Sara Dietschy is a YouTuber and content creator who’s also a new parent. In this very personal (and very long) video, she walks through how she organizes the thousands of photos she takes every year — not just to store them, but to enjoy them. Her approach blends digital curation with a strong push to bring photos into the physical world through printed 4x6 albums, photobooks, frames, and even journals. It’s not a technical system, but it’s a process that prioritizes sustainability and actually getting it done.
Tools mentioned
- Shutterfly → good quality, low-cost prints ($0.29/print), used for 4x6 albums
- Artifact Uprising → more premium prints and hardcover design photobooks, good for events
- Amazon → basic photo albums for cheap
- Mochi Things → source of well-designed 4x6 photo albums
- Etsy → lots of nice physical photo book options and vintage photo frames
- Label Maker → to mark photo albums
- NAS (she uses Synology) → stores digital “selects” and home videos
- Leica Q2 / Sony camera → used for high-quality event photos
Steps to follow
- Find Favorites: As you take photos (on phone or camera), mark 1–2 favorites per moment
- Curate Selects: After events, choose 10–20 favorites and store them in a dedicated “selects” folder
- Organize on NAS: Keep folders for each category (
family selects,work selects, etc.) - Print Photos: Narrow selects to ~100–300 per year and print them as 4x6s
- Make Photo Books: Use physical albums to store and rearrange printed photos
- Optional: Use design photobooks for big events (wedding, travel)
- Label & Frame: Label albums clearly and frame favorite images
- Journaling: Use a physical notebook to write personal memories alongside the photos
- Video Memories: Edit short home videos per month and back them up to NAS
Advice
- Focus on finding your best photos, not deleting the bad ones
- Don’t aim for perfection — aim for a process you’ll actually follow
- Split your system into tiers: quick-and-easy photo albums, premium event books, and framed photos
- Save editable templates for photobooks locally (don’t rely on services to keep them)
- Physical photos are easier to share, revisit, and reflect on than digital folders
- Journals can hold written memories and add context beyond images
- Small memory boxes (for objects like baby keepsakes) can be part of the system too
You can watch the original video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-VpJ9gCsZc. It’s a personal and thoughtful take on preserving memories — not just storing them.