I use a photo organization app called Slidebox and I do any of the following:

• file it into an appropriate album – I have one that is “PLACES” and then within places, all the different cities, like Tokyo, and I will file that specific screenshot into one of those cities. That way, I can go into the album later and easily find a whole grouping of photos specific to that city to swipe through when I plan my trip
• delete the image because the task was done or I don’t need it any longer
• record the info from the screenshot, then file it into an album or delete it (depending on if I want to keep it or not)
• complete the task from the screenshot, and only once I am done, I delete it
• put the task down into my To Do list or in my To Do app because it has to be done then delete the screenshot
• file it into an ‘Interim’ album which is a temporary holding place for screenshots of things I need to follow-up on but don’t want to delete just yet, so it stays as a reminder

ALL MY ALBUMS ARE SPECIFIC

I really try not to name my albums generic names. If I need to create a directory to group things, I will nest folders into each other but I won’t go more than THREE folders deep. Any more and you are asking for trouble.

So something like this, would be my max in terms of folder creation

• To Do
  • Places To Go
    • Tokyo

TRY TO GO THROUGH IT @ END OF THE DAY

I try to get all of this done end of the day, every day at night before I create my To Do list for the next day.

If I am standing in line somewhere, or waiting, I will go through all the screenshots and sort them as much as I can, and delete what I can.

I stay pretty much on top of everything, and am ruthless in deleting and cleaning out my photos because it is a huge jumbled mess on my phone (as it is on yours I am sure).

TIP: USE A PHOTO ORGANIZING APP

As mentioned, I use Slidebox to keep it all neatly organized so I can just tap in my phone and find what I need in the moment based on the albums I have created.

It has really been a lifesaver in terms of organizing photos and thoughts.

If I want to see outfit ideas, I go to the album for that.

If I remember I saw an upcycling hack of some sort, I go to the album for that.

It is so much easier if your thousands of photos are at least semi-organized into albums that make sense to you to look at.

CLEAN OUT + BACK UP the PHOTOS

I periodically Airdrop all the photos off my phone onto my computer to backup and then delete all of them except the few I may want to keep.

I do this with all photos I don’t need to keep on my phone but still want a record of (e.g. pictures of Little Bun).

On my laptop I also have similarly named albums and I slot everything into them.

I really don’t want to be the one crying if my phone gets ruined or stolen.

CLEAN OUT THE “INTERIM” ALBUM EVERY 6 MONTHS

I just go through and delete, delete, delete as things are resolved or get done. I make a note to do it on my To Do list when I see there isn’t much to do that day, and I make it a point to clean out my albums.

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Et voilà.

Want more? Here are all my Organizing Series posts.