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How do you organize your stash?

I have to tell you.... you've all gotten me in the mood to get a bit more organized. I've started working on putting together a folder of preview files and then tagging the preview files. Not the fastest process ever, but I am happy to be able to sort by tags and find stuff a bit faster on my overcrowded hard drive
 
when a designer retires or leaves the Lily Pad they stay in my Lily Pad folder, but with a sad little x in front of their name. It pushes them to the bottom of the file. I live here at the Pad, and it is very very rare that I leave it to get anything else! lol I did do a big wahoo...to bring Paula and Leah's things into the Lily Pad folder (I was on each of their teams long ago) ♥
 
Anyone toying with the idea of tagging.... don't feel like you need to do it all in one sitting or anything. Yes, it might take forever, but if it helps you, then having it 10% done helps you too. Set up a system so you can find the things that aren't tagged yet, whether it's writing stuff in a notebook or doing a search or whatever.. Tag when you can. Don't stress about what's not done yet. Even if you never tag every single thing you have, having some stuff tagged is nice.

(And if you aren't toying with the idea of tagging, I'm definitely not trying to talk anyone into it. We all search for things differently, and if you don't want to tag, it's probably not worth it for YOU! :) )
 
@lorryfach Lorry, that's great advice!! It does get a little tedious sitting and tagging all the product previews, but I LOVE being able to see what I have done. On my computer, in the view setting I can group by tag, so it will show me all the 'Unspecified' products... that way I know those are the ones that still need attention. Sadly, my Unspecified category is rather large at the moment, LOL, but I'll get there eventually!
 
I also have folders I create each with the designers name. I have all of Pink Reptiles goodies from her first kit so once I feel a folder is getting too full I do create another folder, within the first folder. I really should take the time to make a folder within also called Pink Reptile Retired..... but that seems like too much work. LOL
Pink Reptile
Pink Reptile 2
Pink Reptile 3
I don't have any special software to find what I'm looking for I do think that would be nice!
 
I use ACDSee for all my organizing, over and above basic file structure - store/designer (and yes, moving them around is a bit of a pain). I'm pretty obsessive about tagging and tag all my elements/papers, etc. It takes quite a bit of time though and my stash is getting huge, so I may have to back off a bit and start tagging just previews, unless there's some very specific elements.
 
Store > designer > kit
I move all folders for a kit into the elements folder so when I open it up I get to see all of the elements, then click on the individual folders to get to see papers, cards, alphas etc. I used to just have everything in the one folder but I find that I tend to choose a kit to use based more on the elements/theme I want to use rather than the papers. Also this way, to choose what papers I want I don't have to scroll the entire kit contents just to get to the papers.

When a designer moves store I just cut and paste the folder into the new store.

ETA the numbers at the beginning of the folder names relate to the order I have folders listed in my digi supplies folder, as opposed to having store appear just in alpha order.

For PC you can ensure that you get the kit preview icon to be 'on top' so that you can get an idea of the colours when viewing extra large icons. To do that you right click on your folder > properties > customise ... go to folder pictures section > scroll to find the kit preview >open > okay. Sounds complicated but only takes seconds.

I did mean to do a folder just of previews, but actually I just use the file explorer search on preview (and limit the search to store or designer if I need to for CT work or challenges).
 
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fruitysuet said:
For PC you can ensure that you get the kit preview icon to be 'on top' so that you can get an idea of the colours when viewing extra large icons. To do that you right click on your folder > properties > customise ... go to folder pictures section > scroll to find the kit preview >open > okay. Sounds complicated but only takes seconds.
Click to expand...
If the file is called "folder" then it shows 'on top' as in your screenshot. I've never gone into properties for that before.
 
fruitysuet said:
Store > designer > kit
I move all folders for a kit into the elements folder so when I open it up I get to see all of the elements, then click on the individual folders to get to see papers, cards, alphas etc. I used to just have everything in the one folder but I find that I tend to choose a kit to use based more on the elements/theme I want to use rather than the papers. Also this way, to choose what papers I want I don't have to scroll the entire kit contents just to get to the papers.

When a designer moves store I just cut and paste the folder into the new store.

ETA the numbers at the beginning of the folder names relate to the order I have folders listed in my digi supplies folder, as opposed to having store appear just in alpha order.

For PC you can ensure that you get the kit preview icon to be 'on top' so that you can get an idea of the colours when viewing extra large icons. To do that you right click on your folder > properties > customise ... go to folder pictures section > scroll to find the kit preview >open > okay. Sounds complicated but only takes seconds.

I did mean to do a folder just of previews, but actually I just use the file explorer search on preview (and limit the search to store or designer if I need to for CT work or challenges).
Click to expand...
That's pretry much EXACTLY how I do it. Except I still have some floater kits that aren't in designer folders. I know my stash pretty well now so I know who created what I'm looking for and it's easy enough to browse. . Helps me with credits too. I "rename" the folder than copy and paste it into the file info of my LO then just copy and paste all the credits when I post.
 
fruitysuet said:
Store > designer > kit
For PC you can ensure that you get the kit preview icon to be 'on top' so that you can get an idea of the colours when viewing extra large icons. To do that you right click on your folder > properties > customise ... go to folder pictures section > scroll to find the kit preview >open > okay. Sounds complicated but only takes seconds.
Click to expand...

