I Don’t Know Where To Begin

This past weekend I attended a very large women’s expo in Orlando as a vendor with Cherish Bound. Sitting among the sea of booths I had a very steady flow of traffic, but I also had many concerned and overwhelmed memory keepers lurking around.  When talking with guests and even neighboring vendors I could sense their sincere  love for memories, stories and pictures, but many were very frustrated and commented, “I don’t know where to begin.”

That seems to be a standard theme among new memory keepers.  Believe it or not there are 1000’s and 1000’s of people who have never attempted the memory keeping process.  99% want to, but most just “don’t know where to begin”.

I have a few tips and a little advice for the aspiring memory/story/photo keeper.

1. Start with the NOW.  Do not go back and do your life history, yet.  That is the past and it was stay the past.  But the longer you keep forgetting about the “now” the more past you’ll have to catch up with.
2. Keep it Simple!  Start with a simple story, one simple memory, one simple and small event.  Maybe a first birthday, 10th Anniversary, dance recital, etc.  Stick with a “one-even” type of project.
3. If it’s your kid’s event or your spouse was involved in the memory, get them involved.  Let your family help you with the story and journaling.  Everyone has a different side to the story and everyone deserve to be heard.  This takes pressure off of you and let’s everyone share the responsibility, not to mention a great evening around the dinner table.
4. Only use products that are easy to use, for beginners, or help you organize and write your stories.  By going out and purchasing all kinds of “stuff” you’re still not getting your memories preserved.  The process of putting your memories together is not all about buying “stuff”.  It’s just “stuff” until it’s in a finished book.  Cherish Bound offers Story Starters that help you organize and write your stories and memories in order, with detail, and in themes.
5. Look into going digital.  By going digital and doing the storybook styles you eliminate the need for tools and products you may not use, no mess and no printing!  This can save you 100’s of dollars and hours and hours of time.

My area of expertise is keeping it simple, going digital, and writing and publishing your families stories.  There are so many simple ways to preserve your memories and stories.  By keeping it simple you’ll find a place to begin and you’ll begin accomplishing the rewarding task of memory keeping one story at a time.