If you’re like most moms I know, your phone is overflowing with photos — thousands of them. Birthday parties, playdates, silly selfies, random screenshots, and about ten almost-identical shots of your child blowing out their birthday candles. Your camera roll is a treasure chest… and sometimes a mess.

At Cloud 9 Studios, we live and breathe helping families celebrate their stories, and one of my favorite little tricks for making sense of your photos is what I call the “This Day In Photos” method. It’s simple, it’s fun, and it helps you slowly turn your phone back into a place filled with the moments that matter most.

⭐ The Magic of “This Day In”

Here’s how it works:

1. Open your phone’s photo app.
2. Type today’s date in the search bar (for example, “September 29”).
3. Watch as your camera roll pulls up every photo you’ve ever taken on that day in years past.

It’s like an instant time machine. Suddenly you’re back at your child’s first soccer game three years ago, or remembering that goofy vacation picture you had completely forgotten about.

Try it once and you’ll see — it’s a daily walk down memory lane.

⭐ Why It Works

What makes this so powerful?

• 💛 The emotional benefit: You’re reminded of just how quickly your children grow and how much life changes from year to year.
• 🧹 The practical benefit: You can delete silly screenshots, duplicates, or photos you don’t need anymore — one day at a time, without overwhelm.
• 📸 The expert benefit: You start noticing which photos make your heart skip a beat. Those are the ones that deserve to be celebrated and preserved.

It’s part photo decluttering, part storytelling exercise — and it helps you see the difference between “just another photo” and a memory worth keeping.

⭐ Becoming Your Family’s Memory Keeper

At Cloud 9 Studios, we often talk about how moms are the true Memory Keepers of their families. You’re the one who remembers the milestones, saves the artwork, and makes sure those precious firsts aren’t forgotten.

The “This Day In Photos” habit is one more way to lean into that role. Every day, you’re not only clearing clutter from your phone, you’re strengthening your family’s story, one photo at a time.

And when you see the difference between the everyday snapshots and the images that tell your story, you start to understand why printed portraits matter so much. They’re not just files on your phone … they’re the moments that will hang on your walls, live in albums, and remind your kids how loved they are.

⭐ What to Do With the Gems You Find

As you rediscover those treasures, here are a few ideas:

• Create a special “Favorites” album on your phone. For example I have an album for each of my kids where I add my favorite images of them.
• Print a few to put on your fridge, desk or bookshelf.
• Choose one to frame each season.
• Print and add to a scrapbook or photo album.
• Or, if you’d like to go bigger, bring them to life in a session here at Cloud 9 Studios … where we specialize in turning milestones into artwork your family will cherish forever.

Because when you see how fast the years fly, you realize how important it is to capture the love and laughter of right now.

💛 Final Thought

The “This Day In Photos” trick is more than a digital cleanup tip … it’s a reminder that your family’s story deserves to be celebrated. And if you ever want help taking those rediscovered moments and turning them into something permanent and joyful, that’s what we do every day at Cloud 9 Studios.

✨ So go ahead …. open your phone, type in today’s date, and let the magic of your family’s story unfold.

🔖 Attribution: This idea and article were created by Cloud 9 Studios (www.photosoncloud9.com), specialists in children’s portrait photography and memory-keeping experiences. Please credit Cloud 9 Studios if sharing this content.