Organizational Crisis

HELP!! Today my organizational crisis has come to a head, and I am most frustrated. I have my individual people files and family files petty well organized, and have a system which works--except for the stuff I copy in probate and county clerks offices and libraries. The biggest problem is the old deeds, wills, etc. They tend to be in large books, so the copies are huge. They don't fit in my files and notebooks, and I like them in a separate place to transcribe--like the ones i sent you to proofread for me, Sandi. At least I had managed to reduce the size of those somewhat. I have piles of these documents all over the place. They are mostly in separate folders or notebooks (just as a holder--they don't fit to secure in). But I haven't figured out how to store these so I can find them. I have long since run out of bookcase space, and they are really too big to store on bookcases. It is a disaster when a pile falls on the floor! Even the documents from libraries are a problem. Although the ones copied from microfilm are generally a more standard size, I have zillions of them. I brought back large stacks from Boston on my last trip there. They are in a pile on the floor by my bed; hardly a long range solution. For the most part it doesn't work to put these documents in family notebooks or individual files, as I like to keep all the stuff from a single location together, at least my original copies. I'm not sure exactly why, other than that they must be together if I am trying to figure out how properties adjoined and the locations of families in relation to each other. Mostly, it just seems propeer to me that they be together. So now I am trying to complete my documentary history of the Carpenter family, and thus need to find what documents I have which I haven't included. but where are they??? I spent hours finding some deeds and wills I knew I had earlier in the week, and knew I had put back where I found them--where ever that was!! Now they are ON my bed waiting for copies and transcriptions. I guess I will leave them there at least until I go to work tomorrow where i can copy them. If too many kids don't sleep with me, I stand a chance of managing not to kick them on the floor. Then where to put them? Any good ideas would be appreciated. I am plumb out of ideas. I think what I really need is something like map drawers to keep them in, but have never such a thing in office supply stores. I am having a similar problem with documents i have copied from the internet and CDS. They usually involve an area, not a person. I do have area files, so guess the area ones could go in those, but family groups are another problem. For example, a couple of weeks ago I copied all the Hinsham Quaker records that mention family records in Philadelphia and West Jersey. I made two copies of each, so one set I marked up as I entered them on my computer, then put them in the individual files. The second set is the problem. That set was printed to use in my documentary history and any place else I don't want marked up copies. So where do I file those? I also spent a lot of time looking for them today, then found them on my desk chair--"where I couldn't possibly lose them." Again, this is not a long term solution. HELP! HELP! All ideas gratefully accepted!