Even an old dog…no I mean even someone as experienced as I am, no….that does not sound right either. Let’s just say that even someone with experience as a Genealogist like I do, who has given her clients her best, should not succumb themselves to the old adage,

Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. 

Because I can and I do teach.

I have been working on the Genealogy Do Over project and though I always thought I was organized, methodical, and persistent, I was really dreaming. You see, I have been researching and collecting family information for, well let’s just say a few decades. I have boxes, files, envelopes, crates, folders and all manner of storage for paper, material objects, photographs, maps, etc. I also have digital images of documents, photographs, maps, newspapers & periodicals, etc., that I have been saving since getting my first computer with this ability.

I thought I was organized. I thought I was clearly labeling and filing in a system anyone could pick up on. There I go thinking again. I can preach it, but did I do it??

I am tenacious and passionate about tracking down my family. I write notes, take photos and scan images, I extract, transcribe and document as much as I can find. I know how to source a fact or document. I can write up a bio, explain to others who someone is and tell many of their stories, but…..and this is a big one…..I HAVE BEEN DECEIVING MYSELF in thinking I would fix my early work later, cause “fix it later” never seems to come.

So, I fessed up to myself and put a timer on my computer and have been spending time, each day, with my files; relabeling, color coding and creating better filing systems for my holdings. I read blogs and posts and decided what would work for me, and I started with my computer files. You see, my paper files are enormous and thus terrifying to tackle, I need my niece, the organizational whiz, Hannah to help me on that front. Though my minimalist daughter, KellyAnne, says I need her to help me streamline my systems.

The computer files are looking better already.  So what’s next?

I have begun a new tree with a new program, both on my desktop and one that syncs on line, at MyHeritage  I started with myself and am only keying in direct ancestors, no in laws or siblings, and with each entry I am making sure that the info is as complete and accurate as I can make it. With over 31 thousand people in my main file, the only way I can tackle this is one generation, one surname, at a time. It may, no it will, take weeks and months to do this for all these people, but Rome was not built in a day, God did rest at least one day Himself and I am only human.