ORGANIZING MY PAPER FILES TO BETTER MY RESEARCH

Lately I have been feeling so unorganized with my genealogy files. I have piles of papers that need to be filed, research to be done and family to learn about.

I have family tree program but am so behind putting information into it using ancestry to gain my information, printing out census or copying pictures but that is far as it has gone lately.

Most genealogists use one of three methods or a combination of methods
File folders
3 ring binders
computer storage

I have the computer storage but not up to date. I am also using the three ring binders but not kept up with my filing. I then thought of starting a file box but do I need another method really.

I have decided to continue with my binders and forget another method. In the past I had divided my family into 2 binders for my mother's family and one for my father's side.

I am working to start organizing my paper files. Last week I divided my mother's side into 2 binders and my father's side into 2 binders. All are different colors to help keep my research straight.

Next is do make sure I have a 5 generation family pedigree for each of my great great grandparents and a family group record for each of my families and then to start filing what I have already.

From there I hope to work on time lines and to start working on research logs better than I have in the past.

How do you keep up with your research and filing your research. I know that I need to improve here so I am not copying the same papers over and over.

Hope that you all have a great night with your family research. Grace

Feeling Overwhelmed With So Many Photos

It has been over 10 years since I gathered family photos from my mother's place in Duluth, Minnesota after her death to take to my home in St. Paul, Minnesota.

My plan was to organize and separate them. Some for me, my sister and my two cousins. A few would go my brother in an album made by me for him to enjoy.

Here I still am with piles and piles of photos I brought from Minnesota to my move to California.

Late last year I started to finally start to sort them. I put up 3 card tables in my bedroom and made piles and filled small boxes and envelopes. Then we moved from California to Texas to be closer to my sister and her family. As an added bonus we are closer to Minnesota where our children are.

As we packed for our move, I gathered all the photos up and put into boxes. Here I sit again with piles around me. Most have no names on them but I can identify a large number of them, but if something happens to my generation, no one would know " Oh that is a picture of Great Uncle Al and Great Aunt Merle." This picture is Great Grandma Catherine, Grandma Grace and ?"

I have to get this started and done. I need to stop procrastinating finally really begin.

Anyone else have or has had this dilema and what are you doing ? Or what did you do about this situation? Do I just put in an album identifying or do I take time to scrapbook. I have not done much scrap booking. What I did do is not very good I have to admit but would enjoy giving it another try.

These photos are of my mother, Aunt Daisy and Grandma Grace. My mom is the youngest of all three. Probably taken in Olgavie or Mora, Minnesota.

Organization File Folders, Notebooks or Computer Program

This is a continuation of my last post on organizing my files and yours if you like.

The first step to starting an organizational system is to decide on the basic form for your filing (the piles I have do not count!) — file folders, notebooks, binders, or computer disks.

Genealogical Filing Systems - the Advantages & Disadvantages

Filing Cabinet & File Folders - File folders, probably are the most popular organizational tool for genealogists, they are inexpensive, very portable, and easily hold papers of different shapes and sizes. But when they are dropped, file folders can become quite a mess - with papers thrown out of order, and even misplaced. File folders can make it easy to consult documents, but you have to be careful about making sure the paper is put back where it came from. Once you've generated a lot of paper, however, the file folder system is the most flexible and expandable.

Binders - If you're someone who really likes to keep things together in one place, then organizing your printed genealogy data into binders may be a good option for you. This method standardizes your genealogical records into a regular size paper format. Documents that you don't wish to three-hole punch, can be added in polypropylene sleeves. Binders are portable and don't require a filing cabinet, however, if you do a lot of genealogical research you may find that binders eventually become too cumbersome on their own.

This is my personal choice. Yes they can be cumbersome but also are a great family book in itself. Mine is a place I gather census, family group sheets, pictures, obits and even awards received.

Computer Disks, CDs, & DVDs - Transcribing or scanning genealogical documents into the computer can save quite a bit of space, and the computerized organizational systems can greatly speed up tedious tasks such as sorting and cross-referencing. The question is, will your descendants 100 or more years from now have a computer that can read them? If you choose to use your computer as your primary organizational system, you should also decide on making and preserving copies or printouts of important documents and backing up your CD files. I have had computers crash and their goes all my hard work. Also my first family tree research was saved on a floppy disc. My computer today does not read this disk. So it is just a small Frisbee.

