Organizational Challenge: Week Two

Organizational Challenge: Week Two
I had a very productive week. Really being committed to even just 15 minutes a day of getting organized really helped me out. Here is a run down of what I was able to accomplish:

Day One.

1. I was able to get my data base backed up and optimized.
2. Tomorrow when I have a bit more time, I am going to look over my categories and see what needs to be refined.
3. I already have my Unzip Routine all set and I am happy with the way it works for me so that is good to go.
4. I didn’t have all that much time to work on the actual organizing part. I did have a few paper packs that needed some attention and I did that.

Day Two.
It feels really good to be home from work and simply “have to” sit for 15 minutes with Photo Manager. For people who are dreading the organizing part of digi-scrapping, I have to be honest and tell you that it is actually fun! I put on some music and just go along with it. I really enjoy seeing all of the papers and elements that I get in a kit. It even helps me to remember which designer has something really neat that I want to play with or I make connections- for example I’ll see a great word art and know exactly which picture I want use it with on a Layout.

Day Three.
I had some CT kits to download and tag today. But I didn’t have time to do it all at once. I was able to get them downloaded into my _To Be Tagged Folder and was able to unzip and tag over the course of the day. And, while I was looking at the amazing word art, I realized I had a new picture of my and my hubby that would work perfect for them. Can’t wait to scrap it!

Day Four.
I was able to work on some more tagging today. I cleaned up some folders and got my _To Be Tagged folder just about empty. Tomorrow I am going to sort through the Zips Sub-Folder and get rid of the zip files that I have had for a while.

Day Five.
Wow, today was a really busy day for me, I didn’t have time to work on what I wanted to accomplish. I did have a few minutes to tag a new element pack. I was really happy however, even though I only worked on organizing for about 10 minutes today, I really don’t feel like I am all that far behind. And tomorrow is Saturday so I will hopefully have a bit of extra time to work.

Day Six.
Why do I always think that I’ll have extra time on the weekends? I never do- LOL But it is 3 pm and I have about 20-30 minutes of some quiet time where hopefully no one needs me and the phone doesn’t ring I have several kits to unzip for some CT work and I want to get rid of those older zip files. But no worries, I’ll do what I can. Everything will be right where I can find it when I am ready to get back to work.

Day Seven.
I am out of town, so no time to work on this. But no worries~ everything is under control!
Last week’s tasks focused on basic set up of your categories and keeping your database backed up and optimized. That is all well and good and very necessary. It is kind of like the foundation of your routine. And like a house’s foundation, it isn’t the most fun to work with, but you have to make sure it is sturdy and stable. This week, let’s get more into the “meat” of the program. Let’s clean up some of our messy categories.

When I first started out with Photo Manager, I had all of my ribbons and fibers and yarn and stitches and bows and…well, you get the picture… all of those elements were lumped into one folder. It defeated the benefits of being able to search for a ribbon when all of those extra files came up as well. Later on, I decided to add a new category for just bows. However, I never found the bows that were originally in the Ribbons et al Folder, and they were still lurking around in there.

My job to work on this week is going to be cleaning up some of these messy categories. My first priority is going to be to clean up my Ribbons & Fibers and Bows Categories. What I am going to do first is select my Ribbons Category by selecting that Category in the Organize Pane. This will bring up every file that I have tagged as “Ribbons & Fibers.” So I can be able to fit as many files as possible on my monitor, I can either click on the Slider on the top right side of the screen

Or you can Ctrl-Scroll to either reduce or enlarge the thumbnails. I want to be able to Select as many files at once so I want them pretty small. As I find the Bows that I want moved, I Ctrl-Click to select multiple files. After I have the ones I want to move, I will switch from the Organize Pane to the Properties Pane by using the tabs at the bottom right of my screen. Open the tree for categories so you can see what is checked. In this case I want to remove the “Ribbons & Fibers” category so I click n that check mark to remove it. Then I want to add these files to the Bow Category, so I will can either check the Bows box, or simply drag the files right over to it. Hit F5 to refresh your screen and the bows will be removed from this category. You might even see some other files that don’t belong in this category and they can be moved to the appropriate category in the same way.

TIP: Approach this the same way you do (or should!) clean out closets or drawers. Only work on one category at a time or you will have a bigger and more complicated mess on your hands!

TIP: You might find TOU’s as you go through the categories. If there are duplicate and/or jpg TOU’s, you may wish to delete some of these files.

As I am going through, I am evaluating some of the categories that only have a few files in them. For example, I have eight files in “Tiles.” and just a few in Zippers, and I don’t think I have ever used them. I am not sure what I want to do with them yet. However, I am making a note to myself so if I find a more appropriate category to move them to, I can do that.

As I am working on these categories, I am wondering, why did I ever think that I would be able to make a ribbon half as good as the designers? *shuddering at my early attempts at designing* Just like those bell bottoms in your closet from the 70’s, we hang onto scrap stuff because we wonder “what if I need this someday?” If you have had it longer than a year, and you haven’t used it yet…guess what? Chances are you won’t ever use it. Most of us started out digi-scrapping the same way. We would find all of the freebies we could collect, without truly considering if it was something we needed or would even use. Or perhaps our styles have changed as we develop our skills at scrapping. After a while, we lose track of what we have and buy more of the same stuff. (I promise, I won’t tell any of your husbands about that!!). As you are looking through your folders, if you haven’t used it, don’t think you will ever use or can’t see why you have twenty-five staples that look identical, it is time to purge.

TIP: I know, it really is hard to toss something out, in real life as well as in the digital realm. If you find that there are some files that you really don’t feel comfortable deleting, you can try this trick. Create a folder, make sure you do this in ACDSee) and name it something like “To be Deleted”. Or “This Folder will self destruct on (date.)” Drag any of those files you are unsure of into it. If after another month you find that you still haven’t used them, it is time to hit the Delete key. And if this is still too difficult, you can always make a Photo Disk in ACDSee and at least be able to get these files off of your hard drive. Here are directions on how to Make a Photo Disk .

That seems like a good start for us to do this week, don’t you?

Week Two Tasks:

1. Back Up and Optimize Database.
2. Clean up at least two Categories.
3. Delete any files that you know that you will never use.
4. Continue to tag any files. Spend about 15 minutes a day doing this.

If you have any questions or comments, you can post them at Photo Manager Challenges with Chris

See you next week!

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