Let's see by a show of hands how many of you have at least one box crammed full of old family photographs out in the garage, up in the attic or down in the basement.

Look at that! Hands going up all over the room.

I'm guessing that anyone over the age of 20 knows what I'm talking about. Old family photos. We sure can't get rid of them. But we're not quite sure what to do with them either. So, mostly, we do nothing.

Maybe it's time to stop doing nothing.

Dear Mary: I have a large trunk full of family photos dating back to the early 1900s. How would you organize them? By date? By people? I am the only one left who is old enough to remember all of these people, but I think my children and descendants will be interested. It seems quite a task, and I don't really know how to start. — Sue

Dear Sue: Start by getting a number of archival-quality acid-free photo-storage boxes. You can find photo-storage boxes at stores like Joann, Michaels and Amazon. Pioneer is a well-known brand of acid-free photos boxes that come with metal identification plates and index cards, but there are others. Just make sure the boxes you get say "acid-free."

Nice photo boxes come in many colors, stack easily and make it so easy for others to enjoy the photos, too. To me, boxes are so much better than traditional photo albums. They will also help protect your loose pictures from the damage that can be caused by light and the harmful chemicals found in developing envelopes, older photo albums and cardboard shoe boxes. Stay away from plastic storage containers, as these can trap moisture, which is a big photo no-no.

Start by sorting the photos chronologically. Any other sorting option is just too confusing and crazy-making. Think big picture by first dividing the photos into two piles according to century. Next, sort each pile by decade — even if that requires a wild guess — and so on until you have them in general order. If you don't know the exact dates of pictures, you can often find clues like a printer's code on the back, or even the hairstyles of the people in the photo.

Don't worry if your chronological sorting isn't perfect. Just getting the photos into order where they are right-side up and facing the same way will give you a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. You can always tweak the order later, which is the beauty and benefit of photo-storage boxes over albums. You may decide to make these boxes your permanent storage method of choice.

You may want to consider scanning the photos at some point, to create a permanent digital record. Once they're in proper storage boxes with index cards, it will be easy to lift out a small section, scan it and then return it in the same order.

If organizing all your photographs seems too overwhelming or too time-consuming, you might want to consider hiring a personal photo organizer. You can find one near you through the Association of Personal Photo Organizers. I did a search by filling in just my country, city and state, leaving all the other fields on the search form blank. I was delighted to discover that a member of APPO lives right in my neighborhood.

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.