{Preserving Memories} Chatbooks

Welcome to Part 2 in my series on Preserving Memories in the Digital Age!

If you knew that someone could put your Instagram photos into a little book and ship them to you each month, with no effort on your part, would you try it? If you could imagine getting a surprise stroll down memory lane in a little 5×5 photo book each month, would you try it? If you knew that it would only cost you $10 a month to create a growing stack of memory books, would you try it? Would you try it if you could get your first book free??

Then please allow me to introduce you to Chatbooks!

I first tried Chatbooks last December after seeing ads for them in my Instagram feed. In fact, this Preserving Memories in the Digital Age series was a part of my discovery of this easy process. I have now subscribed for four months, and each month I’m so excited to see what will arrive in my mailbox!

The photos above and below are samples of what each page looks like. I love that the time and date of the Instagram post are included, as well as any caption I added. No more wondering approximately when a photo was taken! Y’all, these photos are 6 years old! Each time one of these little books arrive in our mailbox, it’s a fun surprise to look back on the sweet memories. That baby below in the red pajamas? She’s a big seven-year-old girl now!

I wanted to make using Chatbooks as easy as possible. Here’s how effortless it is:

• Simply create a free account
• Begin a monthly subscription
• Wait for your first book to arrive

Seriously, that’s all you have to do to make this a breeze. Chatbooks starts at the beginning of your Instagram feed, way back whenever that began! For me, it was 2010. Each book includes 60 pages, so the first 55-60 photos were included in Book 1.

You can see that I have enough IG photos for 29 books. My account shows which book will ship next. 

I chose to keep it very basic, so each book cover is the first photo in the book. The spine title is simple, with the date range included for reference. For $10 a month, this little peek into the past is so easy and so meaningful! I literally set it and forget it.

(The only change I made was to upgrade to hardback books, for an extra $5 a month.)

I’m loving the growing stack of memory books, and my kids love to flip through the pages and laugh at how small they were! I’ve created scrapbooks the 90’s way, and then the 2000’s way (with all the cool digital scapbook files and images), and even the easy way on Shutterfly, but each one still required a lot of my time. Sadly, the photo books became fewer and fewer. But my kids still get them all out and look at them.

Chatbooks have given this busy mom an effortless way to add photo books to our collection, and have encouraged me to keep up my Instagram posts in a meaningful way.

Although I have chosen the most effortless route with Chatbooks, you can certainly personalize your own Chatbooks with page edits and cover choices. For instance, if you want to include only certain photos from your Instagram feed, you simply log in and view the current book in your order. Remove certain photos (or captions) to your liking. (Super handy if you’ve posted stuff that’s not a “family memory,” or there are too many duck-face selfies!)

There are many, many beautiful designer covers to choose from, as well.

See how easy and versatile it is?? Chatbooks totally fulfill my goal of preserving memories that may otherwise stay in my phone or computer. I’m thankful for it today, and I know my children and future generations will be thankful for it, as well.

Check it out today with my link and receive your first Chatbook FREE! (And if you do, I’ll receive a $5 credit on my next book.) They are so affordable, you can order a second copy for grandparents (who may not even DO internet), or a copy for each of your children to keep forever. They even have digital gift cards available: perfect for that teenager in your life!

So, comment below! Do you have a handy method for preserving day-to-day memories?

And check back here at nickitruesdell.com for more in my series: Preserving Memories in the Digital Age.

Nicki Truesdell is a 2^nd-generation homeschooler and mother to 5. She is a homemaker at heart, and loves books, freedom, history and quilts, and blogs about all of these at nickitruesdell.com. She believes that homeschooling can be relaxed and that history is fun, and both can be done with minimal cost or stress, no matter your family’s circumstances. Nicki is a member of the Texas Home Educators Advisory Board. She also teaches ESL online from home. You can follow her on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.