Categorising kits
 

Over the years I hoarded a lot of digital goodies. But I haven't found a perfect way to save them.
I have had them on subject, but some kits can go in multiple so that didn't really work for me.
I now have folders on favorite designers and a general folder for all other designers, but I notice I neglect that folder a bit.

What is your favorite way to have your kits saved? And why? And do you ever delete kits when they are outdated or something?

I have posted about this before but basically I go through my photos that haven't been scrapped and kits that haven't been used and pair them together. If I can't find a kit for some photos or some photos for a kit, they go in separate folders in addition to the chronological folders I have for all my photos and the kits I have (sorted by designer) for all my stash.

I delete a kit after using it once about 75% of the time so my stash is not nearly as large as it could be (I've been digitally scrapping for 17 years now). I also don't usually keep kits or elements for more than 3 years or so with exceptions for templates and a handful of neutral alphas. My entire photo collection, layouts from 2003 until now, and my stash only take up 463 GB on my EHD so I'm pretty ruthless about culling what I won't use or is outdated. :D

I don't do separate folders because I end up overlooking kits that way. Instead I keep all my kits in one big folder so I can see the preview images as I scroll through. I keep them together by naming. So for SSD kits I name them SSD_Designer_KitName. I still like to be able to look for certain topics that I use often, like Seasonal Kits or Holiday Kits, so I have a few topic folders where I keep a copy of the relevant kit previews.

I purge kits periodically, mostly if they seem outdated or no longer fit my style or photos. (For example, my youngest is 10 now so I don't need to hold on to kits for scrapping toddlers.) I usually buy kits that I can use many times, so I keep them unless there's a good reason not to.

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I save the kits in folders by designer name (and a folder for collabs).
I copy the kit previews into folders by categories: "kids", "seasons" (with sub-folders for each season & a separate one for Christmas), "Disney", "places", "everyday" etc.
I copy & paste the kit preview into each folder that I think it applies. I name them with a 0 in front so that all of the challenge-acceptable SSD kits come up first. If a designer retires, I just remove the 0. Since my kits are sorted by designer, I can easily find the one I want after looking at the preview.

I have a store folder and then each designer from that store has their own folder. In my SSD folder, I have a folder that is specifically for the big designer collabs, one for last years alphabet series and one for this year's mixtape series as well so they are easy to find if needed.

I keep it simple. Store name, then subfolder with designer name, then subfolder with kits. I view and pull product out of ACDsee which gives me a preview so I can quickly look at colors/theme. I never tag anything as I find that too labor intensive but it is a good thing to do.

I have my supplies organized by store, designer, kit. I also have all of the previews in "theme" categories so that if I'm looking for something specific, but can't remember which designer it was from, I can look by theme. Oh, and I have additional folders for my templates by number of photo spots.

I have a folder system, but I also tag all of my previews in ACDSEE. All of my digi supplies are in one folder, and then in that folder I have a folder for templates, kits, elements, etc. Then in each of those folders I have it broken down by designer. To keep all of my SSD items together each of these designers folders are named SSD_NameofTheDesigner. Then in that designers folder are separate folders for each kit or template.

For my previews in ACDSEE I tag by designer and by theme. If a kit fits several themes then it is tagged for every one that fits. For templates I tag the number of photos the template will hold.

I don't hear about many people using ACDSEE anymore, but years ago many people used it. I wouldn't know how to scrap without using it. I really love it. I can see all of the items in the kit in that program and send them right to PSE from the program.

And yes, I do purge my supplies about twice a year.

I used ACDSEE years ago, but after a crash, they couldn't bring my data over. Plus made me buy a new copy, so I gave up on it. I tried the Organizer in PSE, but it's quite labor intensive.

What is your favorite way to have your kits saved?
I keep mine by designers so all of their stuff is together.

Do you ever delete kits when they are outdated or something?
I deleted a lot of my non-SSD products. The ones that I did keep, they are filed under specific categories like: Disney, Legos, Fandoms, etc. I never delete anything SSD-related

I think I'm finally happy with my setup. Mine are all on an EHD by store/designer/kit. I have separate folders for two scoops/triple dips/collaborations and I drag retired designers into another file. I have recently started using Lightroom (a dedicated catalog) for my scrapping and it works beautifully. I'm still in the process of tagging the backlog but I'm getting there.

I separate by theme folders too... BUT I make a shortcut to add into designer's folders and store folders. The shortcut doesn't add much space and makes it easier for me to find stuff quickly- that way if I'm looking JUST for SSD kits, I have all those shortcuts. Clear as mud!? ;)

I seperate them by designers, except for Disney kits. Those are by ride/park/character/show/attraction. I have also started copying kits to seperate folders for specific themes (copied, so teh original is still in the original space). I have done this for our Cruise, for School layouts (since my oldest is a Senior) and for trips. This makes it a little easier to find those kits when it's time to scrap one of those themes. Yet the original kit is still in it's original destination so that when I am done scrapping school...I can still find it!

Good luck! You will find a system that works best for you! we are all different, and we all go about our scrapping and finding kits differently.

Oh, I do organize templates differently. 1 photo/journaling, 2-3 photos, 4+ photos, double page, themed (travel, Disney, etc).

I get a few things from other stores, but do 99% of my shopping here. Each designer has a folder and then just put the kits in that folder - I also have a folder for collabs which all collabs go into.

Then I just put the preview in the main folder and when I'm looking for something I browse the previews - I'm lazy so the quickest and easiest way works best for me lol.

Thanks so much ladies.
My templates are actually saved by the number of photos in them already. But I have read some good tips here.

A good clean up is really necessary so that's where I will start.

