How to organize Inventory?

Sorting Inventory was probably already a topic here, and im sorry if Im bothering you with this question, but I would like to know - whats your secret of good organised Inventory?

I have in mine over 31,000 items and sometimes Im so lost... Some new ideas about sorting and organizing are so welcome! Tnx ,)

Hi Ninna, I started to write a LONG detailed message to you when I remembered there is a video about this that may help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AULw9Oa_1Bw

delete key

no, really...

grin

By Linnaean Taxonomy

Even though I haven't looked at it in a year, if I delete it, I will want it desperately tomorrow. Not an option, so have resigned myself to storage cubes, for things that will allow themselves to be stored, for other things, they just stay there, waiting for 'tomorrow'. (It's only a day away.....)

Tnx Bradley, yes i saw that video before. And im doing most of the things Torley says. But, what I would like to know is - how are u sorting things? By creator, by color, by how much you like some item or ..... do you have any new ideas?

My 1st language isnt english so i was, at first, and that was 3 years ago, sorting items on croatian language. But, its a big job to translate every item/folder, especially when i have big SL closet. And now some folders are on one, and some on other language And that could be confusing.

I know that every person has his/ hers own way how to put stuff in places, and I just would like to hear some new ideas, maybe it will be helpfull for me

Tnx

Use Inventory File menu > New window to open more than one window, makes it easier to re-arrange things.

You can create new folders at the top level (just under My Inventory) for categories of things you use a lot of.

I have the following top level folders I made:

* Avatars and Outfits - Folder for my default avatar (skin, shape, eyes, hair, and attachments and HUDs I use all the time. Then more folders for alternate avatar bodies, then outfit sets grouped into categories by type, then finally attachments and HUDs I use frequently but not all the time.

* yNewbie items - To hand out

* zCurrent Landmarks - Places I own, or visit a lot



-------------------------

* Folder names can use _ or a few other symbols to make them appear at the top, and x, y and z to make them appear at the bottom, so easier to find than lost in the middle

* Rename stuff. Whatever the creator named it might not be obvious to you. If its not, I rename the folder with whatever keywords make sense to me.

* I use the System folders (like Object and Clothes) to store all the stuff I *dont* use often. Stuff I use gets a place in a custom top level folder. Make folders in there by date you got it (monthly or quarterly). Look over the oldest folder, and decide if you want to actually use any of it. Promote it to a current use folder if you do. If you dont, box up the old stuff if you cant bring yourself to toss it:

Clothes - Jan 2009
Clothes - Feb 2009 etc

My inventory is hovering around the 4,000 mark and I'm just coming up to my 3rd anniversary in SL. So I reckon I'm quite good with my inventory. If you've got 31,000 items there's a lot of things you'll probably never use.

My tips are:

Put a selection of your favourite outfits into folders for complete quick changes - include a copy of your shape, skin, a hairstyle and everything in each outfit folder.

Go through your inventory section by section clearing out unwanted stuff.

Put things you don't want to throw away but aren't likely to need very often into storage boxes, which count as one item even if they contain 50. Just rez a prim somewhere, edit and open contents tab and then drag items from your inventory into it. Delete the items from the inventory when you've done that, then 'take' the box back to inventory and rename it e.g. 'storage box - textures - 01'

_Clothing
.... Dresses
......... Multiple Lengths (dress has more than one skirt but the top is not copiable)
......... Short (above knee)
..........Mid to Knee Length
..........Long
.... Lingerie, Silks, etc..
........Bra/Pantie sets
........Lingerie
........Silks
......Swimwear
......Pant /Short Outfits
..........Dress slacks
..........Jeans/Casual pants
..........Crop pants
..........Shorts
......Individual Tops/Bottoms
.........Shorts
.........Pants
.........Tops
.......Coats, Accessories
...........Coats
...........Scarves
...........Gloves
...........Earmuffs
...........Hats
_Shoes
.....Pumps
.....Sandals
.....Flat Casual
.....Other Heels
_Hair
......Short
.......Long
.......Updos / Formal
.......Ponytails
_Jewelry
....Sets
....Necklaces
....Earring
....Bracelets/Watches
....Hair Decorations

Almost every folder has the designer name on it and the color of the item, sometimes a little description.

