Picture Checklists: Upload Your Own Pictures

Being able to make picture checklists for kids is a game changer for a lot of parents – it’s a wonderful way to help kids become independent and stay on track. The Trip Clip has over 1500 pictures that you can use to make almost any list you can think of, and if there’s a picture you need but can’t find, you can email me and I’ll do my best to get it added for you.

Another popular feature of The Trip Clip, though, is the ability to upload your own pictures! There are a bunch of reasons you might want to do this. Maybe you need a picture of something I don’t have in my clipart collection. Or you want a picture of something specific – a person, a specific folder, a brand of cereal, etc.

I wrote a blog post about how to use the upload pictures feature.

Here are some examples of lists you can make with uploaded photos:

This is a common scenario my customers asked about before I introduced the ‘upload your own photo’ feature. They wanted to be able to upload a picture of the babysitter for a visual reminder to their kids of who would be picking them up that day after school. Young kids especially might feel comforted by seeing this list on the fridge before they go to school each day, or even having a printed copy in their notebook so they can check it from school.

This list is great for kids who are anxious, or who have special needs. A school schedule that includes their teacher’s picture can help them keep track of what’s coming next – information that may help them feel calmer. Having the teacher’s name written down may also help them, especially early in the year when they have so much to learn and remember. You can also write down the room number to help them find their way those first few days.

This kind of schedule also works really well as a hook & loop list that can be changed for different days of the week, or to account for assemblies, half days, teacher substitute days, etc. I made the portable, laminated, hook and loop schedules below using the picture clips option on The Trip Clip website. I can now move around the classes based on what’s happening each day, and a child can slip this schedule into a folder to help them know what’s happening that day.

Uploading photos for a grocery list is a great way to give your kids even more independence at the grocery store because they won’t have to remember what brand of milk or butter you like, they’ll be able to see it right on their list.

I took most of these pictures with my phone camera at home – it was easy to upload them right to The Trip Clip from my phone and make my grocery list with them. The one snafu was that they were rotated sideways. I found a YouTube video that showed me how to rotate the picture on my iPhone to fix them (I had to rotate them twice to get this to work).

When I printed the list on paper, the images were all big enough that you should be able to make out what the brands is. One way to improve that, though, is to do what I did with the Lea & Perrins picture. Instead of taking the picture myself, I used Google to find an image online from the manufacturer, and I uploaded that to The Trip Clip instead. That picture is a little easier to make out because it’s a higher quality photo with no background.

Another way to make sure the photos you take are easy to decipher at the grocery store is to use the list on your phone! In addition to being super portable and interactive, you can zoom in on the picture to see it better and make absolutely sure you’re buying the right thing.

Being able to upload any picture you want makes The Trip Clip’s picture checklists super versatile. If you’ve tried this feature, let me know what list you made! I’d love to share it with others to give them inspiration for lists they can make to help their families.