about specific things.
My DB and I have been trying to clear some of the stuff from my Mum's house, so we can get it ready to sell. She needs the money to self-fund her retirement home.
Last time we went, a week ago, we did a few tip runs. DB's people carrier was rammed to the rafters. We also brought home one of my Dad's sets of china (which took 3 crates), their collection of egg coddlers, their photo albums, and a load of paperwork.
I started with the paperwork. Sorting through it, throwing away the envelopes and leaflets, putting unwanted stuff with their address on in the "burn" pile, and separating out the bits of important things, Then I attempted to sort each pile into date order, and then I started scanning. Some of the stuff I put in the "burn" pile as soon as it was scanned. Some, I saved (for now). As I got through it, I was able to organise the filing of the paper stuff so I could find stuff again if I needed to. It was hard going, and took several days.
For a break, I started to scan the photos from the 7 large albums. These were mainly photos donated by my Dad's large family to form a record of the entire clan. The alums were self adhesive, and it was difficult to get the photos out without damaging them. I did several albums, but stopped.
I don't know what to do with the albums. I need to find someone who wants to take them on and keep them. I'm going to ask one of my cousins if she would like to take them on. If not, we are planning a family do in June, to say goodbye to my Dad. I will have to raise the subject then.
Then I had some small albums of photos, that Mum or Dad had taken themselves. These were presumably important, because they'd gone to the trouble of creating little albums of them. I emptied each album, scanned the photos, and then put them back in the albums. I've still got 2 little albums to do.
I noticed that my living room was smelling like old books, and I guessed that this was probably coming from the mountain of photo processing envelopes which had presumably got a bit of damp. My Mum had stuffed dozens and dozens and dozens of photo envelopes into shoeboxes. I'd emptied the envelopes into a crate, thank goodness. I decided, for the sake of my nose, that I'd better get on and do those.
There were many envelopes, most from the days where we posted rolls of film off to get them developed, and a "free" roll of film was included when the photos came back. Truprint, Colorama, York to name a few; and Boots from when Mum moved to getting them developed at the chemist.
I threw the negatives into a clear bag so I can make sure they are destroyed. I ripped off any identifying info from the envelopes, and put it in the "burn" pile. I then scanned each pack, often having to break it into multiple batches. The photos from the same pack are grouped by name, and I filed them according to what the majority of the photos related to. These were from the days where a roll of film might be in the camera for months, so the subject matter could be all over the place.
I put an elastic band round each pack of originals , and put everything in a shoe box of my own Eventually, I'll destroy most of the originals, but for now, for Mum, I'll keep them.
As I went along, I didn't pay too much attention to individual photos. A few registered with me, and some of them printed to take to my Mum next week. A few, I sent by WhatsApp to the subject (or their relatives).
One envelope contained photos from the house we all lived in, or even older. There were some of my brothers as babies, and I sent those to DB.
I've got hundreds of their house - the one we are getting ready to sell - being built. I hope it's bought by someone who is interested enough to want a copy of the photos.
Thank goodness for my fab scanner! I'd been planning to upgrade to the newest version of it, but it's made by Fujitsu and I can't bring myself to buy any more of their products (Post Office scandal).
It took most of the day to do the envelopes of photos. The actual scanning didn't take that long, it was the peripheral stuff that took the time.
I've made a shared online album, so I can give my DB access, and my Mum when she is well enough. And I can access the photos on my phone when I am with Mum next week.
I'm going to try and finish the sticky albums today, and then see if I can stash everything under the stairs. There's loads more stuff to come home to be dealt with, and my home is looking overwhelmed already.
As am I, truth be told.
