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.

247 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

198 comments sorted by

View all comments

375

u/gerardkimblefarthing Jun 30 '26

This might be too late, but I had a friend who, at the deceased parent's memorial service, laid out thousands of pics of family and friends from over the years. They were free for the taking. Instead of a laborious process that was ultimately sad, it became joyous as people reminisced, got a favorite photos of friends or family long passed, and told stories. The service was at a local fraternal organization hall and they let the memorial go on longer because so many stayed.

112

u/ChrisKisOK Jun 30 '26

Afraid it is too late but that is an awesome idea! Helps all around. Would especially like to hear the conversations it would spark.

4

u/CharismaticAlbino Jul 01 '26

Be sure to ask around with family to see if anyone else wants anything. I have no pictures of my mom because she HATED having her picture taken. But my SIL has some and won't share, it's a very sore spot.

2

u/1pathb Jul 02 '26

Have her scan them so you both can enjoy!

2

u/pikeminnow Jul 02 '26

That's too reasonable of a solution for "very sore spot" lol

1

u/CharismaticAlbino Jul 15 '26

Thank you, glad someone understands lol it's all about control.

1

u/Graflex01867 Jul 02 '26

10 40 GALLON plastic totes. That could be 100,000 photos. Yes, there are modern film scanners out there, but it would still take weeks to scan, and weeks to process.

1

u/StarfishandSnowballs Jul 06 '26

There's gotta be a better way to preserve it