Challenges

Welcome to another month of organizing fun! – I am always working on organizing when it comes to Digital Scrapbooking. Whether it’s tagging files, putting files away, figuring out what needs to be scrapped, uploaded, deleted, backed up etc – it’s an ongoing process. I’ll be popping in here, on theStudio blog, on the first Saturday of each month to provide a few tips and a little monthly ‘to do’ list to help us all clean up our digi-stashes, organize our files and clear up some space on our computers. There will be some carry over from month to month, as well as tips or suggestions and a mini-tutorial of something we’ll be learning to do specifically each month! This process will grow as we share tips and tricks and learn how others do their organizing!

Monthly Tasks:

1. Make sure you have downloaded and un-zipped all of your purchases from the last month. You don’t want any downloads to expire, and you want to make sure that all of your files unzip correctly so you don’t miss anything important!
2. Clean up your downloads folder. For me, cleaning out and putting away everything from my downloads folder at least once a month helps me feel on top of things.
3. Delete Duplicate Files (see June’s Get Organized post)
4. Empty your trash can/recycle bin.
5. Check your coupons list, delete expired coupons and add any new ones! (see June’s Get Organized post)
6. Create a list of photos to scrap from September (see Post)

Other things to do: Create a “to use” folder, update it with any new purchases (See September’s Get Organized Post, Follow along with this months tip (Holiday/Seasonal Kits)

October Tip/Trick: Holiday/Seasonal Kits

Many times seasonal and holiday themed kits are tricky to use for anything other than their created for purpose. Halloween kits and Christmas kits typically feature elements and colors that are very seasonal and holiday specific – and for me, I don’t want to have to sift through all of my holiday kits every time I’m looking for a kit to make a layout with!

I know there are a ton of different ways to organize your kits, but I’m sharing my way today. I have folders for different themes, and one big folder with the majority of my kits. Each kit is in a folder called Kit Name by Designer Name (and I’ve used my Color Coding System and Folder Icons to make it very visual) – so even if a designer moves stores, I still can easily search to see if I have a kit I like.

But those very specific seasonal and holiday themed kits, those need their own home. So I have another folder that these go, separated by theme.

This makes it easy to find exactly what I need when I want to scrap, say, some pictures from the Pumpkin Patch or our visit with the Easter Bunny!

Assignment: Think about how you have your kits organized. Does your system make sense? Is it easy for you to find something to scrap with, or do you find yourself searching for a long time to find a kit in the right colors or theme? If it’s not working for you, start thinking about what will work and get a new system in place! The more organized you are with your supplies, the easier it is for you to get your scrap on!

See you next month!

Mandak

I would LOVE to get your questions and suggestions. I’m running low on my own organizing tips, so if you have any organization questions or suggestions, please share in the comments!