Cyber Psycho

Wired Wednesday is back. And this week I out myself for being a crazy person. Wait...you already knew I am a crazy person? Whatever. You are. (see how mature I am?)

Anyway, I've had a problem with crazy uber-organizing since I was young.
See, I'm not that clean. I'm definitely lazy. But I can figure out a labor intensive organization for just about anything.

How crazy am I?

Well, as a teenager, I took my teen magazines.....wrote down the names, pages, and months of all the articles I liked in a notebook. Then I used a hi-lighter to hi-light different categories so that I could find them when I wanted to. Like: Make-up articles were pink. And ones about boys were blue. There were hundreds. But I didn't stop there. No. I then re-wrote the list alphabetically. And then again by dates. I think I had 3 or 4 different copies.

You see, there was no Excel back then. Oh how I love to sort and filter!!

I've now realized that sorting things in this way isn't for everyone. In fact, it's for....almost NO ONE! And I go to way too much time and effort to sort and organize things. However, if you dial down my craziness...a notch....there's some pretty good stuff there. I mean, if you wanted me to find you an article about "What to do when your boy kicks you to the curb" I could've found it in 2 seconds flat.

What does all this lead to? Well, I've shown my crafting areas and how organized they are. I was shocked and dismayed when I began digital scrapbooking and found that organizing things was a complete nightmare. I wanted to be able to "browse" all my items and pick something. But it was too hard with the way things were downloaded to me.

I thought I'd share how I've organized my 200 pieces of ribbon, 140 buttons, 340 papers and so on.....

If you're the scrapper who scraps with only one kit, and never uses anything else...this won't be for you.



If you're like me, and want to use all your stuff, mix and match style....you're in the right place.

I like to keep the kits together, so I can see what I have. I keep each kit in it's own folder labeled with

• the designer's name first
• a dash
• and the kit name

It looks like this: Brittish Designs-Made in America (that's a good one by the way!)

I like it that way because then my folders sort by designers. I've also heard of sorting it by store. But sorting it by kit name sometimes gets tricky. If you can't remember the kit name, but you can kind of picture it.



Then, here's the extra time part. But SOOOO worth it. (trust me)

I keep a 2nd copy of everything in the kit that I LOVE. I used to do every piece. But I have way too many. So now I just do things I love. I just make a copy, and drop it in a new folder. The folders go like:

• Buttons
• Ric-Rac
• Ribbon
• Wire Elements
• Paper
• etc.

And yes, that means I use double the memory for all my supplies. But I have it on a hard drive, and I doubt I'll ever come close to filling it. And if I do...I'll get a new one. It's worth it.

I adore being able to "shop" through my buttons and find what I want. (I may have my buttons, ribbons and papers sorted by colors too....but I won't admit it. Since it makes me seem completely crazy pants!)

The other tips I have for effective storage are:

• Make a folder for all the "previews". Each kit usually comes with a preview .jpg. I put them all in a folder and then I can browse through everything I have. When I find an idea or a kit....then I can find it by name and use it.
• Make an Alpha file as well. I like being able to see alphas and choose one. If they don't come with previews...i just duplicate the "A" file and rename it. (i.e. Made in America-alpha preview)
• CLEAN UP AND SHIP OUT. Don't be afraid to house clean frequently. When I first started, I was a little less discerning about what I downloaded. I got a lot of freebies. And stuff that's just not my style anymore. If you keep it...you just have to pass it by constantly. If it really gives you nightmares, burn it on a disc and get it out of your main files. You'll be glad. Only keep things you love.
  

Keep in mind that duplicating files you've legally purchased for your own personal use is usually fine. You CANNOT duplicate them and share them with ANYONE. Each kit has a "Terms of Use" with it. And I recommend checking them if you have questions.

Please don't turn me in for counseling. I know, it's crazy in some ways.
But I bet I can locate a grungy metal snap almost before you can finish requesting it.
And that makes me proud.
For some strange reason.
Hey, a girl's gotta have a talent. And anal organizing is mine.
(shouldn't I make myself a T-Shirt for that?)




If you have "Wired Wednesday" requests. Or questions you'd like answered in upcoming posts....E-mail me: elle.ee.gee@gmail.com
I'm up for blogger questions, photoshop stuff, digital scrapbooking. Or anything else you have. If I don't know, I'll try to find out!!