Getting organized - January

I'm still trying to find an organizational method that works best for me with my printed files. Currently I have a few binders that I made when I first started researching. But most of my files are in file folders - My Brooks, Williams, and Binns files are in a basket in my closet; my Smith and West family files are in a box on my office floor; and my Godwin family files are in a file box also on my floor, usually with the Smith box stacked on top of it.

I have been looking for an affordable 4 drawer filing cabinet on craigslist to put in my office. They are hard to come by. When I get it, I plan to implement a new filing and organizational system based on one of two methods I read about in Organizing Your Family History Search by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack: (1) Filing by surname and record type or (2) filing by individuals. Knowing me, I will probably try to do both, each as a test set with two different families. The system I choose might actually be dependent on how many records or family members I have in that particular family group. I think I can get this done in a weekend.

In the meantime, as kind of a "mini-test" I plan to implement Dear MYRTLE'S January Organizational Checklist. This applies to the use of binders. I have already started putting together a binder for one of my smaller, less researched family lines - the Lasiter family. Each month a new step is posted. I plan to start collecting materials on this line as we go through each month, so I will have something new to add to my binder. I call it a "test" because it will "test" me on my ability to focus and to stick to one project until it's completion. (Also it will test my ability to follow directions!) I will keep you posted on my success!