Organizing stash - category ideas needed

Discussion in 'Scrapping Pad' started by littlekiwi, Feb 22, 2020.

  1. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    Finally at a point where I have some down time to tackle sorting this digi stash of mine out but need some category/tagging ideas as I am completely overwhelmed. I have ACDSee Photomanager and did go looking for organizing styles which used to be around but can't find any of them now due to the resources moving or sites shutting down.

    I am a 2-3 shop shopper so while I'd say 50% of my stash is from here I do have a few other places I shop at too however I generally only do challenges here if I do them
    I scrap using both one kit/designer and also in a mix and match way too
    I don't tend to keep previews
    I am not on any creative teams

    At the moment 11.5gb is sorted through folders of either subject or type (so kits have been split up) and 141gb....eek is currently unzipped but in the folders that the downloads came in (so haven't been touched really)

    When I did start sorting nearly 3 years ago when I was forced to restart I was somewhat doing project life but at the moment I am just scrapping normal layouts

    I'm just overwhelmed before I've even started and know that without a plan of some sort it will never get done
     
    LoveItScrapIt likes this.
  2. HavaDrPepper

    HavaDrPepper Space. The final frontier

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    All I can say is good luck. I do not split kits so my way of organizing would not help you at this time. Just in case you are interested, I am usually a one kit scrapper (or one designer scrapper) most of the time so I have organized this way:

    C: Drive
    Digi Scrapping
    Dig Scrap Kits Most Used
    _The Lily Pad (so it sorts first)
    Disney Type Kits
    (several other stores/designers and retired designers from other stores or CT's I was on that I still use in my scrapping)

    Then under TLP I have a folder for each designer. That folder has folders for each kits. Papers/elements are in this folder. Alphas for the kit are in a sub-folder of the kit.

    I do keep the previews and put them in the main folder for the designer so I can see at a quick glance what I have in Picasa. Basically for the color schemes then I can look at the kit and see if it fits what I am scrapping.

    I also rename any folders for retired kits with z- before the name of the kit so they sort last. I add the word retired to the preview as well (beginning of file name). So every single kit I have bought from Bella Gypsy whether it is in the store or not is in their folder as are all templates for FDD or SWL.

    I have other folders on EHD's for those designers/stores that I don't use much but don't want to get rid of. Ironically, I did have to find several of those kits in my scrapping journey in January. I had done a page several years ago but have other photos from that event that I wanted to scrap and I wanted the pages to look like I had done them at the same time. I still had the kit on the EHD :)

    I've been organizing this way for over 10 years and it is what works for me. FWIW, I also have folders in the Digi Scrapping folder for my layouts, fonts and all photos. So all my digi scrapping needs are together and I can just select this folder for any backup medium I use.
     
  3. KimJ

    KimJ Did you check in the refrigerator?

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    :backing:eek::overreact:giggle:giggle:giggle:giggle:giggle:giggle

    I've never done tagging and I don't split kits, but "back in the day" when smaller packs of one type of item were more common than they are now, I used to sort things into categories. Here's what my main category folder looked like:
    scrap-maincats.JPG
    If a category had a lot in it, I would make subcategories. For example, here are my alpha subcategories:
    scrap-alphacats.JPG
    I don't know if that's the kind of thing you're looking for, but maybe it will spark an idea?
     
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  4. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    @littlekiwi

    I don't split kits. Here's a look at my File Explorer list today. Inside kits are folders for each designer. I don't split up by store as I keyword what store the designer works in (easier to change a keyword if they move stores).

    DigiSupplyOrganization.JPG

    I was using ACDSee to tag/keyword, but after losing my catalog multiple times, I only use it now for when I'm scrapping and I'm viewing a kit as I love the way it previews. I then moved to Bridge, which I loved for keywording BUT it is a HUGE resource hog and I was having issues with my computer really slowing down when scrapping. So, I moved over to Lightroom because it was able to read all my keywords that I had already entered into Bridge. Lightroom is quick about retrieving items that I've keyworded - much more than Bridge was able to - so I'm pleased with that at this point.

