How many of you have at least one box of genealogical papers and materials that you need to “go through”?  We’ve all been there, and we understand your situation.
        It’s not a question of “Should I get organized?”, but rather a question of “Why don’t I?”, and even more important, “When will I?”   Virtually every published book on genealogy, whether for beginners or advanced genealogists, urges its readers to organize their records.  Rhonda McClure even dedicated an entire chapter in her book, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, to this subject.  The title?  “Organize, Organize, Organize”.
        I’ve organized this subject into three sections: 1) How Do I Start? 2) How Do I “Organize”? and 3) How Do I End?.

How Do I Start?
        Start now!  This can’t be emphasized too strongly.  Work with whatever records you have, in whatever shape they’re in.  It will never be any easier tomorrow than it is today!  The paperwork will never magically organize itself.  As Rhonda McClure said, the name of the game is either “Pile” or “File”.
        First, develop your strategy.  Decide which format of files you want: Hanging Files, Notebooks, Computer, or some combination of these three.  Your available space or your present office furniture may help you decide which is best for you.  I personally started out many years ago by using hanging files.  Once technology caught up with me, I added the computer (Family Tree Maker).  But as my collection grew (and grew and grew!), I discovered the hanging files weren’t working too well.  It was hard for me to keep family records separated, hard to file and preserve odd-sized records, and especially hard to quickly locate a particular record.  I was always going through the records over and over again.
        Second, you have to decide which system to file by.  Rhonda McClure suggests a file folder(s) for each couple on the pedigree chart, filed alphabetically first by surname and then by given name.  Additionally, each lineage is given a different color.  Sharon DeBartolo Carmack also recommends filing by couples or family groups, but writes their Ahnentafel ID numbers on the file folders, and then files numerically.  John W. Heisey recommends keeping everything together that pertains to one family.  Marcia Yannizze Melnyk recommends establishing one binder for pedigree charts, one binder for the family group sheets, and a file for copies of documents that you acquire.  Others recommend filing by surname; filing by surname and locality (i.e., Smith–Ohio, and Smith–Pennsylvania); filing by individuals (like your doctor’s office); or filing by surname and the type of record (i.e., Smith–Birth Records, Smith–Death Records, Smith– Military Records, etc.).  And to complicate all of this, many authors recommend a “dual” filing system.  You would maintain a family group sheet in the binder/file, with footnote numbers written on it for each piece of data that you acquire, and then the actual source information filed numerically behind the family group sheet.  Every sheet of paper, each form, each letter, each record, would have to be numbered, recorded on a Table of Contents sheet and tracked.  Additionally, some also recommend having a rolodex card file besides, where everything would be cross-referenced back to your binders/files.
        I wanted something much easier.  I did not want to maintain dual files or dual records.  I wanted my original records to be protected, yet able to be used.  And most importantly, I wanted my system to be fast!  I didn’t want to spend my time doing repetitive work, and when I needed to locate something, I wanted to be able to find it quickly!
        All information on any given person or family unit is “together” in one or more notebooks.  (More information on the set-up of the notebooks follows later in this article.)  Any record you find can logically be filed (even my Mother’s crocheted doilies!).  There is no numbering of each piece of paper, no rolodex card file, no tables of contents, and no duplication of your efforts!
        Perhaps most important of all, each notebook is interesting enough, and complete enough, to be called a “scrapbook” rather than a genealogical surname binder.  You just can’t imagine how important this is to those relatives who don’t want to “get involved with genealogy”.  It’s so easy to show someone your “Smith Family Scrapbook”, and likewise, it seems to encourage them to respond by wanting to add to your scrapbook – especially if it’s their parents’ or their family’s information that you’re missing!
        I chose to use the format of using notebooks while continuing my Family Tree Maker computer program. The actual record/document is placed in the appropriate notebook, but all facts, dates, names, and places are recorded in the computer.  You can use your “Notes” pages to add comments, observations, and additional information.
        The third thing you have to do before you actually start organizing your records is to gather your supplies.  You will need acid-free page protectors, 8 ½ x 11 white paper, a 3-hole paper punch, highlighter, black magic marker, magnifier, scissors, small labels, pens, pencils, eraser (the normal “genealogical” supplies), and either your hanging files and file cabinet, or your notebooks and bookshelves.  For the notebooks, I recommend using 3” or 4” notebooks, the ones where you can insert a paper in the spine and in the front and back covers.
How Do I “Organize”?
        NOW you’re ready to start!  You need to “Divide and Conquer”!  I suggest getting four cardboard boxes and, with a big black magic marker, mark the surname of one of your four main ancestral lines on each box.  Put some relaxing music on, and start going through your existing records.  Don’t worry about what each item is – just put each piece of paper in the appropriate box, as quickly as you can.  This may take you all evening, or even several evenings, but keep going!  It’s the first step to getting organized!
