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Organization System

mlpieters

mlpieters

the princess of PINK
Joined
Apr 12, 2007
Messages
3,669
I am so frustrated with my supplies and lack of organization. The Daily Digi just did an entry a few days ago regarding this but I just can't seem to land.

I had acdsee in the past and couldn't get settled.

Am I the only one not organized?

And, if you are organized - what do you do?
 
i'm not organized... you would die if you seen what my mess looks like.

But to be honest, when I do CT LO's I focus on the latest things I DL so all my supplies are on my desktop.
 
nope you're not ... although now that I have a brand new computer it would be a good time to start and keep this one in tip top organizational shape...lol

Now with that being said... if I could only get used to Windows 7. I think I like it, it's just that it's not what I am used to.

I had Acdsee before, thought it was great, but the time to break it all out is a killer. I log my kits through designers, I find it easier to do it like that . I don't like breaking out my kits. I have other folders like, stitching, alphas, buttons, that if I buy a pack of them I place in there.

Everyone is different in how they do it. What works for some might not work for others.
 
would love to see that desk top Rez.....:D

jstbkuz said:
i'm not organized... you would die if you seen what my mess looks like.

But to be honest, when I do CT LO's I focus on the latest things I DL so all my supplies are on my desktop.
Click to expand...
 
my supplies are sooooo disorganized it's crazy ... and i cannot stand it! actually - it's my pictures that drives me the most crazy - i can never find the exact one i want!
 
I'm organized by store and then designer....not very efficient. I think there is prob a good way to organize in Bridge but I haven't gotten that far. I would love to have my elements tagged by type but I wouldn't even know where to start :blush
 
I would be lost without tagging in ACDsee. I tag my photos, my scrap supplies and my designer tools. It's the only way I can find anything!

The secret to tagging and not making it a total time waste...is to only tag those items you absolutely love and think you will use again. And then be ruthless...do you really need 31 staples? Maybe untag all but your favorite 5-6. What you end up with is a system to find your absolute favorite items, those go-to items that help you scrap the way you like to scrap. I only spend 15-20 minutes a month tagging my download folder and then moving things over to their appropriate folders on my EHD. It's fast and I really enjoy the benefits!

Here's a screen shot of my scrap stuff tag tree in ACDsee. I add categories as I need them.

tagging-in-ACDsee.jpg
 
The only thing I sorta have organized are the designers I CT for. Those are in separate folders as well as I've grouped together my alphas. Other than that though it's a hot mess.
 
See Amy...I need to see everything first before I can start deleting. Which means I would have to tag everything in acdsee...ugh ugh ugh.
 
I organize like Jenni. By store/designer in PSE. I used to do by element, but to be quite honest I wasn't using it like that at all. So I stopped.
 
I want to be Amy when I grow up.

I did have everything tagged in ACDSee but then forgot to back up my database when I reformatted and lost everything :cry Now I just use it for my photos as I can't face adding in my scrap supplies again. I have just started to tag the previews of new purchases though, after buying two lots of product twice... :blush

If you wanted to get organised I'd advise just starting with the new stuff you download, tag that as and when you get it and work out the system that's best for you based on how you scrap - if you only use kits just tag the preview, if you are an element freak just tag the unique elements (rather than every ribbon and staple). Do what it takes to make it easy on yourself! You can always work backwards if you want to but keeping on top of the new stuff as it comes in is important. Especially if you want to make sure you don't grab them same thing twice... :duh
 
I had Acdsee and had tagged a few things, but then never used it. I tend to stick with one kit when I scrap so I download things to one folder on my HD. I have a folder for TLP and then all the others are by kit, unless I find I DL alot from one designer, then they will get their own folder.

Not sure what I will do in the future. But I am finding myself browsing through folder after folder looking for something lately, so maybe it is time to start organizing again.
 
I am semi organized. I organzie by store but only the stores that I have a lot from. This way its easier for me if I have a store ct so I can find my designers, then I have a misc file where stores i don't really shop in that often or designers freebies etc they all go in there.

org1.jpg


A peek inside the lily pad folder
org2.jpg

Then I use ACDSee to organize further, but i am not even close to halfway done tagging but it is totally worth it. First when I download a kit I tag the preview to my "need to scrap" So I don't lose track. And I tag them to the store, designer and i have a 1preview so i can just look at the previews from that particular store. Here is a glimpse of my lily pad previews

org3.jpg


And here is a glimpse of my tagging system, you can see on the right the categories i have that are expandable in some cases for further info. Here is my "brushes" in digital ink
org4.jpg
 
ok... so for a mac, this is how i work:

Screenshot2010-03-06at110208AM.png


i put all the items in the folder, and move the icon to the front of the folder, so i can skim through and find what i want. i color code by designer.

inside the folder its a bit like this:

Screenshot2010-03-06at110258AM.png


i move the files around into folders for papers, alpha, and elements.

i made this website for my customers on how to organize things, as well as this video.

since i recently switched over to aperture, im also thinking of setting up a new iphoto library for all my papers. this way i can keyword them and cross reference them.

hope that helps.
 
Katrina... I'm like you.... I do the same...by store and designer.. but now you've given me the push to Acdsee them too!!!
 
Heather, I remember you making that site! Such a great resource!
 
I also use ACDSee. If you are feeling overwhelmed by starting out with it, I highly recommend the speed tag method. You can get a HUGE chunk of tagging done in a few hours and then just work on it periodically to refine.

Speed tagging uses ACDSee's search feature. Once you have decided on your basic categories, you just go to the search field on the program and type, for example, buttons. The search will show all of the files named button. You select them all and then click the category to tag them. Voila - all of your buttons are tagged. Repeat that for your other categories and you'll have a good portion of your stash organized quickly. The two downfalls of this method are designers who don't name their files properly...they just call them element1, elements, etc (HATE THAT!!!)...and that it really doesn't work for paper. I sort my paper by color/solid and color/pattern so that part does take longer.

I also have a folder of newly downloaded items that are waiting to be tagged. For example, all of the BYOC is sitting in there. Once I tag it, I will move it to the designers' folders.

Here's a peek at my filing:
organize-1.jpg

organize2.jpg

organize3.jpg


Here's what I do for papers
organize4.jpg


I should add that you do NOT have to be this detailed in your categories. I'm typically a very element driven scrapper, which is why I organize in this way. You have to do what makes sense to YOU!
 
I'm super organised (Sorry!) I tag everything in ACDSee (took a great Jessica Sprague class). So every kit is tagged. Each item by type etc. Paper also by colour group. When I make a layout I drag everything I used, via the image basket, to the "favourites". Then for each layout I create a folder in "favourites" and put all the items used for that layout in that folder. I can then go into the folder, use a quick command (press ctrl+G) and get a list of every item I have used for the layout in question...a list of kit name plus designer - perfect for my credit list. Hope I explained it good enough :)

Takes time to tag everything before scrapping, and can be a chore sometimes when you just want to scrap. But sooooo easy to create credit lists for your layouts :) Or search to find anything you need :happydance2
 
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