    I will share my keywords here. Yes, I know it's a long list, but it works for me. You will likely want to start with a much more streamlined keyword structure, and then build on it as you notice yourself looking for particular items when scrapping. Maybe this will help spark some ideas for you. :)

    ALPHAS/NUMBERS
    BYOC

    2014
    2 - February 2014
    4 - April 2014​
    2015
    6 - June 2015​
    2016
    2 - February 2016
    5 - May 2016
    7 - July 2016
    12 - December 2016​
    2017
    5 - May 2017​
    2018
    5 - May 2018​
    2019
    5 - May 2019
    6 - June 2019
    10 - October 2019​
    DESIGNERS
    Allison Pennington
    Amanda Yi
    Amy Wolff
    Becca Bonneville
    Bella Gypsy
    Blagovesta Gosheva
    Britt-ish Designs
    CD Muckosky
    Cindy Schneider
    Clever Monkey Graphics
    Designed By Soco
    Digilicious Designs
    Digital Scrapbook Ingredients
    Elif Sahin Designs
    Erica Zane
    Fairytale Scrapbook
    Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs
    ForeverJoy Designs
    Grace In Color
    Grace Lee
    Heather Joyce
    Holliewood Studios
    Inkie Quill
    Jenn Barrette
    Just Jaimee
    Kelly Bangs
    Kim Jensen
    Kristin Aagard
    Kristin Cronin-Barrow
    Laura Wilkerson
    Little Butterfly Wings
    Lorie Davison
    Lynn Grieveson
    Lynne-Marie
    Maggie Holmes
    Meagan's Creations
    Meghan Mullens
    Misty Cato
    Mommyish
    NBK Designs
    One Little Bird
    Paige Evans
    Paislee Press
    Paula Kesselring
    Pink Reptile Designs
    Rachel Jefferies
    Rebecca McMeen
    Red Ivy Design
    Sabrina Dupre
    Sabrina's Creations
    Sahlin Studio
    Sara Gleason
    Scrapping With Liz
    Shimelle
    Simple Pleasure Designs
    Studio Basic
    Studio Flergs
    Tangie Baxter
    The Committed Crafter
    Traci Reed
    Valorie Wibbens
    Virginia Walker
    Wendy P Designs​
    EMBELLISHMENTS
    Acrylic
    Ampersands/Asterisks
    Angels
    Animals
    Arrows/Compass/Directional
    Balloons
    Banners
    Bokeh
    Bookplate
    Books
    Borders
    Bubbles
    Butterflies/Bugs/FlyingThings
    Cameras
    Candles
    Cardboard
    Charms
    Circles
    Clocks
    Clothing
    Clouds/Constellations/Rainbows
    Clusters
    Cork
    Crochet
    CURRENCY
    Dates
    Doilies
    Doodles and Scribbles
    Embroidery Patches
    Enamel
    Ephemera
    Fashion/Clothing
    Fasteners
    Feathers
    Felt
    Fireworks/Bursts/Lights
    Flags/Pennants
    Flair and Brads
    Flair/Brads/Bottlecaps
    Flourishes
    Flowers
    Foliage/Sticks/Branches/Nature
    Food and Kitchen Related
    Frames
    Furniture
    Glasses
    Glitter
    Globes
    Hearts
    Houses/Structures
    Journal Cards
    Journaling Strips
    Labels/Tags/Flags
    Metal
    Mosaics
    Music
    Notebooks
    Ornaments
    Paint
    Gesso​
    Paintbrushes
    Pens and Pencils
    People
    Photo Corners
    Pockets
    Pom Poms and Tassels
    Rubons
    Sequins and Scatters
    Sequins/Scatters/Confetti
    Sewing
    Shiny Bits
    Smoke
    Snowflakes
    Speech Bubbles
    Stackers
    Stamps
    Stars
    Stitching
    String/Ribbon/Fabric/Tulle/Lace/Netting
    Technology
    Transportation/Vehicles
    Typewriters
    Umbrellas
    Vellum
    Washi and Tape
    Water
    Wood and Veneer
    Word Art​
    MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTIONS
    Create Crate Monthly
    2017
    2 - February 2017
    4 - April 2017
    2018
    2 - February 2018
    3 - March 2018​
    June 2018
    March 2018
    Storyteller
    PAPER LINES
    Crate Paper
    Fancy Pants ForeverJoy​
    PAPERS
    COLORS
    Black
    Black and White
    Blue
    Gray and Silver
    Green and Mint and Aqua
    Multi
    Neutrals
    Orange
    Pink
    Purple
    Red
    White
    Yellow and Gold​
    LETTER SIZED
    PATTERNS
    Arrows
    Banners
    Bokeh
    Chevrons
    Clouds
    Collage
    Cut Apart Sheets
    Cut Outs
    Damask
    Damask and Paisley
    Doodled
    Dotted
    Duotone
    Fabric
    Figures (Animals, People, Objects, etc.)
    Floral
    Foliage
    Geometric
    Gingham
    Glitter
    Grunge
    Hearts
    Herringbone
    Houndstooth
    Lace
    Maps
    Messy Paint
    Music Notes
    Notebook and Grid
    Objects
    Plaids
    Quatrefoil
    Scalloped
    Scallops
    Scenes
    Stamped
    Starburst
    Stars
    Stripes
    Text
    Water
    Watercolor
    Waves​
    SOLIDS
    Cardboard
    Folded
    Folded and Crumpled
    Kraft
    Woodgrain​
    PHOTOSHOP TOOLS
    BRUSHES
    STYLES​
    PRESETS
    PREVIEWS
    STORES

