Week 43 Organize

“Organizing can refer to papers, files, etc., but it can also refer to people. Did your ancestor belong to any organizations? Did your ancestor organize any activities? Feel free to post your stories and links in the comments.” prompt from Amy Johnson Crow for week 43.

I have to freely admit I am probably the last person you would ask for organization tips. I am much better than I used to be but I still have a lot of work to do. Stress in life can make it difficult to think clearly. Not thinking clearly can make organizing chaotic. I was under a great deal of stress for many years. Chronic pain is no joke. But, I am trying to rebound now and pull myself back together.

I try to do as much as possible on the computer because you don’t want to attempt to read my handwriting. An essential tremor has made digital notes a necessity. I’m looking into using voice notes as sometimes now I accidently hit keys twice while I am keyboarding. I may be an old dog but I can learn new tricks.

Switching to One Drive will be helpful for me so I can work on my laptop with my feet up when my lymphedema is a problem. I can work on the computer at other times and my record organization should be the same. Combining the two has had some glitches as the organization from one to the other was slightly different which resulted in multiple folders for some individuals. I am working on straightening all of that out now.

I am not completely happy with how I have the computer folders so looking at doing some tweaking here and there. I found this video that I may look at incorporating some of the tips. I like how they use meta data to keep track of sources. Maybe that is something most people already do but it was new to me.

If you google genealogy organization you will find more tips and classes and books than you could ever use in your lifetime. I think really it has to be what works best for you and how your brain works. We truly are each unique and come with our own restrictions and abilities.

Etsy has so many fun products for genealogists, I was just looking through some of them. There are a ton of templates for creating books! I have started making pages for my family books but not sure I am completely happy with them so I may look at some of these instead.

Organizing my genealogy is very fluid. Life changes and new items come into my possession. I have to decide how to best preserve each of these items. At the same time I need to think long term and what will happen to these things when I am no longer here. One thing we have all learned the last few years is, life can change in the blink of an eye. So many people are left dealing with households from their parents or grandparents and feeling overwhelmed. I don’t want to leave that burden as my legacy.

These are my tips from behind my pile of things to be scanned and folders to be organized. Hopefully some day soon I will be able to see over the top. Top tip has to be always have a back up drive!