Organize Your Digital Life: How to Store Your Photographs, Music, Videos, and Personal Documents in a Digital World

by Aimee Baldridge

Now that digital cameras and music players have become so incredibly widespread, a forest of sound and imagery is blossoming in our homes. We’ve got digital pictures in the camera, scans on the computer, JPEGS attached to e-mails, and tunes on tiny players. But there’s also the old-fashioned stuff: photos in shoeboxes, videos in the attic, documents in desk drawers, songs on tape and vinyl. How do you transform all of these different elements into a convenient archive you can store in your computer, easily reach, and actually enjoy? This book delivers basic step-by-step instruction on streamlining and organizing your "digital life" so you can find what you need instantly and create presentations your friends and family will love. In addition, you’ll be amazed at the decrease in household clutter and paper waste.

For everyone —from teenagers who thrive on the technical to families with overflowing photo albums and seniors who’d love to collate decades’ worth of letters and pictures —this reader-friendly source has all the answers. These easy-to-follow solutions can truly enhance and simplify the hectic, over-saturated lives so many of us find ourselves leading today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Productivity, Reference, Photography, Technology

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 2008

Reviews

[Monica Willyard Moen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is packed with good information about how to preserve your cherished photos, videos, HomeMovies, music, and valuable documents. The products and companies mentioned are a little dated at this point because technology changes so quickly. However, the concepts are all sound, and most of the companies mentioned are still around. There are some new audio and video formats available, and you can learn more about those on Google. For me, the chapter on preserving valuable documents is the most helpful. I also really appreciate the author’s emphasis on backing up your precious media and preserving as much quality as possible from original works.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ancient by tech standards, so the relevance of this book in 2025 shocked me. You'll need to adjust for current formats and technologies, but the methods here are smart and practical. Recommended!

P.S. If you know of a more modern resource, let me know.

[Paul Wells · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just taken out of the bookcase to donate, and it'll probably get turned into landfill due to now being quite out of date.

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another quick read I had from the library. To be honest, I was rather disappointed with reading this. I thought it would be a little more in-depth and comprehensive than what it was. Much of the information with respect to scanning, sorting and storing documents were information that I already knew, and had more degrees of understanding than this book provided. I think someone who isn't used to converting physical properties like photos, movies, and important documents or using electronic measures would probably get more out of this. I still was able to take a few helpful tips from it (even to the point of creating some spreadsheets that were similar to the templates contained in this book), but likely, this isn't a resource I will return to in the future and I'm likely to seek out more comprehensive sources covering some of the same material.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is very useful for the novice who has not attempted any digitization. Good checklists, useful resources, and "zero minute tips" are definitely useful.

I didn't really learn anything new (except info regarding the RAW format of digital pictures). But it was reassuring that i have been on the right track since I started archiving digitally in 2003.

[Elizabeth Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as organization books go, this one is really handy. Most books say "Try to digitize as much stuff as possible." And then this book takes the steps to show you how. I plan on checking it out from the library again when I have time.

[Text Mess · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all technology books, it has already become a bit out of date. But it is still helpful, useful information. I just wish they would come out with a new, updated edition so I could buy that one.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned how to store digital photos so that I can find them, how to back up my hard drive with an onine service, how to rip a cd, and how to transfer vhs movies to dvd myself.

[Martha]

tips for people at every technical level

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Organizing digital and paper files is a time consuming chore. I am always looking for a better, quicker idea. There are some good suggestions in this book but not detailed enough for me.

[Phyllis Searles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good. Helpful info.