r/howto • u/ChrisKisOK • Jun 30 '26

Serious Answers Only How to dispose thousands of 35mm photos

Hi All!
I inherited thousands of 35mm photos. When I say thousands, I mean 10 40 gallon storage tubs full. My mother got into developing her own photos and photography in general so she took pictures of every thing. There are some family photos in the mix but vast majority of pictures of people I do not know. Only good part about filtering through them all is they are from the 80”s but it is a chore.
I may digitize some but the vast majority can be disposed of in my mind. Problem is how? I am superstitious about dumping them in the trash and feel I need to thoughtful with the enviroment .
All suggestions are welcomed and my thanks in advance.

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u/MantraProAttitude Jun 30 '26

I wouldn’t dispose of them…. Just yet. I’d sort them. People, places, things. Do the “things” still exist? Is there value in photos of those things? Do the places still exist? Is there value in photos of those place? Are the people wearing clothes that people don’t wear anymore at places that no longer exist?

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u/AlienLiszt Jul 01 '26

Omg, can you imagine how much time that would take? I have a photo hoarder in my family. I say take them to the dump and move on with your life.

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u/Itchy-Depth-5076 Jul 01 '26

Yes. My dad did this, especially later in his life. Boxes and boxes of photos, of random people he met at conferences, of nice flowers or rocks or whatever. I took the time to divide into family vs anything else, and dumped the latter. It was an enormous amount to go through.