Yep, like Lil's above, that's also how I do mine. When you carry such a large inventory, the more detailed the better (or the furthest you can break them down) on your folders. The next step on mine, would be to include colors, etc. . .but I'll wait til I get a few thousand more before doing that. Good luck.

I use the delete key a lot. Landmarks are dumped often. They get old and obsolete quick and finding a current location is quick search away. The few LM's I use often go into the MystiTool.

Also, notecards. I have a few subfolders for things I want to keep. If the notcards are still in my default folder for long they get trashed. That way it is easy to find the new ones, like gadget instructions or the subscribe-o-matic groups I have.

As Argent have well pointed, and others exemplified (even that they do know or not that are using taxonomy), that's the way to effectively organize your inventory. The sad part is: once you already have so much items, the work will be hard.

Taxonomy is the practice of hierarchical classification. You must build a tree with related items. Example:

1.Clothings
1.a. Shirts
1.a.a. T-shirts
1.a.b. Blouses.
1.b. Skirts
1.b.1 Mini skirts... (and so on)

Of course the particular tree that you will use depends of what makes more sense to you

BTW, Argent, are you a biologist? Not many that are not from biologic sciences are aware that taxonomy is aplyable whenever one have to classify things, and most biologists don't realize it, even when they are using taxonomy all their time.

No, I'm a collector of unconsidered trifles.

ok my take lol

you have system folders Like Landmarks clothing and such

Well I made new folders that hold my stuff same as the system ones but with a ! in front of it.

!Landmarks
!clothing

so it is there and when I shop if I see something is say the ummm object folder I know I need to move it

Just curious, how much is in your inventory?

tnx guys, you gave me many good tips ,) i really appreciate that, its very helpfull!

I do what Daniel and LittleMe suggest...make new folders for Clothing (for instance) with subfolders for Dresses, Shoes, Boots, etc. My trick is to number your new folders (that is name them 1 Clothing, 2 Furniture, etc.) so they will be at the very top of your inventory if you check Sort Folders Always by Name (and uncheck System Folders To Top.) You can do this with subfolders, too, of course.

I have a few like that. The top one is "! Me" which has all the things I wear all the time. Skin, shape, AO, all that stuff. After that I use the system folders and do sub-folders within them. When I have something in my base folder I know it needs sorting, but for something like a new shirt, it is already in the clothing folder, it just needs to be put away in the right sub folder.

Plan at least 1 hour a week to clean and tidy up your inventory. Once you get the organization you like, it is important to always keep it going.

Another item you want to try and do is keep the System folders of Landmarks, Calling Cards and Textures mostly empty. Having many items in those folders can cause some additional lag.

My inventory is just a little over 71k - but it is completely organized. That way I can find all my toys quickly

Can I hire you to organize my inventory? (and office while you are at it.)

Holy cow

71k! holy smokes... and I was ashamed at my measly ole 42k
I have the same issue.... I have a bit more in inventory than you do aprox 20k is textures alone... I have purchased those texture thingys and they didnt help me as I still find tons of textures that are the same but named differntly.. and we all know depending on the time of day or if the hamsters were fed loading them one by one by one waiting waiting... etc can be a LONG process and frankly makes the task so tedious that anyone without hours to kill sorting inventory will give up and logoff....

However, there are features in the emerald viewer I certainly like and htat is hte asset browser...... this is FANTASTIC and why the heck LL does not stock this into their normal viewer is beyond me...


I also find I acumulate a bunch of duplicate items when I rezz then unpack and forget to delete the original..... and objects... those things I made and forgot to name.... doh!


I like to go to skidz sandbox and just start dumping things... I rezz a few boxes label then as close to what I will put in them as possible and start putting stuff in there....


Cleaning out a bit, but at leasure I can go back and sort those contents more if I wish..
but then again, I forget where I put somehting i know I have and have to spend some time opening objects...

I seriously wish I could hire someone to sort my inventory.... but if all else fails create a alt and start fresh ; )

I don't break mine down quite that much, but I do still have a number of subfolders like that.

71K? That is a huge inventory. Sure you don't lag too much?