- Treasures in Chaos
Today I came across a good article on Squidoo about organizing documents and photos, so I’ll share the highlights with you. You can find the original article here.
The basic idea is to use three ring binders and sheet protectors. Then instead of sifting through boxes, everything is protected and easy to see.
- Sort papers and documents into family groups.
- Decide what to keep. (If in doubt, keep it)
- Sort loosely into chronological order.
- Place into protective sleeves.
- Put sleeves into binders (fixing order if necessary).
- Label binder and put it on a shelf.
Some hints from the article:
- Buy sheet protectors in boxes of 100
- Make sure they are acid free, archival, top-loading
- Buy high quality binders that will last
My mom has done something like this when she was doing family histories. I think it is important to keep it simple and get it organized. Don’t be tempted do make it fancy. If you want to go back later you can.
What have you tried in organizing you papers, documents and photos?
telling family tales 
Good advice. If we do not organize our genealogy papers they most likely will be lost after we are gone.