    American Crafts
    Crate Paper
    Pink Paislee​
    OScraps
    Sweet Shoppe Designs
    Collabs​
    The Lilypad
    Collabs
    After The Rain
    All About Me You Us
    All The Feels
    Bloom and Grow Roots Wings
    Currently
    Grateful
    Life Is An Adventure
    Of Wishes, Hopes & Dreams
    Snapshots
    Spring Has Sprung​
    TEMPLATES & CUT FILES
    Autograph Book
    Calendar
    Clipping Masks
    Die Cuts & Cut Files
    Frames
    Numbers
    Photo Clusters
    Single Page
    1 Photo
    2 Photo
    3 Photo
    4 Photo​
    THEMES
    ADVENTURE AND TRAVEL
    ALL ABOUT ME
    BABY
    BOY
    BYOC
    MAY 2018​
    COUNTRY/FARMHOUSE
    DISNEY
    1 - PROJECT MOUSE
    Animal Kingdom
    Artsy
    California Adventure
    Celebrations - BDay Anniv
    Christmas
    Essentials
    Magic Kingdom
    Adventureland
    Fantasyland
    Frontierland
    Main Street USA
    Tomorrowland
    Project Mouse Freebies
    Travel
    Animal Kingdom
    Magic Kingdom
    Liberty Square
    Moana​
    PRINCESSES AND CHARACTERS
    Ariel and Ursula
    Aurora
    Belle / Beast / Gaston
    Cinderella and Prince Charming
    Elsa / Anna / Kristoff / Olaf
    Jasmine
    Merida
    Rapunzel
    Snow White
    Tiana
    Tinkerbell​
    DOCUMENT YOUR DECEMBER
    2013 - Jingle Bells
    2016 - Merry + Bright
    2017 - Falala
    2018 - Tis The Season​
    DREAMS GOALS WISHES
    EMPLOYMENT
    ENCOURAGEMENT
    EVENTS AND CELEBRATIONS
    EVERYDAY LIFE
    FAITH
    FAMILY
    FOOD
    FRIENDS
    GAMING AND ELECTRONICS
    GIRL
    GIRLS NIGHT OUT​
    HERITAGE
    HOBBIES
    Art
    Scrapbooking
    Sewing​
    HOLIDAYS
    Christmas
    Easter
    Fourth of July
    Halloween
    New Years
    St Patrick's Day
    Thanksgiving
    Valentine's Day​
    HOSPITAL/DOCTOR/INJURY
    HOUSE AND HOME
    LOVE
    PARENTS
    MOM​
    PETS AND ANIMALS
    Cats​
    PHOTOGRAPHY
    READING
    SCHOOL
    SEASONS
    Fall
    Spring
    Summer
    Winter​
    SLEEPING
    SPACE
    STORYTELLING
    TEEN
    WATER
    WEATHER​
    TRAVELERS NOTEBOOK
    Z - HAWAII/TROPICAL
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2020
  5. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    thanks all for your ideas - I often find coming up with the beginning idea the hardest.
     
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  6. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    the other big thing is - what do I do about the stuff that has already been split up cause I'm thinking I now would rather stick to designer and store first rather than subject or type like I have done with the 11.5gb of stuff
     
    gonewiththewind likes this.
  7. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    Geez, that may be a hard one, unless your files are clearly named and/or your renamed them so you can move them back into their designer folders. If you are going to use ACDSee and tag/keyword, then I wouldn't move them at all, I'd just tag them where they are.
     
