Many people now use computer database applications to track the results of their genealogical research. But the hobby still generates vast amounts of paper to physically organize. Here are a couple of strategies to build a system that can expand as your collection grows.

Three-ring Binders

Many people new to genealogical research begin organizing their material with a binder for each of their grandparents. Here’s the basic idea:

• Set up a three-ring binder for the surname of each grandparent.
• In each surname binder, sort materials by first name.
• Within each first name, arrange your materials as you like; for example, chronologically or following some other established order.
• Use archival-safe sheet protectors for your materials.
• Oversized or three-dimensional records (diaries, bibles, framed certificates) should be stored in archival-safe, acid-free boxes or file folders.
• For easy reference, place family group sheets at the front of the binder.
• Set up a “Miscellaneous Surnames” binder for new names you discover in the course of your research. Once the volume of material warrants it, designate a separate binder for that surname.

Keep these points in mind when using binders:

• Never take a surname binder to the library. Losing a binder and its contents would be devastating. (Note: Some libraries and genealogical research sites also place restrictions on what you may bring with you into the facility. We recommend that you check the rules before your research trip.)
• Instead, make a separate binder for research trips, with photocopies of pedigree charts and family group sheets.
• If you want specific records to go on a research trip, make copies. Originals stay home!
• Oversized records don’t work well in binders. If you decide to use on a binder system, you’ll need a place for these larger items, such as a dedicated storage box or file drawer.

Color-coded Hanging File Folders

Although many researchers start with binders, you may find that a color-coded file folder system works better once the volume of information outgrows your binder space. Here’s an outline of such a system:

• Start with 16 hanging file folders—four each in four different colors.
• The folders themselves and/or the label tabs may be colored.
• Each color represents one grandparent’s surname. For example, information about your paternal grandfather and his ancestors might go in a set of blue folders—one for each of his grandparents’ surnames. The four surnames of your paternal grandmother’s grandparents might go in red folders, and so on.
• In each surname folder, sort materials by first name.
• Within each first name, sort materials according to your system of choice.

Keep these points in mind when using color-coded hanging file folders:

• Hanging file folders come in a variety of expandable types, including one- to four-inch box-bottom folders that can accommodate most materials, including oversized and three-dimensional items.
• Some maps or very large materials require too much folding to fit in hanging files. Look for supplemental storage containers, such as archival-safe boxes or map tubes.

Resources

Books

Organizing Your Family History Search: Efficient & Effective Ways to Gather and Protect Your Genealogical Research

Sharon Carmack

Managing a Genealogical Project (Updated Edition)

William Dollarhide

Organizing and Preserving Your Heirloom Documents

Katherine Scott Sturdevant

Beyond Pedigrees: Organizing and Enhancing Your Work

Beverly Delong Whitaker

30 Seconds: A Guide to Organizing Your Genealogy Files

Robert Langman and Jimmy B. Parker

Software applications for organizing your research

Family Tree Maker

RootsMagic

Clooz

Support and networking

Houston Genealogical Forum

Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, Houston, Texas

Clayton Library Friends

RootsMagic user groups

Useful products

Acid-free Sheet Protectors

The Scrap Rack

Does the thought of organizing your e-mail give you the willies? Is your inbox up to 800 items yet? You need some strategies to “file” your paperless data, just as you used to file your paper. You have to be able to find electronic data when you need it. We will talk through some great ideas to help you organize your data so you can retrieve vital data when you want it.

Spectrum Center
4100 Westheimer, Suite 233
Houston, Texas 77027
713-840-8957

Researching your family’s genealogy is an entertaining and rewarding hobby. If you’ve been successful in finding information, then you know that it’s also a hobby that generates mountains of data—pedigree charts, wills, journals, diaries, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, maps, deeds—the list just grows over time. Gayle Goddard offers advice for keeping up with it all so you can hand over comprehensible information to the next generation.

Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research
5300 Caroline
Houston, Texas 77004
832-393-2600

How are you doing so far on the New Year’s resolutions? I get the impression that at this time of year, we’re all trying to become better, more-together versions of ourselves. We believe somehow that all we have to do is draw a line in the sand—“starting January 1”—and a better person will emerge all of a sudden. I think that one reason people don’t accomplish their resolutions is that expecting monumental, fundamental changes in yourself just because you’ve started using a new calendar is not a recipe for success.

“Get organized” is a popular New Year’s resolution. Having let their spaces dissolve into disaster areas over the holidays, people wake up with a hangover on January 1, walk around with coffee in hand, and say, “I have GOT to get this place organized!” It’s certainly a laudable goal, but it’s too broad a mandate to be useful as a resolution. The objective doesn’t contain the steps you’ll need to get there.