        Once you have all your existing records divided into your four main ancestral lines, and before you go any further, I would suggest setting up four expandable files, one for each of these four lines.  Any record that you obtain from this point on, you should immediately file it in the appropriate “temporary” file.  When you come home from the library, or the Courthouse, or some genealogical field trip, immediately divide the records you found into one of these files.  This guarantees you will always be organized from now on!
        Next, set up a notebook for each of these four lines.  Print each of your four surnames in large black letters vertically on a piece of paper, and then insert in the spine of each notebook.  (This will save you unbelievable time in days to come!)  Arrange your papers in each notebook in a consistent order.  Your records and quantity of records will vary from line to line, but your basic method of organization within the notebook should be the same. \
        (Tip:  It’s important to decide at the beginning how you will handle the children of any particular family.  Many genealogists recommend keeping children, and any relevant records, with their parents until they marry and establish their own family.)
        Ideally, I’d recommend starting with at least the following notebooks:
                (1) One notebook for your parents.
                (2) Two notebooks for your two sets of grandparents.
                (3) Four notebooks for your four ancestral lines
        When one particular line grows too large for the notebook, it’s time to again “divide and conquer” and start a second notebook!  Always keep the same surname on the paper in the spine of your notebook, but add a smaller “subtitle” to explain the contents, such as:
                (1) The first and last names of a couple if only their family records  will be in that notebook (probably necessary for at least your own family, your parents’ family, and your grandparents’ families).
                (2) “Surname – Surname” (for ancestors further back than your grandparents).
        Eventually, you might also find it helpful to add additional notebooks for each of your four main ancestral lines, such as Publications/Printed Materials, Reunions, and Correspondence.  As my records grew, I even set up “Children of ----------- ” notebooks for my children, siblings, and aunts and uncles – just another case of “dividing and conquering”!   Another tip is that any notebook can be sub-divided when necessary – just create “1 of 2” and “2 of 2” notations on the spine.  It’s also very helpful to print out “bare bone” descendant charts, and insert them in the front or back covers of the applicable notebooks.
        Work with just one surname at a time.  When you first set up your notebooks, I suggest putting in a Family Group Sheet for each family that will be in that notebook.  Every piece of paper is put in a page protector, whether it’s computer-generated, or an original, or a copy, a picture, or whatever.  That way, you can flip through the notebook all you want without causing any wear and tear on the records.  Then, as you start going through your box of records, or later, when you go through your temporary files, you can “fill in” and insert each piece of paper in another page protector and file it following the appropriate family group sheet.  Just remember to keep your records in a consistent order.  The glory of this system is that you can quickly add, remove, or change the order of any record whenever you need to!
         Take control of your system!  Don’t be afraid of it!  Have a system in place that will accommodate YOU and YOUR records – one that can be expanded wherever and whenever necessary – without your having to redo everything you’ve already done!  Remember, records come in different sizes and different types.  Not only that, but families are different, too!  You’ll find that you may have far more records for one branch than another, or that one family will have far more records than another just because they are a much larger family.
         As your system grows, and depending on the volume of your records, you should keep all your notebooks with the same surname on one shelf, the second surname on a second shelf, etc.
As you become familiar with the order of your notebooks, and if you keep them fairly consistent, I can almost guarantee you that you’ll be able to find virtually any record within a minute or two!
         And if you REALLY want to feel organized, try setting up the following miscellaneous notebooks.  Naturally, you’ll want to put them on a shelf all by themselves since they will apply to ALL your genealogical records rather than one particular line.
            (1) To Do    (for notes for future field trips, or to list things you need    to do or want to research)
            (2) Miscellaneous     (for forms, charts, general information, etc.)
            (3) Cemeteries    (for pictures of cemetery entrances, directions,   lists of burials, etc., not for individual burial information)
            (4) No Connection At This Time     (for pictures, letters, or information
   on people with one of your surnames, but with no link to your
   line as yet)
            (5) Ohio     (or any State or Country where you’re researching)   (for maps, procedures, general information, resources, etc.)

How Do I End?
         This is the question we’re always being asked, isn’t it?  When will we be finished?  When will we be “done”?  As we all know, there is no end!  Genealogists are like the EverReady Bunny– we just go on and on and on!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carmack, Sharon DeBartolo, Organizing Your Family History Search, Cincinnati, Ohio:
 Betterway Books, 1999.
Dollarhide, William, Solving the Paper-Collecting Problem, Heritage Quest Magazine,
 Nov/Dec 1999, pp. 12-23.
Heisey, John W., Genealogy Research and Organization, York, PA:  1987.
McClure, Rhonda, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, Indianapolis, Indiana:
 Alpha Books, Macmillan USA, Inc., 2000.
Melnyk, Marcia Yannizze, The Weekend Genealogist, Cincinnati, Ohio:  Betterway Books, 2000.
Miller, Carolyn, Organize Your Family History, Canton, Ohio:  2001.