is your genealogy work piling up in your research office it is a common
genealogy issue join me today on the ancestral findings podcast and
I'll give you some powerful tips to get your research organized
when you do a lot of genealogy research you can find papers photos contact information and even
artifacts piling up in your workspace if you don't get these things organized it becomes a lot more
difficult to locate what you need when you need it you may even lose some valuable research due
to being disorganized even beginning genealogists can find their workspace getting cluttered before
too long veterans may have an entire room filled with things that need to be organized the good
news is that it is easy to organize your genealogy home office so you can find things easily here are
some tips to do it the proper and simple way create genealogy binders by family one of the
best ways to organize documents is to divide them up by family and create binders for them
label the binders by family surname making sure to label the front and spine so you can
see the family you want easily on a bookshelf gather your documents pertaining to each family
and organize them according to types such as birth records death records marriage records
newspaper clippings financial documents letters miscellaneous information and any other category
which you believe will be appropriate for your records once you've divided the documents by both
family and record type arrange each category by chronological order then put the documents
in plastic sheet protectors and secure them in the proper order in their appropriate binders
organize the binders in alphabetical order on a bookshelf when you are looking for a document you
will always know exactly where to find it always scan documents and store them on your computer and
electronic folders arranged the same way you did with the physical binders so you always have an
electronic backup of your research materials label and store your photos one of the easiest things to
do in genealogy is to let photos pile up even hour testers did this if you've ever looked through an
older or elderly relatives house before or after they have passed on you may have discovered shoe
boxes and even drawers full of loose unlabeled photos don't let this happen to your carefully
collected genealogical photographs organising event will help both you and future generations
use these collections better much like you did with the documents organize photos into
piles by family and in chronological order you don't need to categorize them unless you want
to simple family and date designations will do label the backs of the ones with people you can
identify using an archival safe pen if you have unidentified people in photos designate that as
well as any ideas you have as to who they might be on the backs of the photos then get photo albums
for each family and put the photos in them in chronological order to the best of your
knowledge as to the time or approximate time they were taken label the spines of the photo
albums with the family surname and organize them on a bookshelf in alphabetical order as with the
documents scan your photos label them and arrange them into electronic photo albums on your computer
in the same way you did in the physical albums it is important to always have electronic backups of
your research materials get your artifacts properly stored and organized if you have
any artifacts or family heirlooms first make sure they are being stored properly for the best way to
preserve them you can look up information online for how to store things like old textiles ceramics
precious metals non-precious metals and more once they are properly protected label them including
who they belong to who made them if applicable and known the approximate date of their creation or
acquisition by your ancestors and their location of origin if you know it store smaller artifacts
in plastic tubs labeled by family surname and keep in a closet larger artifacts can also be
kept in a closet and organized by family if you want to display some of your artifacts do so in
a safe location where children and pets can't damage them and make a prominent label for them
so visitors will know their significance to your family clean them regularly if they are kept in
the open on display but be sure to use proper cleaning techniques which you can also look up
online if you find you have more artifacts than you want to keep you can donate them to a local
archive or Historical Society just be sure you have correctly labelled them first so the place
you donate them to will know the best thing to do with them organize your genealogy contacts during
the course of genealogy research you will collect a lot of different phone numbers fax numbers
emails and websites organize them by category then alphabetically and put them in both your phone and
in a word doc on your computer organize as you go along beginning now organize every piece of paper
photograph phone number and genealogy artifact that comes your way as soon as you get it this way
you won't get any additional buildup of clutter in your genealogy office here are some things you can
do as soon as things come in to your office put contact information for newly discovered distant
relatives genealogy vendors historical societies and archives places to get vital statistics and
professional researchers in your phone or on a word doc on your computer organized by category
as soon as you receive them file documents in physical binders and also scan and store
electronic versions of them on your computer label photographs and put them in appropriate albums
also scan create and file electronic versions of them on your computer label artifacts and store
them in an appropriately designated place or donate them to an appropriate archive Center or
Historical Society once you do all of these things you will soon find that your genealogy home office
is no longer a chaotic place but a well-ordered place where you can find exactly what you need
when you need it with ease no more clutter will pile up either you will have a perfect smoothly
working genealogy home office that will be a pleasant place in which to work your genealogy
research will also be better and more accurate for it which is the goal of any genealogist
have you seen a sound deck search option when using census databases online if you have but
don't know what it is or why you should use it get the scoop on the next episode of the
ancestral findings podcast to learn more about genealogy and sign up for our weekly giveaway
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