The best way to accomplish any job is to take it step by step. So if “get organized” is on your list for 2009, I propose that you apply a step-by-step approach. Instead of a New Year’s resolution, how about creating “new month resolutions” this year instead? Break out the steps it’ll take to get your space organized, and set each step as a monthly goal. A month’s worth of organizing is manageable, and more likely to actually get accomplished! Stick to all—or even just most—of your new month resolutions, and by the end of the year, your place will be in great shape. Your resolution to get organized will be achieved.

Want some help breaking it down? Here’s a template you can modify to your specific situation.

The Clutter Fairy’s 2009 New Month Resolutions

• January: Handle the mail. The most basic headache that afflicts all households is incoming mail. Ignoring it creates piles that multiply every day as the new mail comes. Without systems to handle mail, you’re guaranteed to find yourself buried under piles in short order. Spend January creating and refining your customized process for handling the mail and preventing piles instead of creating them. Then you’ll have no piles to deal with in 2009!
• February: Clear out the closets. The dead of winter is a perfect time to dig through your closets. You’re looking for those coats, hats and gloves anyway, so why not sort through everything now? Get rid of the clothes that don’t fit or that you haven’t worn during the year, throw out shoes that look the worse for wear, and put things back in an organized way.
• March: Tackle those paper piles. The tax-filing deadline is six weeks away, so why not spend March sorting out all the paper in your home office (and elsewhere!) so you’ll be ready to prepare your tax return. Go through any neglected stacks of mail and paper around the house, sorting and throwing out as you go. File away what you need to keep, including the items that support your tax return.
• April: Organize the home office. Since you just finished clearing all the paper piles, the majority of which were probably in your office, wrapping up your home office should be a breeze! Now’s the time to go through the existing files and throw out outdated material, rearrange the desktop and its contents, maybe try a new arrangement of the furniture. Perhaps you need to create a filing system because you don’t have one! Whatever it’ll take to make the office more functional and efficient, that’s your resolution for this month.
• May: Deal with the garage. Just in time for garage sale season! If you can’t park at least one car in the garage, you have too much stuff in there, and you’re probably just postponing giving it away. Empty out the garage and have a garage sale at the end of the month. This project has the bonus of generating some vacation cash for you.
• June: Clean up the master bedroom. Where do you spend one third of your life? In your bedroom, of course. You cleaned the closet in February, so now you can tackle the room itself. Consider the amount and size of the furniture compared to the size of the room, and get rid of things that don’t fit the space well. Create a floor plan with space to move around in and a way to contain all the objects that need to be in your inner sanctum.
• July: Sort out the bathrooms. Tried 42 different hair products during the year? Bathrooms usually have a small amount of storage that’s quickly filled up. Go through all the storage in the bathrooms, sort, purge, and reorganize what you really need to keep. Toiletries are a great donation to homeless shelters and other similar facilities.
• August: Dive into the kitchen next. You’ve tried another year’s worth of recipes, and it’s time to go through the fridge and pantry again. The only way to know what you have is to organize the cabinets and closets in the kitchen. Now you can finally try those recipes you forgot you bought ingredients for!
• September: Dump the storage unit. Now that the weather is not so steamy hot, you can get into your storage unit and clear it out! You cleaned up your garage, so maybe you don’t even need a storage unit anymore. Most of that stuff can go away—I promise—and what you want to keep might now fit in the garage. Do yourself a favor—get rid of that monthly fee.
• October: Organize the decorations. Fall is the season when all the decorating starts up. First Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas—each with its own set of decorations to put up and take down. Since you have to get them out anyway, why not sort, purge, and store them together? Then it will be easy to take down Halloween, store it, and pull out the stuff for Thanksgiving, and so on. Put the decorations in an out-of-the-way place, so when the season is over, they can hide away until next year.
• November: Prepare the guest/multipurpose room. Guests are coming any day now. This is the perfect time to get into that multipurpose room that’s part guest room and part craft room, or part office and part junk room. Clear out the year’s worth of accumulated stuff and create an inviting space for your guests, with room to hang up or put away clothes and a place to store the luggage.
• December: Stage the kids’ rooms. The kids are about to get a fresh crop of gifts, so why not make room by getting rid of some old ones? You’ll be just in time to donate items to a Toys-for-Tots campaign. Besides, the kids are out of school for three weeks, so it’s a great time to teach them about being organized, too. What they learn now about getting organized will serve them all their lives.

This workshop provides tools and strategies to help you create the perfect office for your needs. We’ll show you how to optimize the usefulness of your desktop and to put those drawers to work. We’ll talk about alternative filing systems and where to position equipment and stash supplies. In short, we’ll show you everything you need to know to make your desk the efficient, productive zone you need to accomplish great things!

Spectrum Center
4100 Westheimer, Suite 233
Houston, Texas 77027
713-840-8957