How I sorted 22,000 digital photos without getting overwhelmed: 4 easy tricks

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If you're anything like me, you have a box of old family photos stuffed in a closet somewhere that's one of your more important possessions. You pull them out from time to time and laugh and cry at memories you'd forgotten and pivotal moments in your family. Also, if you're anything like me, you can't remember the last time you printed a physical photo to preserve your own memories.

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I've always had an affinity for physical media. I spent more than a decade working at a newspaper, I had a DVD collection of more than 800 movies, and I still miss ticket stubs from sporting events and concerts. But for some reason, physical photos have remained mostly off my radar.

I trust Google Photos to keep my memories safe digitally, but when I'm gone, what will my kids have to look through and remember? Unless they have my login credentials and care enough to chase down my photos, not much. "Just printing them out" isn't the easiest answer, though, since my Google Photos account dates back to 2016 and contains more than 22,000 photos and videos.