If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in nine years helping people get organized in their homes, it’s that there’s no one right way to organize. Organizing systems that work beautifully for me (or another client) may be seriously flawed for you. That’s why professional organizers can’t take a cookie-cutter approach to organizing…we have to customize everything for the client.
This is true in organizing a home. And it’s also true in organizing your genealogy research. There are many ways to organize your family history–just take a look at the many and varied answers for any particular question in the popular The Organized Genealogist group on Facebook.
So that’s why I bristled a little as I read a document called Organize Your Files on the Family Search wiki about how to organize your genealogy research. I actually use the recommended one-couple-per-folder system for my paper records. (I learned about it more than a decade ago on FamilySearch.org.) But the absolutes in the article, the my-way-or-the-highway tone made it less useful to me.
For example:
Computer note keeping. Computers are great for genealogists—but they are not the final storage medium. Keep your research notes on computer if you like, but make a paper copy at the end of the day. Your descendants may not know how to boot your computer, but they will be able to read your paper printouts.
Make paper copies of electronic sources such as Internet sites, email, fax, or telephone interviews.
I don’t agree with making paper copies of everything. For some people, it will feel worth the effort. For others, not. And that’s okay.
The Family Search wiki has loads of good information. But this article served as a good reminder to me that gently guiding, rather than ordering people around, can be more effective.
I think some people thrive on structure and probably really appreciate being told exactly what to do. But for others, strict instructions can feel intimidating or overwhelming. Me, I prefer gentler language with options built in. I like to tell you what works for me, but I don’t pretend that it will necessarily work for you. After all, tweaking is a good thing.
I agree that any absolutes about organizing family history research are not helpful. Back when I was starting to take my hobby to the next level and was realizing that I needed to get myself better organized, I read everything I could find about organizing “best practices” and I was *swimming* in confusion about what to do. Everyone has different (and STRONG) opinions about what’s right and what’s best. Eventually I figured out that I am already an intuitively organized person and that I could figure out my own best ways of organizing my research. Other people’s ideas are helpful, but that’s all they are.
I agree completely. It is sort of amazing how strongly people feel about their systems, isn’t it? That’s great, but there’s no reason to think a system that works well for one person will work well for everyone. Thanks for your comment, Eva. Some day I’d like to see your organizing system!
I’d love to share it! Anytime!
Excellent–I’ll be in touch! I’d love to do a Q&A with a professional genealogist about how you organize your genealogy research. Thanks!!
I like your folder per couple idea but I find a variation works for me, using plastic pockets in a ring binder. I’m also using the basic idea of your research log too. Great site!
Thanks for your comment, David. Sounds like you have a system that works well for you! Glad to have you here.
I love my spreadsheets but also keep some paper info
That’s great, Marion. It’s all about what works for you.
I am at the very beginning of trying to organize my family history papers, so I don’t even know where to start!! Any suggestions for as first timer?
The one thing that has evolved most in how I organize my research, Becki, is that I virtually never print anything. And I try to have an electronic version of any papers I do keep. To me, it makes everything easier to find and use. So my suggestion for you as a first timer would be to think about what documents you need to keep in paper form, and whether you can just keep electronic versions and create an electronic filing system that makes it easy for you to access them in your computer. And then back up like crazy. But, like I said in the post, what works best for me won’t necessarily work best for you!