I think you're right

[Davina101]

Being a gypsy does have its advantages and seems to bode well
for a beginner just trying to find his way. There are just so many places to
see and things to do that it seems impossible to keep up with a home at the
same time. And it's even worse when you only have a limited amount of time you
can dedicate to SL. I think it comes down to priorities. And priorities shift
with age. When you get my age, it's easy to look forward and see time running
out and look backwards and see things you might have done differently. But I am
happy with all my decisions. I have a great house by the beach and everything I
ever wanted. I had to work my butt off for it and still do so that means
budgeting my time very carefully. But SL is awesome. It is an extension of life
that allows us to be even freer than we ever imagined possible. And I want to do
is do it right.

So far, I have spent a fortune, my inventory is a friggin' mess.
I am just now learning what it means when they say "no copy",
"no transfer", and "no modify". These are things they should
have a class on before you start. I still can't figure out how to organize my
inventory the way I want it. I am a neatness freak in RL and my inventory makes
me crazy. I would gladly pay someone to help me with it but I doubt that's even
possible. But most of all, I am getting tired of not having a real home.
Someplace to go and just be alone so I can work on things like my inventory.

So far, I have met so many incredible people. Some people that I
already dearly love. There are so many people that love to help and are so
charming and sweet that they can melt a guy's heart.. But then there are a few
that you have to watch out for. And it's so hard to tell the difference when
you're new. That could be a good job for a SL person, to be just a guide and
show new people around. Not all people are cheap. I would have gladly paid a
small fortune for help. But now, I still need help but a little less. But I do
need to figure out how to find a nice place to call home.

As I said, I own a beautiful house by the beach in RL. But I
have learned the shortcomings of ownership. In this economy, to own a home
locks you in one spot. Fortunately, I made good decisions and my RL house is
paid for. But in today's world, I think renting might be a better idea. It
opens your options and makes you mobile. You can move around to where ever your
work is in RL. In SL, it could help you avoid getting too used to one place. I
don't need to fix it up too special because I spend way too much time fixing up
my RL house to be a show-piece for company and parties. That's enough work. I
just want a nice place that is upscale because I like having nice things. I
have found in RL that you always get what you pay for. You pay cheap, you get
cheap. I like nice, But I am very frugal, that's the only way a hard working
person can afford nice things. So I need advise on how and wear to look for
such. I want a place that I can afford but a place that keeps the property
value high in the neighborhood. Someplace that I can rent that I'm not tide to
forever. But a place where I can always run home and do the things I need to
do. And of course, if I need to converse with a friend, a private place can
always come in handy if you know what I mean.

I think it's going to take me a year just to organize my
inventory. I bought so many things and it seems I have to drag each thing one
at a time to a new folder. I've already lost some jewelry, (I don't know how),
but a touchpad on a lappy can be dangerous. I can take my time and do it right if
I have a home to hang it where I can pipe in some good tunes. I love all the
clubs and cool places in SL. I especially love the dance clubs and shopping. I
never liked shopping in RL. Here, it is so cool especially with a friend showing
you around. SL is so cool.

Open to any help or suggestions.

[Davina101]

Thank you SO much,  I didn't think of using a mouse, that would help immensely.  And I started to create a little bit of a folder structure like you described but it seemed that I was buying too much faster than I created places to put them.  And I was frustrated because some things you can "Copy" to other folders and locations and some things you just have to drag.  And I kept buying because it seemed like everything I bought was really cool but then, I never had total outfits that matched.

 

All part of exploring my new found life I guess.  I think it's so cool to learn new stuff.  I think when you quit learning, you quit living.  All I want to do is explore now and have fun now.  I think I should follow your advice and quit "buying" for a bit.  I probably have more than I'll wear for years now. 

 

Maybe someone could invent a "Closet" on SL, something you could buy and put in your inventory that already has a predefined folder structure for all your stuff.  Then you just have to put your stuff away like you do at home.  Just a thought.  I'd buy one.  But maybe not enough people would.  But thank you so much for your advice.  I really like the people here.

[Eloise Baily]

It took me three solid days to sort out my inventory but I'm glad I did.

I split things into loots of folders like clothing/dresses/mini/blue.

It works for me and as long as I keep on top of it I can find most stuff.

I also have a folder called objects to investigate for all the stuff that turns up in lost and found and objects. I head for a sandbox and sort through them when I have a spare hour.

I'm more brutal about throwing crap away now too.

[Davina101]

That is definitely one of my big problems.  I'm scared to throw stuff away yet.  I am still figuring out what is just junk, what are the messages and instructions, ads, and landmarks, and what are all the parts of things that you need to keep together.  Like shoes,  You can't just keep a single entry for a pair of shoes, (that I know of),  It seems you need several parts just to make up a single pair of shoes.  But then there might be several other things in the same folder that are just the creaters advertisements or notecards.  Might be a good thing to keep.

 

But I have found that I have a couple things that I might have two or three of the same thing.  I have started to carefully examine those things and if they look absolutely identical, i might delete one.  But I figured, if I have two, then I can use one to move into a proper folder and after it's in there and works, then I can delete the other.  I guess I am way to **bleep** that way.  But I guess I'm that way in RL too. 

 

I do like the "Outfits" folder.  I am slowly starting to build those.  But there again, you can have several differnt versions of the same outfit.  I guess it's a lot of work any way you look at it.  Still lots of fun though. :-)

[Lyra Blackthorne]

For inventory I also use subfolders for everything...Shoes/Heels, Flats,Boots etc.  It is just like a closet once you make up the folders.  As you try on your outfits you might also want to relabel the content folder to descibe it better. For wearables I usually use the color as first word then what it is and last creator name as part of my description...Pink denim mini skirt by ABC Shop or Black long slv sweater by XYZ.  Then put it in the right folder like Tops/Sweaters.

But, with so many wonderful things in SL do not be fearful of deleting items...you will get more and more as you are inwolrd!  As you look at items toss out anything that does not suit your personal style, is less well made or dated or you just don't love it.  If you do not get rid of things you will find yourself wearing items that you like less than others or having a inventory of stuff you never wear but takes up space...and the more in your inventory the slower you load after a point.

Boxes can be helpful too.  My home is now set up as I like it and unless I move or decide to remodel I do not need to access many items.  I rezed boxes and named them landscaping, furniture, home accessories.  Ffilled them up with inventory items and then took the filled boxes back into my inventory;  you could also just stack them up on a shelf at home.  This took 100's of individual items out and turned them to just 3 boxes.  I have done the same with holiday items; have boxes for Christmas etc that I rezz annually and then return to a box after the holiday has passed.

You can make cleaning inventory more fun by inviting a friend or two over who needs to do the same cleaning.  Listen to music, chat and oh/ahh over your inventory discoveries together.

Happy sorting!

[Venus Petrov]

There are some great suggestions here.  I will add a couple more for your consideration.  When you are organizing your inventory, click on File at the top of the inventory window and then New Window.  This will allow you to drag and drop things from one area to another in your inventory.

When you find something that is transferable and you no longer need or want it, put it into a Giveaway folder and stop by one of the Help areas or Infohubs to give away your no longer needed items to a new resident.

[Davina101]

Wow, thank you, what great ideas.  I like Venus's give-away idea and I really like Lyra's idea or putting stuff away in boxes.  I'm sure it will take me some time to figure out how to do that but that's exactly what I need to be able to do.  I really appreciate all the great comments.  Thank you all so much.

[Ian Undercroft]

I drag all clothes and apparel folders into the clothing part of my inventory and then find what I want by searching against the name of the store I acquired them from. For me at least, creating named sub-folders and whatever would just confuse matters.