Taking Time to Clean up my Desk
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| Source: Bing clip art |
I doubt that I am the only family historian who has a file cabinet full of files all neatly labeled. Or filed neatly in alphabetical order in a drawer in a file cabinet.
I also have neatly labeled files on my computer for all those digital records that have been saved from email attachments, archive downloads, and great finds from Google searches.
So why is there a 15" deep pile of family documents on my desk? They are not neat, not really organized (unless you count the ones with the same name that are paper clipped together). At this point I am really pretty disgusted and discouraged at having to clean up this mess.
I have been researching one family line on Ancestry, Find A Grave, and Family Search.
Found all kinds of really cool stuff. Got really excited about the chase. Kept collecting info.
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| Source: Bing clip art |
Now I have a stack of stuff to file because I did not keep it up as I was working on it. Plus, part of it is saved on the computer, and part is printed.
I get that it is my mess, and so it is my responsibility to clean it up.
I took yesterday and today to organize the papers by name, put them in labeled files, and file them correctly.
I know better. If I file items (paper or digital) as I find them, I do not have to waste two days putting these items away where they belong and should have put them away in the first place.
If you have a pile (or piles) of papers on your desk (this includes messy digital files on your computer) please stop your research and clean up the mess before anything else genealogy related.
I am setting the goal of having this mess completely cleaned up by Friday so that Saturday I can delve back into the world of Ancestry and Find A Grave to find more great family things.
I need to do better about my filing as I go too. I hate clutter (normally I am really good about keeping all things cleaned up and put where items belong), intensely dislike having a messy desk, and hate wasting paper by making more copies of documents than I need because I did not realize I had already made a copy of that article (3 times before!)
Happy searching and filing.
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| Source: A helpful relative |
