The ONE Thing You Must Do Before You Begin Organizing Your Collection

Where to begin? The age old question.

The first step is often the hardest, and that holds true for every project and in every area of life. Taking any first step can be daunting, overwhelming, uncomfortable, and is often the thing that most want to move to the VERY bottom of the To Do List. But it is the most important part of any process.

Ok, so you’ve decided that you want to organize your collection. Amazing! What’s the NEXT step? The next step is knowing and reviewing what you’re working with. It may sound silly, and even redundant to say that you need to make a list of the inventory you want to create a catalogue for, but the truth is, you do. This list will become the framework or the outline for which you work off of. Obviously, this will not be as detailed as the end result, but it’s important to start by 1). Establishing what you want, or need to organize first; 2). Confirming where those items are located, or where you THINK they are located; and 3). Deciding what needs the most immediate attention. From there you can develop a system that works best for your needs.

Here’s an example: Do you have pieces that fall under multiple categories? If so, you should choose one area to focus on first. If Costumes are the most pressing, you need to figure out where all of your costumes are located. If they are located in multiple locations, it’s best to make a list of all the places they should or could be. After you’ve located the items, your next Plan of Action is to decide on sequencing: a process which can be done in many different ways and for many different eventual purposes. After sequencing, it's time to fill in the details. Once you have the framework for your collection, then, and only then, can you REALLY start the process.

As you can see, this “little” organization project - well, it isn't so little. No wonder it takes people so many hours to complete. Locating pieces in and of itself, is often a full time job. Developing a catalogue is a LOT of work, and it can definitely be overwhelming without the correct framework. But, when it’s complete, it can be an unbelievable resource. We’ll talk more about why that is in the coming months, but for now, if you’ve been thinking that organizing your collection may be right for you, take some time to think about the framework for this project. What are the most important pieces for you to start working on now, and where are those pieces located?

Until next month!

Your Friends,

@ My ARTIST ARCHIVE

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