Once again, they vowed to each other they'd definitely go for their 20th wedding anniversary. But, guess what? My friend's wedding ring broke (I don't even know that could happen!) and they agreed to use the opportunity, I mean vacation money, to get new rings. Hawaii would have to wait.

But, this summer they actually did it! They went to Hawaii and had a fabulous time. And, they've got hundreds upon hundreds of pictures to prove it!

My friend took so many pictures she doesn't know what to do with them all! In fact, the amount of pictures is so overwhelming that she just keeps them (all 600+ of them) on her counter. They have been sitting there for over a month and have blended in with the rest of her "to do" clutter. They sit there as a daily reminder that she must do something with them. She just doesn't know what that something may be!

What do you do after you come home from vacation and are faced with hundreds of photos? Here are some helpful hints for tackling the task.

First things first
Here's a quick and simple way to get started. It shouldn't take you more than 15 minutes. Within a day after getting home, store all of your pictures in one place. You can use one to several photo boxes to store your pictures. Depending on the number of photos you have, decide what kind of storage space will meet your individual needs, will hold more photos and keep them in the smallest amount of space. This way, if you need to stop, you can easily keep all of your pictures together. Do the same with you digital photo flash cards, if you don't have prints. Put the flash card in one specific place.

The tips in this article are mostly for dealing with prints you got back from your trip. But if you've got everything on a flash card, you can use some of the techniques we've discussed in our various articles on photo organizers. Just type the word "organize" into the search box at the upper part of this page.

Choosing the best display
I'm sure you want to display some of the pictures in frames but what about the rest of them? Are you going to prepare a scrapbook or put them in a photo album? Did you journal during your trip? Do you have souvenirs or memorabilia for embellishments? Are you putting any together for others as well? You might have a few you'd like to share online too. Before doing anything else, think about exactly what you want to do with them.