What to Do With Old Home Videos
If you’ve discovered boxes of old home videos- VHS tapes, camcorder cassettes, DVDs, film reels, or early digital files - and don’t know where to start, this page is for you.
Many people search for what to do with old home videos not because they’re ready to take action, but because they feel stuck. These videos hold real history, often spanning decades or generations, and deciding how to handle them can feel unexpectedly heavy.
This page is meant to help you step back and see the whole picture. It focuses on big-picture decisions - what these videos are, why they matter, and what your options are - before you worry about formats, equipment, or logistics.
If you’re dealing with a specific format, like VHS tapes or Super 8 film, you’ll find links below to more detailed guides. Think of this page as the starting point.
You don’t need a plan yet (and that’s normal)
Many people feel pressure to immediately “deal with” their home videos—digitize everything, organize it perfectly, make something meaningful, do it all at once.
That pressure is often what keeps the boxes closed.
You don’t need a plan. You need context.
This work is best done in layers, and the first layer is simply understanding what you have and what you want from it.
What counts as old home videos?
Home videos come in many forms, often mixed together:
VHS tapes and camcorder tapes
Super 8 or 8mm film
DVDs created years ago
Early digital video files
Footage shot by parents, grandparents, or relatives
Clips recorded casually, without intention of being “kept” forever
For many families, these materials span decades and sometimes generations. They aren’t organized narratives. They’re fragments of ordinary life.
That’s part of what makes them powerful.
Why dealing with home videos feels harder than organizing photos
Photos are familiar. They’re easy to glance at, sort, and put away.
Video asks more of you.
Watching home videos requires:
time
attention
emotional presence
You don’t just see a moment - you hear voices, movement, rooms that no longer exist. For many people, this is where hesitation sets in.
Start by taking inventory (without watching everything)
Start by simply noticing:
how many items you have
what formats they’re in
how they’re labeled (or not)
whose footage it appears to be
This stage isn’t about judgment or decisions. It’s about awareness.
You may discover:
duplicate footage
tapes recorded over earlier memories
material that no one else in the family remembers
All of that information helps guide next steps—without requiring you to relive everything at once.
What people usually want from their home videos
Most people don’t actually want to “organize videos.”
What they want is:
reassurance that nothing important will be lost
a way to access memories without digging through boxes
something watchable, not just stored
a way to share pieces of the past with others
Understanding why you’re doing this work makes the how much clearer.
Your main options for old home videos
There are several ways people choose to move forward. These aren’t steps - you don’t need to do them all.
Preserve them
1
Digitizing old home videos protects them from physical deterioration and makes them accessible again. This is often the first practical step, especially for aging formats.
Preservation doesn’t require deciding what the footage will become. It simply keeps the door open.
Organize them
2
Some people want structure: folders, dates, names, clarity.
Organization can mean:
grouping footage by era or family
renaming files
separating raw footage from finished pieces
creating a system that makes sense to someone else someday
This is especially helpful if multiple family members will eventually inherit the material.
This is the option many people don’t realize exists.
Old home videos can be shaped into:
a short film that traces a life over time
a piece shared at a wedding, milestone birthday, or memorial
a private family film returned to years later
This isn’t about perfection or production. It’s about context—deciding what to include, what to leave out, and how to let the footage breathe.
Shape them into something meaningful
3
Many people reach out at this stage not because they want a service, but because they want perspective.
Questions like:
“Where should I even start?”
“What matters most here?”
“Do I need to watch everything?”
“Is this worth doing?”
Where to go next
If you want more specific guidance, you may find it helpful to read:
Or, if you want to talk through your situation before deciding anything, that’s okay too.
If you’d like a slower, step-by-step approach, I’ve put together a guide that walks through this process in more detail. And if you end up working with me to create a film from your footage, you’ll receive the guide automatically.