Hey, better late than never! The Friday Five:
1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
Oh hell yes! Sometimes to the point of being anal, but usually just at the edge. I take immense pleasure in reorganizing our linen closet at least once a month. Clutter really annoys me, and so does having minimal storage space, so I reorganize frequently to keep all the “stuff” under control.
2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
I write lists, daily. Grocery lists, to do lists, you name it. I am the list queen. I write reminder emails at work and send them to my home address. I use Outlook at work to remind me of important dates.
3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
Mostly. There are a few small piles on it, but it usually looks good. I do not like a lot of things sitting on the top of my desk; that’s why I have a shelf that runs along the bottom. Out of sight, out of mind. But that is organized too, of course.
4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
Definitely. The cds are alphabetized first by artist, then by title. The dvds are alphabetized by title as well. I don’t own many books, so they’re just in size order. I read a lot, but borrow from the library instead of spending the money.
5. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to organize?
Definitely my digital photos. I was using ACDSee’s database function to label them all. I had done all of 2003, most of 2002, and then I got this new hard drive where I installed Windows XP and all the programs I use, including a newer version of ACDSee and what did I learn? Well apparently the database I created cannot be seen by the new version. I also learned, by digging around in the help files, that if you move a photo from it’s original folder, it loses its database properties as well. Well, fuck me. All that work for nothing. So I guess I’ll stick to my way of filing and hope I can find shit when I need it. I’m thinking the best way to go is create an Excel spreadsheet with keywords that reference back to the directory where each photo is stored. If you have a better suggestion, I’m all ears.
Okay, once again you’re going to want to kill me, but iPhoto is exactly what you’re looking for. You can rename photos, write notes/comments for each photo, assign keywords by which you can later search and reorganize, make as many custom albums as you want, sort by “film roll” or date or title, and on and on. You can archive your photos to optical disc and they don’t lose all the information and hard work you’ve put into them – just insert the disc and it shows up as another library. You can even copy your photo library from one computer to another running iPhoto and all the data you’ve entered is carried over intact.
Paul, it was funny before, now not so much. I don’t own a Mac, probably won’t own a Mac, so suggesting Mac programs isn’t going to help me. :p
Anywho, I did a little more digging and found out I could convert my old ACDSee database to the new install, and voila, all my hard work has not gone to waste!