Where I Put Stuff

Over this weekend I found myself searching for a particular bit of data that I knew I had, well, somewhere. This prompted me to clean up some of my files and do some organizing. Since I always like learning how others solve these sort of problems, I figured I’d share where I put my digital stuff.

Organize by type of information

Where I put things depends on how I intend to use it. Do I need to share the data regularly? Do I just need to archive it? With that in mind, I divide up my stuff into the following categories and I try to keep the data in one place per category.

To Do Lists

I use the emacs org-mode to keep track of all my lists be it personal, work, or whatever.

Projects

If I have to share the information with others, then I tend to use a Basecamp project. I’m often tempted to use Google Sites and if I weren’t so invested in Basecamp, I might migrate.

If code is involved, then I use my private subversion repository for closed source code. For open source code, I have stuff in Apache, GitHub and Google Code repositories and that’s pretty much my order of preference too.

I currently don’t have a good system for personal projects. I’ve used Basecamp projects, Google Sites, Backpack, personal wikis and other online solutions. I’ve tried to keep everything in org-mode and subversion. I’ve also considered products like VoodooPad and DevonThink. This is the messiest part of my digital space and I’d be happy to hear what works for others.

Files

I use an sftp account for important backups and file sharing. I’ve thought about using Dropbox or Zumodrive, but considering how much space I use, I’m sticking with sftp for now.

Otherwise, everything is just thrown into my Documents folder. There’s a small bit of organization there, but mostly I rely on desktop search to help me find what I’m looking for.

Calendar

iCal collects all the calendars I’m interested in and Spanning Sync publishes it to my Google account. I subscribe to my Facebook events, my friend and coworker’s calendars, Basecamp milestone calendars and so on. All of this ends up in iCal. It’s great for me, but not necessarily good for anyone else who wants to follow where I am as there’s no one public calendar that keeps all my busy/free time.

Music and Media

iTunes for music. iPhoto for photos. The files themselves are stored on external drives. For music, it’s a drive shared over my home network. For photos, it’s on an external drive that I plug as needed. I used to have decent backup systems for both, but now I have so much data that I need larger drives. Don’t have an remote/online backup system.

Photos I want to share end up on Flickr. I only use Facebook for photos taken at events planned via Facebook.

Miscellaneous

I’m happily using Evernote for all those bits of information which don’t seem to belong anywhere else. This includes reminders, account information, registration codes, directions to places, whatever. It’s my digital notebook. I don’t use it for anything that needs more structure (ie- projects), but it’s been a great place to catch random data. The fact that it syncs with my iPhone is critical.

Your Solution

So how do you organize your digital stuff? Do you use a strict filing system or do you rely on search? Online or offline? A few tools or special tools for everything?