Once you get started organizing your genealogical clutter, you'll probably find that a combination of storage methods works best. Some people, for example, use binders to organize "proven" family and file folders for miscellaneous research on unproven connections, neighborhood or local research, and correspondence. It is important to keep in mind that organization is and always will be a work in progress.

Organizing Your Genealogy Files

My genealogy records are not totally organized but I am constantly working on it. It is a work in progress that is for sure. When we moved I moved piles of family records, notebooks and family photos. Piles of copies of old records, printouts from genealogy Web sites, and letters from fellow genealogy researchers are sitting in piles on my desk and in boxes and in file folders in my filing cabinet. Not that they are completely disorganized - if you ask me for something specific, I can maybe find it. But it definitely isn't a filing system that I would recommend as efficient!
Does this sound familiar? Are you as surrounded in papers as I am? Believe it or not, the solution is as simple as finding an organizational system that suits your needs and research habits, and then making it work. I know, it's not exactly as simple as it sounds (or why am I not practicing what I preach?), but it is possible and will ultimately help to keep you and me from spinning our wheels and duplicating research.

Which Filing System is Best?Ask a group of genealogists how they organize their files, and you're likely to get as many different answers as genealogists. There are a number of popular genealogy organization systems, including binders, notebooks, files, etc., but there truly is no individual system which is "best" or "correct." We all think and behave differently, so ultimately the most important consideration in setting up your filing system is that it must fit your personal style. The best organization system is always the one that you will use.

Organizing the Paper as your genealogy project progresses you will find that you have numerous paper documents to file for each individual that you research - birth records, census records, newspaper articles, wills, correspondence with fellow researchers, Web site printouts, etc. The trick is to develop a filing system that will enable to easily lay your fingers on any of these documents at any time.
Commonly used genealogical filing systems include:
By Surname - All papers for an individual surname are filed together.
By Couple or Family - All papers related to a husband and wife or family unit are filed together.
By Family Line - All papers related to a specific family line are filed together. Many genealogists begin by starting with four such ancestral lines - one for each of their grandparents.
By Event - All papers related to a specific event type (i.e. birth, marriage, census, etc.) are filed together.
Beginning with any of the four systems mentioned above, you could then further organize your papers into the following categories:
By Location - Papers are first grouped by one of the four genealogy filing systems listed above, and then further broken down by country, state, county, or town to reflect your ancestor's migration. For example, if you chose the Surname Method, you would first group all DAY ancestors together, and then further break the piles down into the England DAYs, the New England DAYs , MINNESOTA Days, and the so on.
By Record Type - Papers are first grouped by one of the four genealogy filing systems listed above, and then further broken down by record type (i.e. birth records, census records, wills, etc.).

tomorrow Genealogical Filing Systems

Genealogy Organization Week One

I have gone thru week one already but will tell you what I did so you can start if you like to get organized.
Week one I did the following . I cleared off my computer table ( which for now is my dining room table.. someday I want a real desk ) I made piles of every thing I have to be file, pictures were put aside for now. I will try to not look thru them for now. I have so many pictures but I am boxing them up.
I have gotten my office supplies together. You will need pencils, pens, page protectors ( tons of page protectors) I like the ones that have an edge with the holes so the papers you put in do not have to have holes. Over the years I have bought both kind and trust me these are the ones you want. You will be filing marriage certificates and death certificates, newspaper articles, stories and you do not want to put holes in them. You will want 3 ring binders ( for now one for mother's side and one for father's side but as you get more and more info you will need more than one for your research) , divider tabs ( get the kind with the larger tab so you can read what you write. I have bought both clear and colored and tho colored is pretty it is really hard to see through the dark purple divider. Ink for the printer and lots of paper to print on. Some envelopes both business size and larger 10 by 14 manila. A lot of correspondence will be on the Internet but there are times you need to request something by mail.
Set up your desk as you want. Maybe buy a new mouse pad. I have a short book case next to my table where I keep my binders and genealogy books. I have taken over the bottom half of our file cabinet for my family information.