Have you ever been hit by the revelation that you haven't printed photos in several years? Or that you have almost no printed images or albums in your home? (Yikes!) I talked a little about organizing photos, here. Experiment with some of those ideas and find a method that will work for you.

Today, as the second installment in my Organizing Photos series, I want to share a way you can hunt down and print images that are important to you. Yes, you can make an album of a whole year of life or of an important life event in a couple of weeks! If you're new to printing your photos, I hope this post gives you the motivation you need to do just that!

First, get to goal-setting.

Do you want it to be fun? Do you want it to be fast? Do you want complete albums or to be able to add to a gallery wall? Your goals are probably different from mine. Before you begin the photo-printing process, decide what you want to include in this particular project.

Next, choose a medium.

The second thing you need to do is commit to what you are printing your images on and where you are going to display them. Find the supplies you need to customize to fit you and your needs; it will be worth it to get exactly what you want!

What material do you like best? They all have advantages! Simple prints or canvases may be the most readily available. Albums are fun because you can end up with so much variety every time you select a new book, and your collection can grow seemingly endlessly. As long as you are getting your images into your hands, all materials are great, so choose what you love!

Plan your layout.

Now that you know how you'll be getting your images, you can start planning where you'll put them. Take some time to figure out what size album you'll need or how much room you'll need on the wall!

Print!

I love Mpix for the quality and richness. Mpix also makes it super easy to order larger prints, wall art, and even collages. Warning: You may become CRAZY obsessed with their collage prints. It's going to be so fun for you to end up with a giant box of product. 

Put it together.

This step is usually (and surprisingly) the simplest. Slip your photos in the beautiful frames you picked out, hang your canvases on the wall, or place your pictures into some old-fashioned pocket pages. Don't let your photos live on computers or flash drives forever ... You'll be so happy once they have a place in your home.