How to Back Up Your iPhone Photos the Free & Easy Way

It’s time for some tough love and a little PSA. If you’ve been following along, you might remember that my son’s iPhone recently disappeared. And while that was a whole adventure in itself, it really got me thinking: What would I do if I lost every single photo in my phone?

I have both my calendar and my notes app backed up on my Google gmail account, but I refuse to pay Apple to store my photos on the iCloud. However, I’m also not going to chance losing 100 adorable photos of my kid. Or the dozens of mountain photos we’ve taken on our adventures. So, I’m going to do it the free and easy way. Obviously.

I make a note (in my phone, of course) every few months to do a quick back-up on my PC. I just completed this month’s chore, so I figured it was a perfect time to share the reminder (and some quick and easy instructions) with you too.

And guess what? It just took me five minutes to back up 323 photos to my laptop. That’s it. Five minutes. If you’ve got five minutes (which you do), here’s how you can do it too.

Step 1: Grab your iPhone charging cable and connect your phone to your PC. You will most likely have to tap “trust this computer” on your phone.

Step 2: On your computer, open the Photos app (just search for “Photos” in the start menu if you can’t find it. Sometimes my iPhone is an overachiever and it opens it for me as soon as I hit “trust this computer”.

Step 3: Click import. On my PC, there is an “import” button on the top right corner. Just click it and select your device.

Step 4: Pick which photos to import (I usually just select them all and then sort later) and TAKE NOTE OF THE SAVE location. Mine wants to import it to my C drive under Users and then Pictures. You need to know where it’s saving so you can find it once it’s imported!

Step 5: Wait a few minutes while it copies over all your photos. Then, search out that saved location and drag and drop the folder to where you want it to live. I like to drag the new folder onto my desktop and then make smaller folders to file groups of images (ex. 2024 Spring Break, Jack 2025, and Ollie Being Cute).

THAT’S IT.

Now you can go through and delete photos that don’t really have to LIVE on your phone, since you have them backed up elsewhere. While we all hope we won’t ever lose our phones – or accidentally drop them in the toilet – it’s always best to be prepared.

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How I’m Going to Use ChatGPT to Plan the Perfect Vacation: Hidden Gems, Itineraries & More

Last week, I took a really cool course on how to use ChatGPT for business and WOW my mind is blown! One of the biggest surprises, is how it can help me personally with trip planning. I’m already excited to put my new skills to work for our next vacation – a return trip to the Sedona area. We visited once before for a four-day weekend, but this time we will be staying longer.

Since we’ve already seen some of the more common sights, I’m planning to use ChatGPT to uncover any must-see places we may have missed last time. It’s like having your very own AI travel agent – minus the commission fees and awkward small talk.

Here’s how I’m planning to use ChatGPT to make this trip even better for our family:

1. Finding New Must-See Spots:
We already explored some of the popular tourist spots on our last trip, so I’ll ask ChatGPT for hidden gems and lesser-known experiences in the Phoenix and Sedona areas. I’m hoping to find some cool trails, unique local eateries, and interesting shops that we didn’t have time for before. I can even give it our preferences (like secondhand shopping) and budget, to make sure that the suggestions align with our needs.

2. Building an Itinerary:
Once I gather some ideas, I’ll ask ChatGPT for a sample itinerary that helps us maximize our extra time. Whether it’s scenic drives, family friendly hikes, or casual breakfast spots, the AI can put the time in to figure out what makes the most sense, so I don’t have to draw out my own maps and check Google Maps a dozen times for expected driving times. I can even ask it to choose activities based on user reviews and list sources, such as the best place to rent an e-bike based on 5 star reviews.

3. Updating my Packing List:
If you don’t already have a packing list, you can ask ChatGPT to create a list based on your number of days, activities and family members. However, I already have previous packing lists I’ve used for trips. So, I can upload a previous list (or a few lists) into ChatGPT and ask it to create an excel spreadsheet updating my packing lists for our number of days and activities for this trip. Isn’t that INSANE?! It can even make you a shopping list for travel sized items that you can just print out and take to the store with you.

I absolutely LOVED taking the course on ChatGPT and find it absolutely fascinating on how I can use AI to make my life a little easier. Let me know if you’re interested in me writing more about what I’ve learned in my class!

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That Time Our iPhone Got Stolen (and What I Wish I Knew Before It Happened)

Have you ever had an iPhone stolen? Or at least thought it was stolen? Well, buckle up, because I learned a few things the hard way when my son lost his phone a couple weekends ago.

We took a trip out to Frederick for a nice meal and stopped in a few nearby shops, but somewhere along the way, Jack’s iPhone slipped out of his pocket. As soon as he realized it, we retraced our steps, asking in every store and the restaurant where we had dinner. One of those stops was a Goodwill, so just imagine me going down EVERY SINGLE AISLE looking for a generic black iPhone on the floor or on a shelf where it shouldn’t be. Sigh.

I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal, since we all have Life360 installed… except, someone had turned off the phone and the location wouldn’t update.

I then thought to use Find My iPhone instead, but we had never activated it, trusting that Life360 was all we needed. Yeah, rookie move. And here’s the kicker… when I was trying to activate Find My iPhone (because Jack is under “family” on my iPhone account), it kept sending a confirmation code TO HIS PHONE. Which we didn’t have.

At this point, we had given up on finding it that evening and headed home. So while Travis was driving, I tried everything to get Find My iPhone activated, and finally it worked. And that’s what I saw it – the phone was moving AWAY from where we lost it.

And yes, I was big mad. But I took it as a lesson that there are crappy people in the world who will steal a phone, rather than just turning it in at the closest restaurant or shop where they found it.

Luckily, Jack’s phone has an access code, and I have parental controls set up where he has to request permission for any downloads (so nobody could spend any money on new apps). I went in and locked down all the screentime options, just in case his code was hacked. I then added a “Contact me at my phone number” message through Find My iPhone. I also submitted a claim through our phone insurance that evening.

Fast forward to the next afternoon, and surprise! I received a call from my son’s phone. Turns out, a woman had found it on the ground where he dropped it… and then TOOK IT WITH HER TO WORK, 15 minutes away. Her daughter ended up calling me the next day, and we finally got the phone back.

Moral of the story? Install Find My iPhone now, not after you need it. And maybe remind your kids to check their pockets more often!

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