Martha

I've just discovered this forum -- what a wealth of information is here. I am not as organized as I would like to be, so I am asking for your methods of keeping bits and pieces of information you find about places you want to see. I have a tendency to print or cut out stuff and then forget where I put it. Surely there is a better way!

Ben Haines

I keep folded city and country maps in a row on a shelf, running roughly from west Europe to east Europe, then Asia. I keep very few brochures, and those are on another shelf in the same order. If hotel details are not in a guide book that I have then I keep them on disc, together with my collection of web sites useful to travellers in central and east Europe. For plans I keep a physical folder marked Europe 2002. (I am afraid I have a whole row of folders in my front room, to cover insurance, health, parish matters, and so on. I do not really approve, but what else can I do). When they fall apart I buy twenty more.<BR><BR>I am glad you find us informative. I agree. It was Americans on this forum who told me of the Albert on Victoria Street, in my own city.<BR><BR>Ben Haines, London<BR><BR><BR>

JOdy

From this and other forums, I cut and paste to a word document , then save it in country specific folders in My Documents.<BR><BR>Also have folders for cinfirmation faxes, itineraries, etc

David

I use a shareware program called "EuroData 2.5" It allows me to make notes in it for my next trip. After I take the trip I print it out and file a copy. I find I only accumulate info for my "next" trip as it falls out of date so quickly.<BR><BR>I like accumulating information fresh each time. For me it's half the fun of travel.

Leslie

For brochures and books, I keep them segregated in redwells (pocketed folders). Websites I bookmark, and create folders by country, and then sub-folders by city, and then break that down further into sub-folders (eg. hotels, tours, etc.). For valuable information that I find here or on other boards, I copy it into a Word document and save that information in folders in "My Documents". I have also set up my incoming and outgoing email into folders by country, and sub-folders by city, and topic.

Maira

Welcome to the Forum, Martha!!! I have separate folders per countries under "Favorites" where I stored bookmarks of posted sights and hotels that look interesting. I also cut and paste into separate WordPerfect files. The bad thing is that during a virus attack last year, my "Plan Trip to Italy" file was wiped out, so once in a while backup to a CD/floppy.

pj

Get a notebook with pockets inside. <BR>Keep all your info you cut out there, and plenty of paper for notes. All at your figertips when you need it.

ms. a-retentive

I'm on the verge of amassing a mini-library of information on my favorite destinations ! If it's hard copy, then I've got a few notebooks that I maintain with tabs for 'Paris', 'London', etc. Otherwise, the computer files are categorized under my 'Travel-Europe' directory --- also have a smaller group organized under 'Travel-Asia' and 'Travel-Latin America'.<BR>

MaryC

I keep all my Paris books, brochures, etc. in one area of my home & Italy stuff in another area.<BR><BR>I cut & paste info from here & different websites to Word documents & as I'm outlining itineraries I do it on an Excel spreadsheet (I find it easier to manage).<BR><BR>Also, I keep websites that interest me bookmarked & organized. For instance, there will be a main heading called France, for general France things (obviously) and within that will be Paris, within Paris will be Hotels, Restaurants, Museums, Bookstores, Cathedrals, Sightseeing, etc.. Those will contain actual websites of certain hotels, restaurants or reviews or just general info that's good to know.<BR><BR>I also keep certain fodors threads bookmarked for future reference, such as "100 Great Things to Do in Paris", or "Best Souvenirs" or "Paris Films" or whatever I need for easy access.<BR><BR>For ideas that I'm just playing around with, like a trip to the UK, I'll write ideas down in my wallet organizer (handy for when one of the kids says "I want to go to so and so"). I'll use those ideas for research and these ideas eventually translate to the above recordings/organizations.<BR><BR>: )

Sue

For a non-organized person (me), I have a simpler solution. I have a folder named Fodors and in it I keep individual Word documents to which I paste info. Sometimes there are several for one place (Paris tips, Paris hotels, Paris restaurants, etc.) and sometimes not (Amsterdam). It's so simple to just open them up and copy and paste info with blithe disregard to order. Before I leave, I will straighten up the ones I need and maybe give little headings to sections (and delete the stuff I've copied twice). It's less organized, but because it's so simple, I find myself more willing to browse the forum and quickly copy info I think I might use later.

elvira

About 2 years ago, I finally organized all my travel stuff. I have cardboard file boxes that hold pending files (only 5" deep), each box holds one region or country. Each pending file has separate manila folders for cities, regions, whatever. France has one box for each province, Paris has its own.<BR><BR>Anything I find on the Web (Fodor's or anywhere else) I print out, luddite that I am. It goes in the file with magazine articles, brochures, etc. Anytime I look in a file, I cull out anything that's out of date or duplicated.<BR><BR>My cardboard files and printed materials have never flashed "unable to connect to server" or "unable to access file" or "file name unknown".

Benita

Martha,<BR><BR>This summer I finally got around to organize all the information I had gathered over the years, and my system is very similar to Elvira's, except I use a file cabinet instead of file boxes. I've categorized things by continents, countries, then cities, and even have a "general travel info" folder and one for cruise information.<BR><BR>Good luck with yours!<BR><BR>Benita

Martha

Wow!! You all are great! Now I really can make sense of all the bits and pieces of paper I have around. The ideas on saving and organizing the posts in forums was really helpful -- I'm just getting to this computer stuff... Seriously, thanks for all your good ideas and advice. Now I'll start working on my Spain folder...