2. Let's begin...the paperwork

1. You probably already have documents, photos, letters.  Get them organised by family couple.  
2. Scan the files and store the originals, organised, somewhere safe.  
3. Use a document feeder if the items are not fragile, flatbed if delicate, or use a mobile app scanner like AdobeScan 
4. If you are photographing photos to make copies, try to get a shadow-free setup (on and easel with lighting perhaps)
5. File naming: choose something and be consistent.  Some choose to lead with dates, some like names (e.g Smith-HaroldR-BC-1964.pdf)
6. File your scans in the right digital folders