Organize Your Family History

Stay focused and happy while exploring your roots

My first article in Family Tree Magazine!

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I’m excited to report that an article I wrote is published in the current (July/August 2018) edition of Family Tree Magazine! It’s called Genealogy Organization Secrets the Pros Know and it’s based on the interviews I did for the What the Pros Know: Genealogy Organizing Tips workshop I hosted for Family Tree University earlier this year.

The expert sources for the article are Thomas MacEntee, Joshua Taylor, Drew Smith, and Denise Levenick. I’m so grateful to them for talking with me.

For ten years before I started my organizing business in 2005, I was a freelance pet writer. I wrote primarily for newspapers and magazines, though in the latter years I wrote books. (You can check out my titles at Amazon.)

So magazine writing is not new for me, but I have to admit it was a thrill to have a genealogy article appear under my byline in a major national magazine. And note the optimism in this post’s title…I’m hoping there will be more!

I was able to read the article through this link, though it may be for premium members only. You can purchase and download the whole digital edition of the magazine here.

While it’s nice to see digital version on the website, I’m looking forward to holding the physical magazine in my hands. (Never mind that usually prefer digital documents to paper. This is different!)

Organized genealogy workspaces in Family Tree Magazine

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Organized genealogy spaces in Family Tree MagazineOne of the things I enjoy about my work as a professional organizer is seeing how people live and work. Of course, I love helping them improve their organizational systems. But I love quizzing already organized people about how they stay organized. We’re all so different and I find there’s always so much to learn.

That’s why I loved the cover story of  the May/June issue of Family Tree Magazine . The article, called Making It Work, by Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, takes a look at the workspaces of six successful genealogy professionals. Those professional are:

  • Photo Detective Maureen A. Taylor
  • Writer and editor Sunny Jane Morton
  • GeneaBlogger founder Thomas MacEntee
  • Genealogy Guys podcast co-host Drew Smith
  • Genealogy Guys podcast co-host George G. Morgan
  • Genealogy Gems podcaster Lisa Louise Cooke

We see photos and learn the inside secrets behind the workspaces–and work systems–of each of these successful genealogists. In addition, Levenick provides lots of organizing tips and suggestions from these pros.  (One of my favorites: “Take a few minutes to file or recycle papers and neaten your desk after each use. You’ll be able to start your next research session with fewer distractions.” ) She also includes a list of online resources. I’m delighted that Organize Your Family History is included in that resource list!

It’s an enjoyable read, full of good advice. A theme among all six subjects was the benefit of eliminating distracting clutter. I know from my experience that putting things away (and having a place to put them) is the key to my productivity at my desk. After reading the article, I was itching to tidy up a bit more!

Incidentally, one way I keep clutter at bay is to subscribe to digital editions of magazine. I receive Family Tree Magazine as a digital subscription. I get an email when it’s available and I download it to read on my computer or iPad. I was able to switch from the print to digital edition mid-year, by simply asking. I love that I don’t have the physical copies of the magazine lying around!

The beauty of wedding photos

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Arthur and Rhoda Brown, October 18, 1905Yesterday, I did a consultation with a 74-year-old man in need of organizing assistance. He proudly pointed to the wall in his hall where framed family photos were hanging. I looked at pictures of his kids and grandkids. But really drew my attention were the wedding photos. Each was such a snapshot of time.

I saw his own wedding photo, circa 1971. The bride’s dress stopped well above the knee. Fantastic. Then I saw his parents’ wedding photo, which was taken about 40 years earlier. The contrast was remarkable. It was so clearly of another era. More somber. More formal. More clothed. And absolutely beautiful.

It makes me want to find more wedding photos of my ancestors. A quick look through the small cache of photos that my mother has given me revealed the photo above, of my great grandparents, Arthur John Brown and Rhoda Wheeler. It was taken on the day of their wedding, October 18, 1905, in Nebraska. (Please forgive my crude photo of a photo.) It’s also a snapshot of an era.

One of my favorite department in Family Tree Magazine is Photo Detective, written by Maureen Taylor. Each month, Taylor points out historical clues in old photos. Taylor has a Photo Detective blog on Family Tree Magazine’s website. If you love looking at the details of old photo, you should check them out.