WOW! I've been copying previews out into the main folder (alpha for instance) so I can tell at a glance what is in each. I'd never heard of the ability to change the icon this way. Bless you :)
 
I have an EHD with 2 main folders. Supplies & Terms of Use. My Supplies folder is then split into these folders:
Quickpages, Templates, Collections, Kits, Paper Packs, Pocket Cards, Elements, Word Art, Alphas, Misc, Fonts, Actions, and Styles. Within those sub-folders, each folder is labeled as Designer - Product name - ToU type. For example, Mommyish - Spice, Spice Baby - PU S4H BUWC (Blog use with credit)
 
Aquaphobic Mermaid said:
I have an EHD with 2 main folders. Supplies & Terms of Use. My Supplies folder is then split into these folders:
Quickpages, Templates, Collections, Kits, Paper Packs, Pocket Cards, Elements, Word Art, Alphas, Misc, Fonts, Actions, and Styles. Within those sub-folders, each folder is labeled as Designer - Product name - ToU type. For example, Mommyish - Spice, Spice Baby - PU S4H BUWC (Blog use with credit)
Click to expand...

I am totally and madly in love with your screen name! you R awesome!
 
RebeccaH said:
Sadly, I have no idea! LOL! This is something I've been trying to get a handle on for quite some time. The problem for me is, I haven't been doing any tagging or labeling the entire time, and my digi stash is MASSIVE. It would take me a solid month of working to go through and tag / sort / organize everything I have. I do save them all in one place, at least.... DIGITAL DOWNLOADS > Folder named "Designer Name - Product Name". That way my stuff is all alphabetical by designer. I really REALLY need to find a good way to go about locating one stitching element or one certain alpha or journal card or whatever. It seems like such a daunting task! I don't know where to start!
Click to expand...
This is exactly how mine is set up too. Everything is on bridge. I would LOVE to move to LR and I would also love to put my BYOC together by month. That makes WAY more sense. I have done that with MPM and Love the the uniformity of the color palette!
 
KellyM said:
This is exactly how mine is set up too. Everything is on bridge. I would LOVE to move to LR and I would also love to put my BYOC together by month. That makes WAY more sense. I have done that with MPM and Love the the uniformity of the color palette!
Click to expand...

Yep, totally agree on grouping BYOC's! I've tried to start doing that... I just make a folder that says BYOC 0118 (for January 2018, for instance), then grab my "DESINGER - KIT NAME" folders and drop it into the BYOC folder. It's something, but it's definitely not perfect. I would love to actually have time to get organized for real. I think my disorganization is one major reason I don't scrap more... it takes way too much time to find stuff i'm looking for, and that takes all the fun out of it!
 
RebeccaH said:
Yep, totally agree on grouping BYOC's! I've tried to start doing that... I just make a folder that says BYOC 0118 (for January 2018, for instance), then grab my "DESINGER - KIT NAME" folders and drop it into the BYOC folder. It's something, but it's definitely not perfect. I would love to actually have time to get organized for real. I think my disorganization is one major reason I don't scrap more... it takes way too much time to find stuff i'm looking for, and that takes all the fun out of it!
Click to expand...

Do eeeeeet!!! Seriously, organizing by BYOC/MPM/M3 was the BEST decision I could have made. Having everything from the same color palette together in one place made scrapping SO much faster for me!
 
lorryfach said:
Anyone toying with the idea of tagging.... don't feel like you need to do it all in one sitting or anything. Yes, it might take forever, but if it helps you, then having it 10% done helps you too. Set up a system so you can find the things that aren't tagged yet, whether it's writing stuff in a notebook or doing a search or whatever.. Tag when you can. Don't stress about what's not done yet. Even if you never tag every single thing you have, having some stuff tagged is nice.

(And if you aren't toying with the idea of tagging, I'm definitely not trying to talk anyone into it. We all search for things differently, and if you don't want to tag, it's probably not worth it for YOU! :) )
Click to expand...
SO MUCH THIS! When I’m rushed for time while loading new purchases I tag all the previews with store, designer, kit type and theme. I also quickly tag elements that I think I’ll want to use right away - kind of a “why I bought the kit” mentality. Oh, and I also stack and tag alphas.

If I have the time I’ll tag everything as I bring it in. And sometimes I’m just in the mood to work at it with a cup of coffee as a break from something else. I enjoy getting a dose of color and inspiration!
 
I am half organized. I have a folder for paper, embellishments, words and alphas, templates

Then a folder in each for such collection

But .... I also have a heap of folders in my main digi scrapping folder just how they were purchased. I am struggling to find what works for me

But I have been making use of the search tool as someone suggested. And my next plan is a spreadsheet to link everything to the store
 
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