  8. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    @gonewiththewind I'm not stuck on using Acdsee if theres a better way of doing it. its just an option I currently have
     
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  9. gonewiththewind

    gonewiththewind I choose joy.

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    I think ACDSee is a great option if you already have it. I'm enjoying Lightroom, but that is an additional expense if you don't have that already. Either one you have the capability to keyword or tag so that you would just be able to leave the products where they are in File Explorer and then tag from there.
     
    littlekiwi likes this.
  10. BevG

    BevG If I can't remember it, it didn't happen

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    I have the following file folder hierarchy, as I am currently not using any tool other than File Explorer on Windows to find things. These are just some of my file folder names to give you an idea.

    Templates
    Fiddle-Dee-Dee Designs
    Christmas
    Halloween
    all the rest​
    favorite designer 2
    TLP Misc
    Non-TLP​
    Artwork
    Designers - Non TLP
    Designers - TLP
    Lynn Grieveson
    Alpha - Andersen - maroon
    Alpha - April - light blue
    Andersen - Christmas & Winter
    April
    Dates - Bracket Dates 2016-2020
    DYD December Nights
    Effects - Alphabetti Mess
    Frames - Retro Slides
    Paper - Totally Trashed and Chilly​

    Each designer at TLP has a folder. Within the designer, each kit has its own folder except that I pull out the alphas out and give them their own folder. Otherwise, I do not split up kits, but throw everything from a kit (and bundle) into one folder (except templates are stored elsewhere).

    For alphas, I name the folder "Alpha - name of kit - description". This sorts all of my alpha for a designer together, tells me what kit they go with, and what color or style they are. Then I can just look down the list of folders to find a blue alpha, or a brush alpha, etc.

    I put other keywords out front as part of the file folder name so that all of those type kits sort together. Dates for kits made up of date stamps, date tags, date labels, etc. DYD for Document Your December kits. Effects is kind of a catch-all since Lynn has masks, inky brushes, text element kits, etc. Frames is frame and photo kits. Paper is paper packs.

    I also rename kits to include a description, i.e. "Fredrick - Winter", "Going to be Good - school", etc. That lets me find the kit folder when I do a search for "winter", "school", etc. since some kit names do not tell me what the theme of the kit is about.

    I often wish I had a way to sort my papers across kits to find a specific color paper. Once upon a time I tried to do this using keyword tags. Trying to decide if a paper was blue or grey, for example, was tedious. Now I just do a search for *.jpg and it brings up all the paper. Then I scroll through them looking for the color I want.

    As for tags and keywords, I just rely on the designer to do that by naming elements appropriately. So if I want a staple and there are none in the kit I am using, I just do a Windows search for "staple". If a designer used that in their file name, it pops up. If a designer called their elements something like element1, element2, etc. then I will be rarely using their staples. Sometimes I will rename elements to describe them better.
     
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2020
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  11. BevG

    BevG If I can't remember it, it didn't happen

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    As for your intermingled stuff by what it is -- most designers include their name and some part of the kit name in the filename of the element. You could sort the folder of "flowers" alphabetically and then, hopefully, all the flowers belonging to a specific designer & kit would be together. You could move them back into kit based folders.
     
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  12. bellbird

    bellbird Pollywog

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    I was much like @KimJ in the beginning - read: it took up like all of my scrappy time just to stay organised so a good 7-8 yrs ago, I said 'nope, store & designer sorting only fron now on' !
    But the main difference I think was I just made an 'Essentials' folder for 'must haves', like I had 'favourite' staples, a paperclip & stitches, a generic stamped alpha, etc that I just copied from their main store/kit folder and added into the essentials folder as a duplicate so that when I'm 'kit scrapping' or in a speed scrap & needed a staple, I wouldn't have to think or search too far. It had a few neutral papers in it as well but it was only my tried & true stuff, not every neutral paper I owned.
    Maybe this is an easier way to approach tagging? A 'fave' tag for must haves or actually if you love every item u have, it might not help!
     
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  13. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    Love this idea - When I started scrapping I was forever organizing and never scrapping so not much has changed in the 14 or so years I've been scrapping
     
    bellbird likes this.
  14. Tree City

    Tree City Get a stepladder, I'm busy

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    No matter how you organize your stash, having preview images can really cut down on the time needed to find exactly what you want. Looking for a blue paper? Scroll through your previews and look for blue-heavy previews. Want to find an art-journal kit? Scroll and look for either "art journaly" kits or look for the Preview image for certain designers (like Paula's Stamped name logo or LBW's bright emblem). Also, I only tag preview images; it takes less time to search my Previews folder than to run a search through my thousands of kits.

