3rd Step to Clean Up Your Genealogy: Straighten Out Work Area

Step 3: Strongly Suggested! Straighten Out Your Work Area.

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Notice I used the word “straighten out” and not “clean”. Clean, at least in this process of ‘cleaning your genealogy mess’, means the task will be completed successfully. Step 1 of our process was to backup your genealogy database. Step 2 was to compact your database file. In either of those posts, did I imply or infer that a partial completion was okay?

In Step 3 you can straighten out your work area will be more than acceptable. When I checked The Free Dictionary site for various definitions using straighten, the definition of straighten out was perfect [IMHO]: to make or become less complicated or confused.

Mine as I write this is a complete disaster. The thumbnail picture is my desk taken just a few minutes ago before I started this paragraph. ARGH!

I said from the beginning of this blog I’d be honest. So yes–the top of my desk is that bad. [And before you ask...no, the rest of my house isn't. So for me this is not a *STRONGLY SUGGESTED* step. It is an absolute *MUST DO*

Two things determine how straight your work area must be.

1. Do you share the space with others in your household? For example, Do you work at a kitchen or dining room table?I have done that & you know what happened? One half of the kitchen or dining room table developed stacks-‘n-pile-tis. On occasion I would move the stacks & piles into my office adding to yet other stacks & piles that were already there.When working in a space that is not solely yours, others are impacted.
   
   So why wasn’t I working in my home office in the first place? For years and years I wanted a lovely office with nice wood furniture. I have the “lovely office” now and the “nice wood furniture” but when we added a huge set of family artifacts that filled the back of a pickup truck three stacks high … my office is now cluttered, unorganized, a mess – and is not inviting for spending time.

   I turned to a clean desk-like surface…the kitchen table. And before I knew it…stacks-‘n-pile-tis.

   In the next post, I’ll share how I cured that disease for my kitchen table. Obviously the cure has not been fully implemented for my office desk.

2. Do you have a space all of your own? A separate office space perhaps. A closet that was made into an office. I’ve noticed that since my office has a door which I can close if company shows up, the office is now much messier than it was in our prior home. My office then was a complete room with an arch way. And it was visible to anyone walking in the house. Ergo, I couldn’t let it look like a disaster.
   
   Do you chuckle at those pristine offices shown in TV shows where the desk is out of glass? No drawers. And the lovely women always have on sky-high heels, short tight skirts with never an embarrassing moment?
   If the space is yours, it can be as messy as you can stand and still do work. While I hate the way my whole office looks, I can still sit here and type away creating another post. Hmmm.

BUT…
For me, I have found that a messy work top slows genealogy work to a crawl—if it moves at all.

The next post is a continuation for Step 3. Right now, I’m  gonna tackle my ultra messy desk.

Your task after reading this post is:
Determine what kind of space you have and
the level of straightening out you will need to do.

 1st Step to Clean Up a Genealogy Mess: Backup.
2nd Step to Clean Up a Genealogy Mess: Compact Database

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