I’m a sentimental person—there, I admitted it.
If you’ve read this blog before, you probably already know that about me.
I tear up at heartwarming commercials, keep concert ticket stubs for far longer than practical, and decorate my home with heirlooms like old suitcases and my grandparents’ sewing machine. Those pieces mean more to me than anything I could buy at a store.
I used my own childhood pointe shoes, my husband Robert’s first teddy bear, and a birdcage from our wedding to style Olivia’s bedroom. The rest of our home is filled with that same sentimental mix. Partly because these items are free to display, and partly because they hold memories no retail piece ever could.
But sentimental collections have a downside: they eventually collect dust and take up space. I’ve meant to sort and purge for months, yet the boxes of photos and tapes always stay tucked away. Paper photos and analog video formats like VHS and cassette tapes become impractical to keep unless they’re digitized—especially when we no longer own a VCR to play them.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by Legacybox, a service that converts old media into digital files and DVDs. At first I hesitated, thinking it wasn’t a home decor topic. But digitizing old photos and videos is absolutely part of making a home more organized and meaningful—the perfect solution for anyone trying to reduce clutter without losing memories.
Besides the daily convenience, digitizing is practical protection: photos and tapes can be destroyed in a flood or a fire. Preserving them as digital files ensures those memories survive unforeseen disasters.
When the Legacybox kit arrived, I spent a Sunday afternoon on the office floor going through old photographs and tapes. It was a quiet, nostalgic afternoon—equal parts joyful and tearful—as I rediscovered moments I’d forgotten.
I found photos of my twin (my mom) and me at the same age, candid shots from family gatherings, and little video clips of ordinary, priceless moments. Instead of spending hours scanning and recording each item myself, the service sent a kit with clear instructions, a crush-proof box, bar code labels for tracking, and prepaid return shipping.
You simply pack the box with any formats—VHS tapes, slides, film negatives, movie reels, cassette audio tapes, 8-tracks, printed photos—apply the labels, and drop it off for shipment. A few weeks later, my original items returned along with neatly organized digital files and DVDs.
I chose the Family Package size, which accommodates up to 10 VHS tapes or ten sets of 25 photos. For me, the cost felt like insurance for decades of family memories—worth it to have everything preserved and accessible.
When the digitized files arrived, I couldn’t wait to show Olivia videos of me and my family when I was young. Some tapes had no labels, so the trims and surprises were delightful to discover. She loved seeing how I looked as a kid, and that simple connection across generations felt priceless.
Among the little gems I rediscovered were clips of my brother and I driving a Barbie Corvette, a tender moment of my grandfather holding me as a newborn, and a candid shot of Robert and me laughing on the wedding dance floor. Those moments feel all the more meaningful now that they are preserved in digital form.
Now that our childhood memories are digitized, I’m already planning to tackle Robert’s box of old photos and tapes next—because having these memories accessible and backed up feels like the best kind of home organization.
If you have boxes of photos, tapes, or film gathering dust, consider digitizing them to preserve family memories and reduce clutter. A service like Legacybox can simplify the process: they provide a kit, protect your originals during transit, and return both the physical media and digital files so you can store, share, and enjoy those moments for years to come. Use code BLESS at checkout for a first-order discount, if applicable.
Do you have a closet or attic full of analog memories? Tell me about the sentimental items you can’t bear to part with, and how you plan to preserve them.