    And I've said this before in other threads but it's worth repeating: start an Excel spreadsheet with kit info. That'll really help you (1) from rebuying something and (2) quickly searching for a certain designer, store, theme, BYOC, color, etc. If you want I can give you a "blank" copy of mine.
     
    HavaDrPepper likes this.
  15. HavaDrPepper

    HavaDrPepper Space. The final frontier

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    I think @BevG has a good idea about finding intermingled stuff. It will be time consuming but if you do a little at a time, you might be able to find a lot of the items that belong to kits.

    Personally, I wouldn't have a problem if I had been splitting kits since I keep all my zip files. I would just set up my folder structure and start unzipping. Then when I was sure I had everything, I would delete the folders with split items.

    I also find that keeping all the kits under a designer folder helps when they move to a new store. I just move their whole folder. Did that for FDD, SWL, Bella Gypsy and Kristin Aagard when Scrap Orchard closed. Set up new store folder, move designer folders. Easy Peasy!
     
  16. LoveItScrapIt

    LoveItScrapIt I'm a poet, and everyone knows it!

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    This is my folder system
    SHOP 1
    -designer 1
    *kit/product name
    *kit/product name
    -designer 2
    *kit/product name

    SHOP 2
    -designer 1
    *kit/product name
    *kit/product name
    -designer 2
    *kit/product name

    I keep a PREVIEW of the product in each folder and I use Adobe Bridge to tag those previews. I don't have to tag each piece. That would one TAKE FOREVER and two DRIVE ME CRAZY.
    So I use Bridge to find a theme. Since I mostly scrap using one kit.
    My tags in Bridge are:
    -Alphas
    -Art Journal
    -Baby
    -Be Inspired (kits all about hope, staying motivated, being inspired)
    -Cats and Dogs and Animals
    -Celebrations and Bdays
    -Children Fun
    -Children Teen Angst
    -Daily Documenting
    -Dreams
    -Feelings
    -Family Heritage
    -Family Home Life
    -Foodie Life
    -Friends Forever
    -Happy Life
    -Holiday Christmas
    -Holiday Halloween
    -Holiday Misc
    -Holiday Thanksgiving
    -Just Being Me
    -Love is All
    -Nature Lover
    -Pop Culture
    -Seasons Autumn
    -Seasons Spring
    -Seasons Summer
    -Seasons Winter
    -Sports and Hobbies
    -Travel and Vacays

    If I need a button, or string. Then I'll search using the Windows file explorer within that SHOP's folder system so that I use a designer within the same store. Since usually I'd probably be doing mix and match for a challenge of some sort.
     
  17. Karen

    Karen Wiggle it, just a little bit!

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    I do basically what @BevG does too. I sort using folders only. I don't have time to tag stuff, even though it would be magical if someone else would do that for me! :giggle I'd love to be able to search for a green paper and have only green papers show up, but I don't have time to do that every time I download a new kit.

    I basically rely on the search function in the Store here to find stuff too. I log in, search for what I want and then scroll through the results until I see what I'd like... then it'll tell me if I already own it or not. :giggle
     
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  18. janedee

    janedee Is a craft project ever really finished?

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    I've been using ACDSee for tagging and keywording for over 10 years now and I can't imagine scrapping without it.
    That being said, I've gone from tagging all papers and elements to only tagging previews which really cut down on the time I spend tagging. Also, I found that ACDSee started locking up on me at one point because I had so much tagged. If you do tag with ACDSee be sure to remember to embed your database tags (you can set it up to do it only closing the program) and optimize your catalogue regularly.
    My actual folder hierachy is very simple - store, then designer, then templates/kits/embellishments unless I CT for the designer, then it gets broken down by year too.
     
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  19. littlekiwi

    littlekiwi I charge by the hour for anything before noon

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    Now I’m more confused than ever - Acdsee or Folder based? My laptop would probably function better with folder based but I’ve paid money for Acdsee......
     
  20. janedee

    janedee Is a craft project ever really finished?

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    Your files are always in folders anyway, so, to me, it makes sense to keep designer’s supplies together but still use ACDSee to find specific things that you are looking for - Themed items, buttons, ribbons, charms, etc.
     
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