How To Organize Your
Family History by Cheryle Hoover Davis
How
many times have you set about to write your
family history, only to run across the
daunting task of putting it all together in a
manner which will make sense?
How many
times have you set about to write your family
history, only to run across the daunting task
of putting it all together in a manner which
will make sense?
Many people give up writing their family
history at this point. Too much information!
So much to write about! If you are like me,
you’ve spent years researching your ancestors
only to find piles of papers, notes, and
website URLs piling up on your desktop.
The key to writing your family history is to
GET ORGANIZED, but take it one small step at
a time!
We’ve all seen articles on how to organize
your clutter and make our homes neat and
pleasing. This knowledge can be applied to
genealogy research, and writing your history,
also!
One interesting thing I have noticed is that
most experts on home organization emphasize
‘one step at a time.’ If you choose to do it
all at once, you’ve set yourself up for
failure before you’ve even begun. Giving
yourself permission to do just a little at a
time will make the task so much easier.
I know when I began cleaning out the clutter
of closets, kitchen cabinets and ‘junk
drawers’ I began to feel overwhelmed. I was
making a bigger mess and never getting it all
finished. What a self deafeating experience!
Another side effect was not knowing where
anything was after I’d made such a mess.
Being a clutter-junkie was something I
inherited from my mother, the difference
being, she always seemed to have it all
organized and easily accessible. In my case,
I am disorganizationally organized. I know
where that note about Uncle Harry is in that
pile of papers on my desktop, thank you very
much. I remember where I put that scrap of
paper with Auntie Dorothy’s phone number from
1982 on it. My mother laughed too, so go
ahead - laugh out loud!
If you are a ‘neatnik’, ignore this article.
If you are a ‘clutter junkie’, read on!
One day, while working on a family history
project, I was feeling quite overwhelmed at
all the information I had and was able to
produce no clearly written story. My mother’s
voice came back to haunt me: “You need to get
organized…you need to get organized…you need
to get organized.”
Ok, alright, Mother, I hear you! But,
HOW?
Remember your mother telling you: “Everything
has a place…blah blah blah”? Well, it’s true
(don’t tell my mother I said that - I‘ll
never live it down).
It’s not easy for us clutter junkies,
however. I decided I would take it…one small
step at a time. First, I cleaned off my
desktop. I just threw everything in a couple
boxes. There. Done. Finished. Finis.
Well, that was so easy, I decided to take the
next step. Sorting out one box. I had file
folders, so I placed each surname in a
separate folder. Easy enough. It was all
going well.
The next step was soon to follow, as the last
had been so easy. Before I knew it, it was
all organized, the information easily found,
and I was ready to begin writing!
The next step was actually writing my family
history.
I’ll take it…one step at a time.
After many years as a professional artist,
DJ, Production Studio manager, Program
Director, Master Control Board Operator at a
television station, professional writer, and
being what she calls a "Jill of all Trades
and Master of Some", Ms. Davis has turned her
attention to focus on writing.
Genealogy is Cheryle Hoover Davis’ passion
and her blog “Surnames and Hernames” can be
found at:
http://surnamesandhernames.blogspot.com/ and
more at eHow:
http://www.ehow.com/members/Ceile.html