Toby Ward

Adding one thing - Great advice. I’d add two habits: for approximate dates set DateTimeOriginal to the earliest plausible day (like 1978-01-01 or 1978-08-01) and put “circa 1978/08” in the caption so the guess is explicit; and write people both as keywords and in IPTC Persons Shown rather than relying on face-recognition-only tags. Scan and save the backs as -back pairs and OCR them; those scribbles often lock down dates and places. Also, test-restore a backup once a year and keep a separate “sharing” export set with embedded sRGB and captions, in case a cloud or relative’s app strips metadata.

I make decisions fast by using three rules and a container limit. Keep it only if you use it regularly, love it, or will definitely need it within the next month. Duplicates stay only if they serve different purposes, and you keep the best one. If an item can be replaced locally in one errand for under $15, I let it go rather than store it just in case in a crowded room. Work one small zone per day, about the size of a bath towel or a single drawer, and sort with four boxes or bags labeled keep, relocate, donate, and trash, plus a dated quarantine box for maybes. Everything gets handled once, and if it does not fit in its container, the overflow goes. For example, I keep only what fits in one shoebox of cords and the rest gets recycled as e-waste. In a one-hour session, spend 5 minutes setting up, 40 minutes sorting that one zone, and 15 minutes closing out by putting away keep items, taking trash out, and bagging donations so they are ready by the door. Schedule one drop-off or pickup day a week, even if it is just the church thrift or a community swap shelf, and keep a single tote labeled next trip to town so slow shipping and infrequent errands do not stall you. For clothes, choose a number that fits your space, like 15 tees and 7 pairs of socks, and stick to it. If something new comes in, one goes out. For sentimental bits, snap a photo and limit yourself to a small memory box that closes. I keep one ticket stub from a concert and let the rest go. Papers follow a one-touch rule and a simple system of two folders, Action and Archive, with anything older than a year scanned with your phone and recycled unless legally needed.

Check the sound machine for any built-in timer or auto-off feature that might be enabled unintentionally. Consult the user manual to locate and disable these settings if present. Test by running the device in a different room or environment to rule out interference from nearby electronics or Wi-Fi signals. Inspect the power cord for damage or loose connections and ensure the unit is not overheating during use which could trigger a safety shutdown. If battery-operated try fresh high-quality batteries and monitor for consistent performance over several nights. Clean any vents or fans to prevent dust buildup that might cause operational issues.

We fought this for weeks and it turned out to be a perfect storm of placement and power. Our parent unit sat beside the Wi‑Fi router on the nightstand and it would drop every time the screen went dark. moved it across the room and plugged it into a different outlet and it stopped and no idea why and but I suspect the phone charger brick was noisy. I also turned off eco or VOX modes so the radio stayed awake and re‑paired the units after a factory reset. After that it stayed linked through the night even with doors closed and the AC cycling. If your nursery has a big mirror or a metal bookshelf try getting the camera a bit higher and angle it so the path to the hallway is clear. I know it sounds silly but that small tweak changed the signal bars instantly in our place. Hang in there. It is fixable.