IMPORTANT PAPERS....OR JUNK??

I looked through my file cabinet today...

Yes, it was scary.

I was surprised to find that among my documents, certificates, obits..

I had some just plain junk !!

Copies of some emails, notes, etc..That I honestly don't know why I kept it.

These particular items contain no genealogical information and hold no possible future leads, why do we keep this stuff?

Are we just some historical packrats??

(Yes, I know, you have some of this stuff too, go ahead and admit it)

Take some time in these last dreary days of winter...and clean that filing cabinet out. Be ruthless!!

Don't for heaven's sake throw out anything of potential importance, but separate you REAL documents, obits, certificates, census records from just the plain old junk.

Try to also take each surname folder and enclose some smaller folders with the first names of some of the most prominent members in those lines. Place anything you find pertaining to that person mainly, in the correct folder. You might just find some things that would be better filed or later found in another folder. I also find just regular envelopes to be great for containing those small obituaries.

I also save any of the larger manilla envelopes I receive information in and use them later for photos, etc.

Although we all have great data, it is even better when we can find it just when we need it.

(By the way.. I am still sorting mine!!)