This is how I do it. But yes, sometimes it bugs me because a kit could go in several categories. I try to pick the one that I would think to look first.

https://i.imgur.com/FN3nkhKl.png

I have one giant preview folder, with all my previews of the kits and templates I have. I name them for example Kristin Cronin Barrow - The Road Less Traveled.
The kits and templates themselves, I organise them by designers.

I have one giant folder, where I have most of them located, though I saved the preview pages to replace the folder icon, so I can easily see what I have, colors, etc. I do have my Christmas kits in one folder, so I can see them all at a glance, and I have my layered templates in another (same reason). I've realized that the more I tried to categorize them, the less I could actually see them, and so I would forget I had it.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Signature...-bfNj7C4-S.png

I have a main folder for the store and in that folder I have folder for designer, designer collabs and designer templates (if the designer designs templates ofcourse)...

https://i.imgur.com/De4rdas.jpg

I have them by theme - I changed to this a few years ago and love it! I have a Mac, so I tag them with the store name (not that I shop anywhere else really anymore), and if I'm looking for a particular designer I just use the search feature and find them that way. I can sort by the tag inside a folder, so I can see all my 'girl' kits from SSD for example.

When I've used a kit or template I put a "z- " ahead of the name, so it naturally moves to the bottom of the folder (out of sight out of mind).

Until last summer, I had one folder for all scrap kits. In that folder each kit had it's own folder with the kit preview showing so I knew what kit it was at a glance. Then I realized I was scrolling through over 1000 kits and it was taking me forever to do challenges here ( I don't shop too many other places now, nor do I do too many challenges at other stores) ..... so I decided to give each designer a folder (store initials with the designer name) and then inside that folder each kit has its own folder.

I keep it pretty simple - I have a main folder for each store and then sub-folders by designer.
I keep things I've purchased and not used in a different folder (lump them all together) and then I move the kit once I've used it
I have deleted only a few kits over the years ... even the kits dating back to 2006 are in my stash, I just can't find it in me to hit that delete button even though I prolly will never use them again!

I have a folder for each store and then subfolder in those for designers. Designers I CT for have their own folder as well as some designers who don't sell at a store or are retired.

I have them by store then designer/collabs then kits/templates/lonely alphas/retired if these fits the designer. Usually everything is in order until I run out of space in my EHDs and start moving files LOL

I love that you can see the preview, my folders don't look like that, gonna check why. Great idea!

This is how I'm reorganizing. I did try store/designer/kit in folders. Then I tried store/main folder and put everything in one named by designer then kit. The folder became SO massive and I couldn't find anything and it took forever to load. So now I am doing themed folders store/organized/theme. I thought if all my winter/christmas kits were together and fall and so on that I would find stuff easier. But I have a lot of general kits that don't fit really any category. So I'm just lost on what to do with those.

I am surprised by how many here delete stuff. I have let go of a lot of older stuff (13 years scrapping now) but the stuff from the past several years is all bought and I feel like I am deleting money. I'd have to really hate it to do that. :o

Oh, I do change the folder preview to the kit preview. I find that it's hard to see though and I use bridge so they always stay mostly small. I'd love to tag more but that's overwhelming.

I save previews separately so I can go through the previews to choose a kit by color, etc. Actual kits I have by designer name. Often I sort them by date added if I'm looking for a recent something or another. Templates I have in folders by number of photos. I don't delete kits, though when I get a new EHD I rarely go back to an older one! I should probably purge as realistically I'll never use many of them again....

For those of you who tag, did you start tagging right when you started buying kits, or is it something you started later. Are the benefits of tagging worth the efford?

I have only deleted free stuff. I feel like I should not throw away stuff I paid for... so I have a folder "Older Kits" and that's where stuck stuff from 5+ years ago that I don't use but maybe someday I will...... It's out of the way, but still there.... like the crap in my attic....

That is because I use a program that my husband developed for me that is called DigiScrap Catalog :) I've struggled to find good catalog software and after scrapping for about 13 years, I realized I have a husband who works in IT and could make a program for me. LOL If you want more information, send me a pm...it's free and a few other scrappers here use it too :)

I should've started immediatly but I didn't and I don't think I'll ever get caught up now. If I am looking for a certain theme/kit and I do not know the name...I just go to the store and try to find a kit that will work for the layout and then I'll check my catalog to see if I have it.

pming you :thumbup:

PMing you too!


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I used to have everything tagged in ACDSee and then one time I upgraded and my new version couldn't read my filters. I was so upset that I deleted ACDSee and never tried again! btw. I am just backing up 400GB of kits! YIKES!

I've got a lot too. I need to sort, purge and get another 2 or 4 T EHD so I can get them all on one drive. I've got them divided up into 3 drives so its a bit of a mess right now.

I don't bother tagging but do like the previewer and search function in acdsee. I don't have the newest version but the one I have does the job.

This is what happened to me!!!!! :cursing::cursing::cursing::cursing:

I think maybe the tagging was the problem. I think my file was too big.

You both have a reply :)

That’s awesome Biancka! Does your husband want to create that program for iPad users too? [emoji6][emoji2370]


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I wish but I am afraid that's a no. He develops for Windows only.

This is what I do too. It's just easier that way, although that program of your husband's sounds intriguing!

I keep all of my SSD stuff in a folder organized by designer, and then I have another folder for everyone else. I rarely look in that folder anymore though. And I delete older stuff when I'm certain I'll never use it again. I go in phases... and when I get in a ruthless purging mood I delete a lot (and start throwing out stuff around my home too! :D )

Most of my organization is in my CU stash. On my hard drive I have it all organized by type of item with subfolders by designer, etc. I have it all in Dropbox as well, where I organized a little differently. That's for quick searching, so for example I have a folder for flowers, and in that folder is a subfolder for colours.... red flowers, yellow flowers, etc. Most of my stash in DB is organized that way so I can find things quickly without having to open a million subfolders.