Did you know photos can be printed for as little as thirteen cents each? That’s the going rate for 4×6 prints at Costco. And if you don’t have a membership there, Walgreens only charges fifteen cents for their 4×6 prints.

Why am I telling you this? Because this means you can print out ALL the pictures on your computer for pennies – well, okay dollars. But not many. Let’s do the math. With Walgreen’s pricing, if you have 2000 pics on your computer, you can print each and every one of them for just 30 bucks. Thirty! With all the money spent on cameras and storage, thirty bucks is nothing to make sure those pictures last longer than your next hard-drive crash.

Now I know what you’re thinking. What the heck am I going to do with two-thousand pictures? Glad you asked. HandStands has a huge line of photo albums that just happen to hold 4×6 prints. The Bellagio-Italia Deluxe Ferrara album is on sale right now for $27.99. It holds 300 prints, which would cost a mere $4.50 to print. And if you want to go for all 2000, the albums come with removable labels on the binding that allow you to organize them any way you see fit.

So don’t let price (or even time) stop you from making a cherished memory album that will be enjoyed over and over for years to come.

Photo Organization is easy with Bellagio-Italia Photo Albums

I am literally doing handstands today over all our new and BEE-utiful DVD storage products. But before we go there, let me explain the deal I hinted about in the headline. We’re having a WOOT promo tomorrow (Tuesday March 22), where we will be offering our brown dvd storage binder, with an extra insert package, for just $14.99. That’s our best price ever. But like they say in the commercials: WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

Over the years we’ve received some wonderful, amazing, sometimes even embarrassing reviews from our customers for those DVD binders. Because, frankly, they are fantastic. But we need to get some new reviews on our beautiful new website. We’d especially LOVE a DVD Binder review or two from some our of our loyal customers before our WOOT promo tomorrow. So here’s the deal, anyone who posts a review on the the brown dvd storage binder with extra insert on our site TODAY will receive a code for 10% off that already fabulous deal of $14.99 for a binder and extra storage pack. That makes our best-ever deal just mind-boggling fabulous!

Get a great deal on the classiest media storage deal around

Now, I promised some news on more DVD Storage options. I’m telling you I’m in love. First we have a Media Storage Box. It’s like a hanging file folder, but tiny and so so nice looking. Holds all kinds of media, plus recipes, trading cards, and so much more. I’m ordering three today to go in the holes of my Ikea occasional table. And even better, are the Olde World Storage Book Boxes. Photos can’t do these things justice. There are four styles, all stunning. And they hold the same sleeves as our DVD Binders. We’ll be having big promotions on these soon, but if you’re trying to find something to make your shelves look gorgeous, this is the place. Genius I’m telling you. Pure genius.

Emergency preparedness is on everyone’s mind these days. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done to prepare for devastation that Japan is suffering. It’s hard to even fathom the extent of the destruction. But there are small things we can do to put our minds at ease in case misfortune heads our way. They may not help with the big stuff, but sometimes the best we can do is worry about the little stuff.
1. Water. The staff of life. It can’t be stressed enough to keep plenty on hand. We don’t sell it at HandStands, but we drink plenty of it. And we know life is not good without it. A large water tank is a great idea, especially if you have to stay in your home for an extended period of time; just make sure you also have some portable water bottles that are ready to grab if you have to run. If you know a severe storm is coming your way, fill the bathtub, pitchers, and whatever you can find with water.
2. Vehicles. Fill them up with gas when they get below half a tank. You don’t want to be sitting in a line for gas when you’re supposed to be evacuating.
3. Valuables. Take stock of what’s most important. Documents? Photographs? Select the most vital items and store them in a place you can grab in an instant. HandStands has a line of book boxes coming soon that can be used to camouflage important items (details coming soon); as well as a great line of photo albums.
4. Fire and Earthquake Proof- In addition to checking and updating fire alarms once a year, it’s important to keep at least one fire extinguisher in your home. Avoid clutter in your home. Extension cords and power bars should be kept to a minimum and never overload outlets. Make sure you know the safe spaces in each room. These areas are away from glass and heavy objects that might fall. Secure heavy and tall objects such as book shelves, loose cabinets, tall desks, etc.
5. Pets and children. Be sure both are included in your plan. Keep a backpack filled with both snacks and toys for the kids. And let them know your plans, especially at a time like this when disasters are in the news. They’re bound to concerned, even if they don’t express it, and will be comforted to know that their caretakers have a plan.

One of our blogging friends, Mrs. R., just posted her experience with one little ‘ol Bellagio Italia DVD storage binder. Imagine what you could do with a whole set of them! We’re always happy to hear from our happy customers!

What’s a digital dark age? According to Wikipedia, it is a term used to describe a possible future situation where it will be difficult or impossible to read historical documents.

In fact, historians fear that this amazing information age might leave historians with less information than any generation. And why should we care? Because history includes us and our little lives.

The blog Family History Writing has a story about this eminent demise of all our valuable memories. We’ve been told for years to back everything up digitally. But seriously, have you seen the discs that were used twenty years ago? They’re as big as a dinner plate. Ten years ago they shrunk to the size of a sandwich. Five years ago we got down to a large cracker.

Do we really think that in fifty years we’ll have access to the pictures on our phones? Really? Nope, I don’t think so. We’ll be lucky to remember that we had a phone, and maybe that it had pictures on it. But actually seeing those pictures? What about the ones we’re storing on Facebook? Are we really confident there will be a Facebook in fifty years? Unlikely. Unless we plan now, we’ll have to settle for just telling the grandkids about those good ol’ days and hoping they have vivid imaginations.

The new rule is print, print, print. Anything special–whether it’s photographs or emails from Uncle Joe–use papers that won’t turn yellow, and store them somewhere safe, like a binder or a photo album.

Don't lose your memories to a digital dark age.

There was a time that most of us displayed our CDs and videos with pride. Big media collections were equated with cool. Media towers took up space in every nook, cranny, and corner of our homes. Bigger was better. More was king.

Time and advancing technology hasn’t necessarily changed the desire for large media collections. But a big wobbly media tree in the corner of the living room threatening to topple over onto little Johnny is no longer considered a fashion statement. And a room that appears wallpapered but is really filled with hundreds of media cases is just plain tacky.

Sleek and simple is the new rule. Organization is the new king.

So what do we do with the piles of DVDs and CDs that take up space and clutter our homes? How do we solve the age-old problem of finding the movie that was sitting on that shelf just a few days ago?

There are plenty of furniture options. Most entertainment centers come with shelves for storage. But they are expensive, and have limited space. Media storage boxes can take care of the clutter and protect discs for long-term storage. But they’re not terribly attractive, and still take up quite a bit of space.

If space is your concern, perhaps the best solution is media cases. A collection of 200 dvds would completely fill a typical eight-shelf media tree, but would fit in three or four binders—which wouldn’t even fill half of one of those shelves. Case Logic sells dozens of cases that offer great protection for your collection. The Bellagio-Italia DVD binders made by HandStands are perhaps the most attractive on the market, with a leather-look binding that replicate high-end books.

Whatever your choice, just please protect little Johnny from the media tree. Remember sleek and simple. Now how easy is that?