organizing

And the organizing continues….
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And the organizing continues….

There are many ways to organize your genealogy. Most people these days do most of their genealogy on computers and/or tablets, thanks to Ancestry.com. And I am all for that, I love Ancestry and if, God forbid, something should happen to my hard copies I am so thankful that I have most of my research on ancestry or on my laptops.

But I am an “old school” fan! I LOVE having the actual documents or photos in my hands! And after trying to share my genealogy with someone I have found that I wasn’t always good at organizing and sourcing my research. So I am bound and determined to work on that this month.

Here are some of my tips on organizing your hard copies of your research. You can research “old school” going to the library with a pen and notepad (and lots of coins for the copy machine), or you can research online and print out the documents or photos from the comfort of your own home…. either way you need to have a few things. I have multiple 3-ring binders, in various sizes but my most common is a 2 1/2-inch binder. I add writable Insertable Big Tab Dividers to the binder, I have one tab for each family unit. Then I us sticky notes and highlighters to help keep myself on track and for easy viewing. The photos below are examples of what I would buy, you should buy what you like and what works for you.

Here are some tips from The Family Curator that she wrote for her local genealogy society newsletter. My thoughts are in italics after each tip.

Ten Tips for Organizing Genealogy Research

  1. Sheet Control – Use standard 8 ½ x 11-inch paper for all notes and printouts. (You will curse yourself if you have loads of half sheets falling out your binder. Unless you use post-it notes.)
  2. Stay Single – One surname, one locality per sheet for easy filing. (It’s very hard to do this at times when your ancestors lived close together.)
  3. No Repeats – Avoid errors; write legibly the first time.
  4. Dating Yourself – Always write the current date on your research notes. (This will come in handing later when you source!)
  5. Be Color Clever – Distinguish family lines with different colored folders, binders, tabs. (I have used color for location not surnames, but I love this idea!)
  6. File First – File one research trip or effort before starting the next one.
  7. Ask Directions – Write your own filing instructions; a big help when you take a long break.
  8. Supply Closet – Keep a stash of folders, plastic sleeves, tabs, printer ink.
  9. One File at a Time – Work through paper piles steadily; the mess didn’t happen in one day.
  10. KISS – Keep It Simple, Silly! Use an easy to set up, easy to maintain system.

Some more organizing tips from the internet:

Until Next Time….

Sherry

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Cleaning Calendar Challenge

Hello all! I wanted to share how I was doing on my Cleaning Calendar.  It’s been a week since I started doing the cleaning calendar (Organization) & I’m doing pretty good!! I still have areas I need to work on, but I’m doing better!!  I feel good about how my house looks, and I wouldn’t be completely freaked out if someone popped over for a visit.

RESULTS!!

After a week my kitchen, my living room, hallway & bathroom are all still cleaned.  We don’t have the cash to re-do our kitchen countertops, so we went & purchased some contact paper and covered the old, and it looks amazing!!  I told you I am not a good house keeper!!  Never really have been, but with this calendar I feel like a good house keeper!  I modified the calendar to fit my family’s needs & what I think is important.  I do DAILY eight chores.  In the morning I make beds, wipe bathroom counters/sinks (this means clearing the clutter from them also), empty dishwasher, do one load of  Laundry, & the chore of the day.  Since I have back pain, this has been good for me, because I can do them all at once or I can space them out with breaks in between.  At night I load dishwasher (& run it), clean the kitchen counters/sink (clearing clutter that has piled up during the day), & sweep the kitchen floor.  Just doing this alone has helped keep my house clean, but I’ve also been making daily & weekly goals for myself, little projects that I want done; like today I’m going to clean all the ceiling fans in the house & de-clutter my computer desk.  I’ve found that if I’m doing my “chores” my children don’t complain about their chores.  If I have a good attitude about my chores, my children have a good attitude about their chores!!

Here’s what my chore of the day –

Monday   Catch-up day/Coupons (cut coupons & organize them)
Tuesday   Clean oven, microwave & fridge
Wednesday   Dust & Vacuum
Thursday   Mop Floors
Friday   Swing Day (see list below)
Saturday   Family Time

SWING DAY

  • 1st week – Wipe down furniture & cabinets
  • 2nd week – Clean Mirrors & windows
  • 3rd week – Wipe down walls & doors
  • 4th week – Change Sheets/Project

I found a book at a yard sale that is helping me organize bigger “projects” it’s called The One-Minute Organizer by Donna Smallin.  She has loads of ideas & tips to help you get organized!  She says to “start with today’s mess. Do whatever it takes to keep up with daily mail, dishes, and laundry. Then set aside time to catch up.”  That goes right along with my calendar so I added a project day to my swing day just to work on bigger projects.  She also says to “Be realistic about you can and can’t do.”  Your house isn’t going to get clean & organized in one day! Just tackle one thing at a time, eventually your whole house will be cleaned.  I’ve heard this saying before at church or somewhere, “If you do what you’ve always done, then don’t expect different results.  If you want different results, do something different.”  That’s what I’m doing… doing something different!  I’ve tried to be the housekeeper my grandmother was, it doen’t work for me!  I’m not her!  But what does work for me is the cleaning calendar.

So here’s my challenge to you, try the cleaning calendar for one month.  See if it works for you, if it doesn’t find something different – just DON’T QUIT!  Keep trying until you find something that works!