Gift Yourself a Christmas Two-Fer.

DECEMBER IS THE PERFECT TIME TO DO A MEMORIES PHOTO CLEANUP

Whatever you celebrate - Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali, Yule or Boxing Day, to name a few - December is the time of the year when we’re immersed in reflection and memories; connection and reunion. We slow down to experience it or speed up to squeeze it all in. We gather together and we roam.

All of which makes this a rich time for photos and videos. The people we meet. The places we go. Gifts, decorations, events , old friends and new.

Because of all that, December is perfect for a Photos two-fer. It’s a natural time to both wallow in your photo memories and banish the clutter in one go. The sweetener is revisiting all the moments from prior Decembers that moved you to capture them in the first place. But the icing is trimming out the junk that came along with them. Think of it as a memory edit.

Here’s how I do it.

In the Apple Photos Search field (on iPhone at the bottom right hand corner in Library view / on Mac at the upper right-hand corner of the Photos Library window) I enter the date.

For example, “12/2022” shows me a sample of the photos and videos I took in December 2022. Selecting the “See All” button brings up all the photos in that group so I can review them one by one.

Then it’s just a matter of starting at the beginning of that month and reliving that Christmas (or whatever) season day by day, enjoying the memories and removing junk as you go.

Like life itself, time gives you perspective and what seemed (or was) important a year or two ago is now much easier to judge. Without the emotional baggage of the moment.

For instance:

The potential gifts you took photos of in the store to share with your partner. Yes? No?

The three shots of the family gathered around the tree (Why do we always take 3?). Pick one.

The 16 photos of our neighbor’s amazing light display. Thank you Clark Griswold.

Our cat and dog curled up together by the fireplace. Okay. Keep that one.

Multiple Live Photos of the cousins playing beer pong on New Year’s Eve.

Screenshots of NOAA weather radar showing a blip over the North Pole.

You get the idea. There’s a lot of rich ground here.

But I mean that in the best way.

Most other months are pretty bland by comparison. December has a lot going for it, and your photos will likely show that. Curating and editing down to the essential story is both fun and satisfying. You’ll find that many shots have passed their expiration date, like stale crackers, while a few have achieved heirloom status. Who knew?

With a little practice, the exercise will create a nice tight story of this time last year, with some delightful side plots here and there.

And it’s easier the more you do it, but you don’t have to do it all at once. By limiting yourself to one month, it’s not that big a task. Nothing to get stressed about. We’re talking 50 to maybe 200 photos for most people. Ten minutes here; fifteen minutes there.

So whether you use decluttering as the excuse to revisit your last December, or you use holiday nostalgia to motivate some healthy cleanup, it’s a wonderful time to just do it.

Happy Holidays!!

And who knows? Maybe January is next.