3 Steps to Finally Get Your Photos Organized...and Stay Organized.

Photo organizing can be an easy habit instead of a dreaded chore...

If you’re like most people, your phone is overflowing with photos—kid milestones, trips, work projects, screenshots you meant to deal with later.

You’re not alone. We created Moera because we felt this challenge deeply ourselves. Photos should be useful, meaningful, and enjoyable. And if all the duds are hiding the good stuff, it’s nearly impossible to enjoy those photos once captured.

Here’s a simple, realistic 3-step system to get your digital life back under control. No massive weekend “clean-out” required. Just the essentials that make the biggest difference.

📁 Step 1: Get all your photos in one place; back them up.

HOME BASE

Before you can organize anything, you need a single home base. For most people, the easiest central hub is your phone’s photo library (Photos on iPhones, Gallery on Android).

BACKUP

Choose a backup option you trust. The most common ones these days are:

• iCloud (iPhone users)

• Google Photos (some Android users, and works across devices)

• One Drive (some Android users)

Depending on your device, you may need to set this up within your phone’s photo library (iPhone) or sometimes directly with the backup tool  (sometimes needed for Google Photos).

Having all your photos flow into one place means:

• You always know where to look

• You’re protected if your phone breaks

🗑️ Step 2: Clear Out the Stuff You Don’t Need

Here’s the truth: you don’t need thousands of nearly identical photos, blurry shots, or random screenshots from last year.

A little light cleanup goes a long way. Some quick things you can do:

1. For all deleting, start from your photo library! Deleting from your backed-up location won’t necessarily delete them for good.

   
   

2. Merge duplicates & delete screenshots (utilities on iPhone; Clean out on Android).

   
   

3. Quick scroll & bulk delete: scroll through your library and look for chunks of photos you obviously don’t need any more. Select those, keep going, then delete. Don’t worry about the photos you might want to keep. Just focus on the very obvious clutter. 

→ Make it a game: how many can you clear out in 3 minutes? 

→ Tip: start with the oldest photos, because those are likely the easiest to delete.

There’s a lot more that you can do on this front, but it quickly becomes time-intensive. These steps alone will help clear out 1000s. 

🗓️ Step 3: Start a Simple New Habit (Daily or Weekly)

The secret to staying organized is a small, repeatable habit. If you proactively organize your photos moving forward, the duds will never again pile up and the gems will shine through.

Here’s where Moera really helps: 

• NEW PHOTOS: As you take photos, create Moments by grouping photos + a title + a few quick details. Then use cleanup to get rid of the related photos that aren’t worth saving. 

  
  

• PAST PHOTOS: Use MoMoments to get drafted Moments for past experiences. These drafted moments group photos from one experience together. Add the photos you want to still keep, swipe away the lame ones.

  • Optional: add a title & tags, which help you find and look back at that moment.

    
    

• CLEANUP: Use Cleanup after each Moment or MoMoment creation. Clear out the related photos that don’t need to be saved. The more you can say goodbye to the mediocre shots, the more the good ones get to shine...

🏆Reap the Rewards

These steps payoff in several ways:

1. Reflecting is more positive, because you’re just seeing the good stuff. Use Moera’s Eras and Tags to look back at specific themes.

   
   

2. It’s easier to find specific photos, both by using Moera’s search and because your library isn’t so overwhelming. 

   
   

3. Your photo library takes up less storage space.

   
   

4. It’s easier to make keepsakes (like photo books or calendars), by using either the Moera album or your pared down photo library.

   
   

5. Photo flashbacks are better because the random photos are no longer there.

RECAP: A More Meaningful Photo Library Starts Now

You don’t need a complicated system. Just:

1. Put everything in one place.

2. Clear out what doesn’t matter.

3. Use Moera to quickly save the memories you love and clear out the clutter.

Ready to feel caught up, instead of buried? Ready to enjoy reflecting? Download Moera and start your new habit today.

P.S. If you want to take a deeper and more time-intensive dive into photo organizing, this article from Wirecutter gives some additional tips you may find helpful. However, be aware that doing all of their tips will be much more of a project. AND, without Moera, it’s trickier to make the photo organizing + cleanup a quick and manageable routine, which is a key in solving the photo overwhelm issue moving forward.