Thoughts on Project Life

Those of you who have been following me on Twitter and Instagram know that I have been doing Project Life.

THE GOAL

At the beginning of the year when I hastily decided to take on this year-long project, I had very little idea of what I was getting into. It sounded fantastic but I was so unprepared. I didn't have an album or any page protectors, but I had paper and I had the desire.

While I was waiting for my album and page protectors, I took pictures (which I normally do anyway), collected bits of ephemera and diligently kept a journal detailing the events of each day. I even sketched out what I wanted each spread to look like. 

The idea was that once I got the album and page protectors, I'd simply insert the pictures and ephemera, add some journaling and I'd be all caught up. Easy, right?

Wrong.

So far, the titles and sketches are the only thing I've been able to do consistently each week.

At first, my pages were extremely photo-heavy. Then, I found out how much work was involved in editing the photos to the sizes I wanted. On top of that, the photos printed out in such poor quality at the various stores I tried in Brisbane, I ended up printing four months' worth of photos in Toronto. I still have no idea where to print my next batch so now I'm a little stuck.

But I'm pressing on. 

I'll continue doing the non-photo parts of the project, and journaling where I can. The photos can come later. The ultimate goal of Project Life is to "cultivate a good life and record it" and that's what I intend to do.

Project Life and updating this blog has definitely been two things that push me to move on with my life and do something with it when I get stuck in a rut. 

If I don't do anything, I can't Project Life/Blog it!

WHY I LIKE IT

I think of each week, and each slot as a mini project. I love that even getting a title card done at the beginning of each week feels like an accomplishment. You can make Project Life as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Some weeks, I keep things super simple. Other weeks, I put a little more effort into it.

I've always been one to collect little bits and pieces from my life (i.e., ticket stubs, fabric swatches, envelopes, etc.) and now I have somewhere not only to keep it, but to display it as well.

It's another way for me to document my family's life. Can you tell from this blog I'm a little obsessed with documenting life? I can't trust my brain to remember all the little details and important milestones. It makes me so sad when I look back and I can't remember so I try to write it all down. With my Project Life, I do a weekly spread which really helps to keep track of how the kids are growing up and how our family is growing together. There's still gaps here and there, but not huge ones. 

It's tangible. I love that this is something we can pull out and flip through easily, unlike the thousands of digital photos and videos I have stored on my computer and external hard drives. Looking back through it, we get to remember moments that would otherwise be forgotten and mundane details of our everyday life that we often overlook, as well as the more exciting events.

It also helps me use up some of the scrapbooking supplies I have become so efficient in purchasing. 

MOVING FORWARD

This is my first year doing it and there are definitely a lot of kinks in my process that needs to be worked out. I'm almost halfway through the year and at this point, I'm planning on doing Project Life again next year. 

I will be sharing my weekly spreads as I finish them so they'll be popping up sporadically but hopefully next year, I'll be organized enough to share them on a weekly basis.