The Cool-Girl Hobby That Made Me Love My Photos Again (and Cleared My Digital Clutter)

A few months ago, I found myself in a strange yet completely predictable millennial dilemma. While searching for a recipe I saved probably 12 years ago, I was scrolling through my phone, staring at what seemed like an endless sea of photos—selfies, duplicates, and blurry pictures of things I couldn’t even identify. I had 8,311 unorganized photos on my phone, collecting digital dust. I’ve been searching for a hobby (other than watching Bravo), so I thought: What if I did something with them?

My friend, who has a roller backpack specifically made for hauling yarn, suggested scrapbooking. It seemed like something only my grandmother, Loretta, was still doing. But it felt like a good way to channel my obsession with aesthetics and help tune back in with my arts-and-crafts-loving inner child.

Step one of my scrapbooking journey? Sorting through an endless grid of photos (15 percent of which were accidental screenshots of my own homepage). In my state of overwhelm, I turned all 8 thousand pictures over to my latest and greatest discovery: Amazon Photos. It’s like having a personal assistant for your photo library, minus the labor costs or that awkward boss-employee power dynamic. Here’s how to use it to level up your hobby game:

Organize your photos (without losing your mind)

If you, too, happen to have an out-of-control camera roll that you get overwhelmed by and push to the back of your mind, Amazon Photos is a game-changer. It’s free for Amazon users and, as a Prime member, I get free unlimited photo storage and 5 GB of video storage. It automatically backs up every photo and video in full resolution so you can delete photos off your devices to free up storage without losing them for eternity (which is my biggest beef with other photo-storing systems I’ve used in the past).

In any scrapbooking journey, the first step is to get all those digital memories organized. I downloaded the app, dumped my entire camera roll, and started sorting. I quickly learned that Amazon Photos doesn’t just throw them into a big digital pile—it has fancy organizational features like advanced filters to help me quickly search by album, favorites, dates, people, places, or even objects. My first search? Recipes. And even though that missing screenshot was birthed nearly a decade ago, I found it immediately.

Curate your favorites

After organizing my photos, it was time to go through and pick out my favorites. Remember, you don’t need every single photo—focus on the highlights. Once I had my photos neatly organized into albums—Study Abroad 2015, Washington DC 2019, Austin City Limits 2022, Emily + Ryan Wedding 2024, etc.—it was super easy to identify the top 10 for each big life event that made me smile. I knew that it was time to print my photos but something I didn’t know? I could easily order and print custom photos, photo books, and more with Amazon Photos.

Bring digital photos into the physical world

Turns out, if you’re an Amazon member, Shutterfly allows you to choose Amazon Photos as a photo source, and you can easily sort through which photos you’d like to use or print. If you’re a Prime member, you can connect your Amazon Prime and Shutterfly accounts to get 45% off regular-priced items and free shipping on purchases over $35. Shutterfly makes it easy to find your favorite photos and albums from Amazon Photos to print–which requires virtually zero effort.

I managed to print all the photos I needed for my first scrapbook entries through Shutterfly without making a dent in my biweekly “fun stuff” budget. But you don’t need to be a scrapbooker to reap the rewards of the Amazon Photos and Shutterfly. I primarily used it to get my digital photos into a format that I could use in my scrapbook but, naturally, because of who I am as a person, I didn’t stop there.

With Amazon Photos, you can bring your digital photos off your phone, and into the world in the form of wall art, custom photo books, canvases, cards, and more. I finally swapped out the framed photos hanging around my apartment from 2018. It took me a long time to learn that my favorite (and more current) photos don’t have to live only on my phone background. Now, I have photos from this year in almost every room. And the quality? Hang ’em in the Louvre.

Shutterfly

Stacked Gallery Canvas Print

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Shutterfly

Customizable Playing Cards

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Shutterfly

Floating Frame Portrait

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Shutterfly

Customizable Checkered Tote

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Get to scrapbooking

Now for the fun part. Get yourself a cute scrapbook (Pinterest has some adorable ideas), some washi tape, and a couple of old-fashioned magazines—there are no rules here. Put on some music, pour yourself a glass of wine, and be transported back to a simpler time when crafting scissors and a glue stick were all you needed to have a wild night.

I know scrapbooking sounds like a project for those Pinterest-perfect people who have their lives together. But this hobby is for everyone—especially if you’re someone who wants a low-key creative outlet that doesn’t involve staring at a screen. Plus, it’s a great way to revisit and actually enjoy your photos rather than letting them sit on your phone, forgotten. For me, it’s become more than just a hobby—it’s a way to stay connected to the moments that matter. And Amazon Photos has made the process so easy, I barely had to think about it (which is perfect, because who has the time?).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Paige Cushman, Branded Content Editor

From small community newspapers to country music marketing, Paige has found the most fulfillment in finding and sharing the uniquely human stories that compel an audience. As a Branded Content Editor at The Everygirl, she is able to combine her excitement about women’s issues and pop culture with her editorial skills to create quality content for our brand partners.

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This post is sponsored by Amazon Photos but all of the opinions within are those of The Everygirl editorial board.

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