Today I spent a good amount of time ordering photos of our family for Christmas gifts. This should have been a 20 minute task, but instead, here’s what went wrong:
- The CD all our pictures were on were not recognizable by our computer
- I added them to our Amazon Prime Photo Account (153 pictures takes a long time to load)
- Then I downloaded them from there to my computer
- Then I uploaded them from my computer to a store site where I often get pictures printed and then pick up
- About halfway through the process, all the pictures in my cart disappeared
- I added them all diligently again, once again being sure I have the exact correct number of photos in the right configuration for our multi-picture frame
- And the cart disappeared again
- I decided to switch over to shutterfly and order them there
- I then got to upload 153 pictures to shutterfly (which worked flawlessly)
- I again used all my powers of organization to choose all the right pictures in all the right directions
- I went to search online for a coupon code
- I updated the card on file for them
- Finally, I sent my pictures to print.
This whole process took more than two hours. I had budgeted about 20-30 minutes on it.
Here’s the empty picture frame. It’s seriously an undertaking.
But here is the redeeming part of this story. I am ordering these prints for CHRISTMAS- which is still a little more than two months away.
In the past, I have been in that same scenario the night or two before I actually needed the photos. I ended up driving to the store after having many problems, taking my photo disk there, loading it on their very slow computers, ordering my prints, and then waiting for the one hour photo service. In a panic. On a very busy evening. Then, at the one hour mark, they let me know they were quite a bit behind because they were slammed (with other people just like me who waited until the last minute).
There is something to be said about knowing what you need to do, and simply planning to do it, well before you need it, so that when little hiccups happen, they are just an annoyance, not a panic-inducing event.
So here’s why I am telling you this. Christmas is 65 days away. In a blink, it will be 60, then 50, then it’s Christmas eve. But there is a better way. Let’s do Christmas preparation together- 60 days of organized tasks, broken into bite-sized pieces. I can’t promise your photo experience will be better than mine, but I can tell you that doing things in an orderly, well-planned, unrushed way will result in better results.
Come join us. Holidays.Homemaking911.com
