Hit the motherlode and am overhwhelmed.

What a gift. Wow.

I have no advice because I have never done anything like this.

In addition to everything else suggested, Undu will be your friend in trying to get photos out of the magnetic albums. I've been there.

In a museum or archive setting, here's how a new incoming accession would be handled:

1. Identify. Attach some kind of organization numbering to the items. Regardless if you plan to recreate the layouts or not, each picture should get a sub number of the original album's ID, such as "4.15.3" (fourth album, page 15, 3rd photo). or "Hawaii.15.3" if all the albums have an obvious theme, a word can be used instead of an album number. Carry through whatever ID system you used to the digital files as well. Consistent documentation will help. If dates, people or locations are known, those should also go on the back.

2. Document the intake. This can be fast for a personal collection, just take a photo of each page/album. The goal here is to get a baseline for the current state of the object, both for condition and components. In the case of a disaster during disassembly - say, dropping a tray of photos - you'll have something to reference to put them back into the order/placement they were originally. Backup this archive somewhere. Make a README.txt for the project, explaining what it is, where it's from, how whatever organization you picked works, etc. Think about what you would have to tell someone who takes over the project and can't talk to you about it - this will save your bacon if you take a break from the task and come back to it later, or end up sharing the job with someone.

3. Condition triage. Normally this would be a full conservation report on each item, but for a personal collection you're just going to want to figure out which items need attention most urgently. Number all your folders/bags/envelopes of parts as you take things apart. Remove any harmful materials, stabilize and place in appropriate storage.

4. Processing. This is the most time consuming long haul part of any project. Break it down into smaller parts (a couple pages) and get into a routine of scanning/documenting/storing. Lots of the peas have offered great advice for the this part already, not much I can offer here!

I have no advice to offer but it's a big project to tackle.

It sounds like should keep a different space for these photos from your regular scrap nook. Not only to preserve your usual documenting fun but also to keep those scents away from all your paper goods. As others have said, this will be a labour of love that will take time. Focus on what's important to your SO's family and their story. The rest does not need to clutter up your home, your attempt at making a cohesive memory timeline or your mind. It's ok to let go of what's unimportant/unknown.

Kudos to you for taking this on.

Is there a place you can store these boxes that is not right in your face adding to your feeling of being overwhelmed? If they seem to be already organized by year, put a sticky on the front of each album with the time frame (Christmas 68-summer 72). Put them back into the boxes in order of time and then label the boxes.

When you have time, I would then divide this up album by album. Doesn't matter where you start. These books have been stored for years, another one or two won't matter. If you want to start with your dh's childhood, great. Or your inlaws' wedding?

For the album you choose, start by photographing whole pages, in order, start to finish. If you can, then find a way to have your dh and/or his parents look through those photos and record their comments, which might be simply naming some of those people. But it may involve more extensive memories. Can you post these to a shared photo album like on Flickr and then people can comment wherever they want? If you plan to dismantle that album and do something else with the photos, then put a time limit on it. Otherwise, leave that album up there and start another when you have the energy to photograph the next book.

You may find that your photos of the pages is enough of a record of them, and you can discard the album (or put it into separate box to be disposed of later). But check first if there are notes on the backs of the pictures. Those may need to be photographed separately.

If you can find a way to split this up into small tasks that can be accomplished, hopefully the sense of being steamrolled by it will ease. good luck.

I use the Photomyne app for scanning. Not perfect, but great for bad photos. It even fixes them a bit. It lets you title them and you can put them in albums in the app.

I had to have a come to Jesus meeting with myself over some photos - dating back to the 1800s through the 1980s. Not my blood family, none of them alive, no descendants seem to be actively looking for them on Ancestry, and most not identified. I did a couple of scrapbook layouts to show the lives of my stepfather, his parents and his grandparents. Then I chucked the rest. Well, I'm in the process of chucking them because it is so hard. I discovered through the photos that his mother was into photography and the photos from the 1930s to 1960s are really amazing. Anyway. I also am chucking out the family member photos who are unidentified - we are talking professional photos from the 1800s and early 1900s. I have done what I can to identify them by matching to other photos and family records. I can't even find Ancestry trees with most of the individuals. Some, though I have names, I cannot even connect to my step father's tree. (And I have my own tree to work on!! LOL) So, I am working on letting them go. The photos were in an attic of a house with a roof in disrepair for many years. I tell myself that had they taken care of them better for 100 years or had my step father thought to give them to me when he was still alive and could identify people, it might be worth more effort. I am doing what I can to perserve them for whomever might come across them on Ancestry. I also have a box of his family records that I feel compelled to scan and post to Ancestry.

I've been working on my husband's parents photos...(lots and lots of photos).

One thing we did was put any photos with people we couldn't identify in a pile. We the asked another family member or two to look at those. If no one knew who it was or it was someone we didn't need to hang on to, it got dumped - either in the trash or put in a pile for someone else.

For photos of other family members we didn't need to keep (we kept some, but we didn't need 2 dozen pictures of so and so's wedding or graduation) we used gift bags and stuck any photos of those portions of the family in their own designated bag. We then gave the bags of photos to a family member who expressed interest in that "group." They could keep them, throw them out, whatever they wanted to do. But it made the amount of pictures we have to deal with more manageable.

We're also working on this project in phases.

1. get everything out of the albums.

2. Sort into keep and donate.

3. regime the donate photos

4. Sort and organize the "keep" photos into subgroups (such as my husband's growing up, his mom's childhood, Mom's side of family, Dad growing up, Dad's side of family etc.)

5. place organized subgroups in album 1 at a time.

We have not done this all at one time. We've been doing this for over 2 years as time permits. I just have a list of what's done and what needs to be done I can pull out when I have time and want to work on it.

Hope this helps.