Organizing Question

Dusk Till Dawn

gregory said:
It takes 2 days start to finish - I know this from the recent time I moved it all - the database helps ! But I don't have to do it these days. They are all in their places ! (well except for the lot whose drawer collapsed under the weight; they are in a neat pile till SO buys the necessary whatever it is he says he needs (my eyes glazed over...) to fix the drawer. I can do SOME DIY - but this needs an expert !)
Only 2 days? :bugeyed:, well you know, if you need an Expert of removing all that weight from that collapsed drawer, you know where to find me...})
 

Le Fanu

Mine's organised in a rather unorthadox way, but if I changed it, I wouldn't be able to find what I was looking for.

The absolute faves are in 6 "nice" (i.e fit for being on show) boxes within arm's length of the sofa. That must total about 30-odd decks.

Then there is a bookshelf which has antique boxes for all the decks I never had tuckboxes with.

Then there are two bookcases in the corridor.

Big boxes on the bottom; Llewellyn, MRP, Connections, Harper, U.S Games Premier Editions etc

Oracles/I-Ching/Lenormand/Sibillas etc on one shelf
Meneghello/Historic decks on another shelf
Retro vibe decks - Balbi, Tavaglione, Linweave, Golden Age 70s decks, on another.
RWS decks / different editions
RWS-based decks
Thoth/ Thoth based
All LoS decks (except historic ones)
Sentimental value /first decks I bought (has it's own category).

There'll be others but - like Rodney - I just tuck them in wherever they fit!
 

Stormdancer

Debra said:
Inspired by this thread, I have pulled them all out in order to sort, label and arrange.

I'm bored already, and they're all over the place.

:rolleyes:
I do that alot!!

My Dilema....teens...or...tarot...things that make me go...HMMMM

tarot...always talk nice to me
........stays where I put them
........Pretty to look at
........are RESPECTFUL
........Helpful...which is what I want them to do
........cheap-er than teens
........LOVE to be held

Teens...Only talk nice when they want something...usually $$
........are NEVER where they are supposed to be, AND they think I am STUPID
........do NOT do what they're supposed to do
........are NEVER help-ful....unless $$ is needed...I don't pay for helpfulness })
........are STILL expensive inspite of #1 and #4 above
........only hold me...as in underwater at the swimming pool :D
........If I got rid of teens, I would not only have my OWN (*swoooon*) room, but a spare, for....DECKS

This seems like a no-brainer to me. Kick the teens out and give myself room to organize tarot.
 

greycats

My first principle of organization has four divisions according to use: 1) reading, 2) study, 3) art and 4) collection. These are not "forever" categories. There's quite a bit of overlap and I frequently switch decks, especially between the first two which together number less than 20 decks most of the time. I also keep these close at hand in baskets, on tables and desks and in my carry-all.

The third bunch are decks that I love for their beauty and sometimes for their usefullness as well. Some I read with, but not consistently. Some I don't read with for various reasons, but I gain a lot of insight just by looking at them. This is quite a large group, easily the largest of the four, and is housed in a series of small trunks--small so that I can find the deck I want when I want it. Also, I sort this group according to their format (Marseille, Thoth, RWS, Etiella, Mincheates, Majors only, Oracles and Other) and within the RWS category, by publisher.

Last are decks that I keep as part of my collection. These are kept in their original boxes and are housed in a small bookcase and in a couple medium sized drawers. It's perhaps double the size of the first two groups. About half of these are where they are because they are difficult to keep. They're oversized or in book format or the packageing is integral with the deck, etc. The rest are there because besides being rare and out of print, they aren't decks that I consult very often though I do appreciate having them. ;)

Sometimes I'll select a subject--say decks featuring cats or Egyptian tarots or versions of RWS or decks by Caroline Smith--and pull them out of wherever they are. Scattered on a table, they reveal things they might otherwise not. And it's fun, for me and for whomever happens upon them. But I don't organize this way. Too complicated.
 

gregory

EVERYONE'S system but mine requires reorganisation when decks overflow from categories. All I will ever need is - um - another room :|

As many will know, I just had to jettison a sofa last year and bring in more storage units.... Sigh.

*ping* BUT - I can move the BOOKS to another room before I have to start on decks, when I get full again !
 

Alta

I have a degree of organization. Like Debra, a while back I pulled them all out and quickly discovered that organizing from scratch is boring. So, I have a pile of uncategorized decks, I keep the LoScarabeo decks together because it makes a logical set and all the boxes are the same size; I keep all my various TdM's together and all my RWS and near clones and all versions of Thoth together and all my Majors only decks. After that I rely on my spreadsheet which tells me immediately where any deck is to be found.

I do not think that organization is really the issue. It is being able to find them when you want them. That's where the searchable spreadsheet comes in.

Alta
 

gregory

Alta said:
I do not think that organization is really the issue. It is being able to find them when you want them. That's where the searchable spreadsheet comes in.
YES !

- though when you are STUPID enough not to consult it when putting the decks BACK, you can end up in serious *****************

I lost a deck for three weeks once..... :(
 

AJ

That is when alphabetical pays off!
 

gregory

IF you ALWAYS put them back where you got them. Chronological by acquisition works the same way - till the day you put one back wrong..... (like library books on their shelves; one borrower puts one back in the wrong place and no-one else sees it for months.)

And at least I don't have to shuffle them all along when I get a new A deck :)

PS what is the word before secularism on your sig ???? she asked nosily.....
 

avalonian

The ones I use a lot are in bags scattered all over the house (except for the two kept at work and whichever one is carted around at any given time).

Tarot decks that are not parts of sets which I do not use often are kept on one shelf, grouped into ones with non-illustrated pips, Rider Waite variants, and anything else grouped alphabetically. Deck/book sets on different shelves alphabetically. Same for oracles,

It was all going so well till I purchased the Psychic Tarot Oracle Deck by John Holland. Maybe I ought to start carrying it around with me so that I don't have to make the decision about whether it is Tarot or an Oracle.

Suspect that to refer to this as "organising" may be stretching a point.

:) :) :)