Organization.....

[Pandabean]

I have been recently wondering what to do with all the certificates I have downloaded and printed. Currently they are all in one big folder with very little order to them.

I have tried to organize them in a ring binder with the BMD's of individual people in plastic pockets and seperate them by family name. But after a while I get too confused with trying to fit the mothers parents in to the same section and then their kids.

Is there a simple and easy way to organize them without driving yourself mad with all the paper?

[LesleyB]

Hi Pandabean
Mine are organised in two birth "lever-arch" folders - one for each main line of research. (used to have ring binders but had to move up a size!)
Within the folders all the births are organised chronologically - OPRs then 1855 onwards, year by year. It seems to work for me, but may not be the ideal solution for eveyone!

There are also two death folders, two marriage folders, two census folders....same idea, indexed by date. ...And then there is the wills & testaments folder, the newspaper clippings folder, the miscallaneous bits of info folder, the general info on parishes & statistical accounts etc folder.....

Best wishes
Lesley

[Tracey]

Hello Pandabean

At first i used to print every single thing off until i noticed how much ink and paper i was getting through . I dont print off much now, only what is really needed because i cant stand all the clutter and having to find a place to store it all, but do keep everything on pc and i do try to remember to back it up 8-[ and have now got endless discs instead.
My stuff (printed off and on PC) is in "family" files ie all Donaldson in one Geddes in another so that way for me everything about them is in one place....in theory

[JimM]

Hi Pandabean
Like Tracey I don't print off everything...
I have display books with the slip-in pockets (Tesco's were doing a 20 & 40 pocket version in mixed colours)
I use eight books (one for each of my grandparent lines)..
I put a few important BC's, marriage and DC's then census, then OPR's each in chronological order.

It's ok to have everything on computer.... but sometimes it's better to see the hard copy.

Jim

[fmackay]

This is a problem I am constantly trying to solve but with no luck!
I started out with folders for my main names but these have increased in size with other names so I'm never sure which file to file them away in.
I also printed out huge amounts of copies and try and keep them in some sort of order but it doesn't last. I printed copies of my direct family but I don't have anything saved to disc,just on my computer. Bad idea I guess?
My daughter dispairs of the constant piles of papers, scribbles etc lying about but I assure her I know what I'm doing

[Ted]

Hi Folks

For what it's worth - I used to print off BMD's etc but don't now as it is getting too complex as my collection grows arms and legs - I keep them all on PC and back up freqently. I view them on an image viewer (I use ACD See) so that I can zoom in on the parts I need to see and can repair damaged writing etc. I use Roots Magic to manage all my genealogy data - for each individual you can attach the BMDs etc directly into his / her file - so that all relevant details are to hand and are crosslinked to others mentioned on the documents (for instance person who registered death or details of parents). You can set the system to seach for any of the data you have attached into it - makes info retrieval very easy and helps keep track of who fits where.

Best regards

Ted

[laineywoo]

I did it the hard and long way..but it does work! I typed out spreadsheets for bdm, with basic info so I can check easily, this was a suggestion from a lovely lady in Aus. Then I discovered I could hyperlink all the certs to the spread sheet. This saves me the bother of how to file the certs, and now I can see when an extra entry on a cert fits into the tree at a later date. Time consuming as I have so many certs, but well worth it! I can also find the cert with ease if a contact needs some info from it!

[mallog]

I started with a notebook ha ha then ring binders then lever arch folders now I am on to a 2 drawer filing cabinet from Tesco !!! I don't look organised though as I am still surrounded by paper and notes. I have backed files up only on a pendrive so I need to make a disc and I have recently started spreadsheets for my favourite lines so that I can see at a glance what I have and what I still need to find. Like one of the discussions elsewhere I am thinking of changing my software mostly because I am not happy with what I can print off at the moment.

Mallog

[Clydesdale]

I had to laugh Mallog at your description on your ongoing efforts to store all the paperwork

I seem to do a combination of things that others do. I have family folders on the computer, each containing a folder for individuals, and in each I store scanned or downloaded copies of certificates and censuses. I store a data sheet done in Word where I log all the dates, marriages, deaths, parents, children and census information from those certificates and that goes into the folder too, with a printed copy in my lever arch file.
My family tree is set out in Excel - and hyperlinks are a God send.

I am off to Peterhead in July for a week, and intend to visit the Aberdeen FHS to do some more research - so all this information will need to be transferred over to my laptop - it will take hours!

Helen

[fmackay]

Please pardon my ignorance but what is a hyperlink and how does it work with Excel? I notice Excel on my desktop but have never used it. Wonder if I should try it???