Downsizing and Digitizing My Genealogy

Since today is "Get Organized Day," a day dedicated to organizing and decluttering your homes and offices, I thought it would be a good time to tell about one of my downsizing projects. I have been attempting to reduce my genealogy binders for the last few years. My children, both city dwellers, will not have the desire or space to store these binders in the future. 

Since January, I have emptied 14 binders by tossing duplicate copies and scanning items that are still relevant. I no longer need those paper census records or the deeds copied at courthouses as most have been found online. Printed emails and letters were grouped together by sender or subject and scanned as one searchable PDF. Newspaper, deed, and court abstracts have been replaced by downloads of the original documents. Articles from periodicals, pages from books, printed items from websites, and other peoples' trees were scanned as searchable PDFs.  And computer-printed versions of previously scanned photos were tossed.

A few items were moved to other binders or placed in one of my albums of original documents and photos. I scanned some wonderful letters written by a second cousin who passed several years ago. The originals will be sent to her grandchildren. 

I chose binders that match the family of my current research project. Sorting and digitizing the documents in the binders allowed me to look at them as new information and then add important details to my research log so they wouldn't be forgotten again. 

My primary scanner is an older ScanSnap S1300i, which allows me to scan a large number of pages (front and back) in minutes. I often use the Scanner Pro app on my phone for more delicate documents. 

The above photo shows some of my binders in 2013. Two full shelves were tightly packed, with more on a third shelf below. I gradually moved to smaller binders for ease of handling and filing. 

The photo below shows my genealogy closet as it is today. Binders are easier to access, and I now have a shelf for piles and projects. I plan to continue moving the binder papers to my digital files. By downsizing, I will have less to organize and more time for research. And maybe a child or other family member would like to have my less daunting digital files. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2024 

"Get Organized Day," Days of the Year (https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/get-organized-day/ : accessed 26 May 2024).