Help with my Inventory :)

Hi, I'm not sure if this has been posted before, as I am not a regular on the forums, but I was just wondering if anybody has any tips on how to sort my invenory out so as I'm able to find my things! It's crammed full of stuff but nothing is grouped together, and I'm not even sure what half the items are that I've got, as a lot are just freebies.
What would I be able to do, apart from unloading everything in a sandbox and having a clearout? There must be an easier way!
Thanks ,
Noelle x

you can create folders and name them according to what you wish to put in them
(just right click and choose create new folder, name it whatever you want)

Is it just me, or is it odd that when you create a NEW FOLER it does not show up under your Recent Items tab. It logically should shouldn't it?

You might want to do a forum Search looking for "Inventory" in the Thread titles of Residents Answers, as I seem to remember extensive multiple discussions of whether it is better to sort clothing by colour, vendor or suitability for specific occasions (inter alia) and which degraded into competitions regarding who had the biggest wardrobe in SL!

Pep (Not many males contributed)

It is not just you..it IS odd that it does not show up but I assume it is the same reason you cannot put a folder in a box....whatever that reason is.

My inventory has now reached over 32K and I am pulling out my hair! For over 2 years I have tried to keep it under control...but it is a losing battle for me Im not sure why but it makes me feel unsettled...like having someone drop by at your RL home and finding it all messy. For some strange reason an organized inventory gives me such peace of mind...or a the least I think it would lol

I spend 90% of my RL trying to be organized and have never quite succeeded so it must be a carryover to SL for me.

What I wouldn't give to have my inventory all neat, tidy and sorted in a easy to manage fashion!!!

Folders don't count as items so they don't/can't show up in the Recent Items list (unlike items they don't have a created/acquired timestamp AFAIK).

If you want a folder to show up in the recent items list (you can show *all* folders but that's not usually very useful) for whatever reason, just create a new inventory item under it (ie "New Note) and then do whatever you want to do with it (don't forget to delete the newly created item ).

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If your inventory is already in a sorry state, and you have more than a few thousand items, what ended up working best for me was to simply create a "To Sort" folder and dump in *everything* under that.

Whenever I felt like sorting inventory I would go through my "To Sort" pile and drag things back into their place (you will need to spend some time thinking about how you want to organize everything before you actually start sorting).

Of course you do have to keep everything new that comes into your inventory sorted or otherwise you'll never get there . I just keep a "Shopping Bag" folder around now and any new purchases get dragged under it until I have a moment to put it where it belongs.

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As always when doing major inventory organization, make sure you're working off a freshly fetched one (Edit / Preferences - Network tab - Clear Cache, relog & wait until it's all fetched). Do *not* tp - or cross sim borders - while it's still fetching or you're almost guaranteed to have an incomplete fetch.

Also make sure there are no issues with the sim you're on and that the grid as a whole isn't having problems.

I have a to sort folder in a to sort folder

I have 35k of items and i tend to be able to find what i want. I have folders for cloths, shoes, hair and the other basics. When i buy an item I drag it straight into that folder then it is open in the recent items so anything else i buy at the tiem before you log it is there for you.
If an item is boxed i do the same then when i go home i and unpack them all make new folders in the main folder and make sure i put the heading and what the item is and a pic if there is one. It takes a little time but then i dont have to hunt.

I find it's best to follow the structure of the Inventory folder as it is provided in the client and develop a directory tree, mirroring the structure of one top level folder to another. For instance, if I create a texture called 'Stonewashed Jeans', I will store it in the 'Textures' folder as Textures > Clothes > Pants > Jeans.

A pair of jeans created using that texture will be stored in the 'Clothes' folder as Clothes > Pants > Jeans.

A boxed version that I may sell or give away will be stored in the 'Objects' folder as Objects > Clothes > Pants > Jeans.

I also separate folders of items I have created myself by prefixing my initials, EK. Items I have modified or regenerated from the work of others are prefixed EK* so that I don't make the mistake of distributing them - and I do that whether or not the item has transfer permissions.

I organise textures and animations by brand/creator and each of those folders would be broken down into subject/nature of content. HippoIMAGE do a great texture organiser, which is copiable so I dump groups of textures into separate devices that I rename with the creator's initials and a description of the contents before taking them back into my inventory.

It's a very dull and tedious business but it works to be rigorously logical and develop a habit of automatically organising items as you acquire/create them. It also seems to be painfully obvious advice but I think that is precisely why so many complain about the jumble of their inventory folders: the notion is so obvious that folk commonly overlook the need to do it.

I read somewhere, perhaps on this forum, that storing items in folders helps prevent inventory loss but I can't be sure that this is the case. I do know that the only two occasions I suffered inventory loss, I had left both items in the top level 'My Inventory' folder.

The same follows for my computer systems: I never create a document of any description without immediately taking a moment to give it a suitable title then making or finding a folder to store it in. The result is that I rarely have to use Search mechanisms in SL or RL.

I often swear at people who can't manage to name something by what it is.

Like eyes

Why can't you name it:

Yellow cat eyes
Purple sexy eyes
Green witch with a hint of mist eyes


rathe than just yellow pussy, purple menage and greenwitch

then at least when I put EYES in to find al the eyes, I find the dam things.

It took me for ever to find some yellow beach 3/4 length pants, as they were called something like sythe2yell

Unless I'm mistaken you can't get the search tools to filter things according to TYPE can you?

So it just shows ALL the eyes, or ALL the pants etc etc....

Advanced / Clothing can be a little helper there. It won't filter your inventory on "pants" exactly, but it will show you a long, long list of every clothing layer item in your inventory and it is sortable on layer type.

Not being able to rename "no mod" items is a big pain as well .

(Edited since Advanced / Clothing is still there... as long as your inventory is fetched)

1. One thing I find indispensible is opening a second inventory window. Click

File > New Window

to do this.

Now it's easier to drag stuff around.

2. Delete obvious crap. If you're sure you're never going to wear those ugly clothes, delete them. Did you keep that notecard by mistake? Delete it.

However, don't clear your trash until the next time you log in. That way, you have time for second thoughts.

3. Create clear categories and stick to them.

Body Parts:
- Avatar (this is where I stick my current shape, skin, hair, eyes, etc.)
- Shapes
- Skin
- Hair
- Eyes

Clothes:
- Shoes
- Jewelry
- Separates
- Gowns
- Short skirt outfits

etc.

4. Look here for more tips and a Torley video:

https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/KBList.asp?folderID=214