So if I was still a kid and my parents were having a look at my downloads folder they would say it was a disaster. And it really is.
I have a giant folder full of CC that installed with lots all just jumbled up together. I have about four different half-remembered, half-implemented organizational plans in place and i've got so many duplicate folders. Like a creator like nymphy might have GOS folder, an LJ folder, a tumblr folder, and MTS folder. I've got old TSR files that I don't need and don't know how to find. Its a mess and I've got to sort it out.

You see I think I've hit a sweet spot when it comes down to CC, 15GBs and I'm 3GB over that. My legacy house crashes constantly. Of course it is the biggest house and household so it sucks up the most resources. I've already done 50/50 testing and it ran perfectly and ofc course during the 50/50 testing I was averaging anywhere from 10-12GB of CC, 15GB at the highest. I've taken it to my local computer shop and they didn't find any problems. And there were never crashes during the 50/50 period. So I'm starting to think its just too much CC at this point. plus ofc there is just the lag of having a lot of custom content.

So I just need to clean up the downloads folder. Now I know some of you are really organized so I wanted some suggestions on how to get this folder cleaned, organized and shed 3GB of content. I'm thinking of taking out all of the CC except for my essential hacks, default replacements, custom foods, can't live without hairs and setting up a test neighborhood. Then I'll just sort one GB worth of the other stuff at time. Working in smaller amounts will make it easier to find and rid myself of the things that I don't want as well as decrease loading times meaning I'm more likely to actually get through the process of cleaning up.

The other thing is how do I organize the content I want to keep? Should all my nymphy folders be just one big nymphy folder? If I need to track a piece of CC down and it was at GOS wouldn't it to helpful to know that as well. Should my nymphy folder have subfolders for GOS, MTS, tumblr etc...?

I really just need any thoughts, examples, systems, pictures, anything really would be appreciated. Just Help!

*also sorry if this should be in the help section, but it didn't seem to fit there.

The most important thing is to pick a system that works for YOU. If you wanted to find a thing, where would you look for it?

I tend to look for things based on where they are in the catalog - a system based on creator or source would be useless, since I don't remember that. (I am hyper-organized with a separate WCIF on my LJ, deliberately, so that if I ever need that information, I can get it. I think I use my WCIF more than everyone else in the world put together.)

Because I know that about myself, I have arranged my downloads by where they are in the catalog. For instance, a hair (by any creator, from any source) would follow this path: Downloads folder > Body folder > Hair folder > Female folder (the other options are Male, Unisex, and Baby). There's no further subdivision. Furniture goes into Buy folder > Dressers folder. (Or Sinks, or Plants, or Dining Chairs, etc.)

Your sorting method sounds reasonable. Have lots of chocolate handy while you work on it! Good luck!

The important thing to remember when organizing is, that it needs to work in a way that's intuitive to the user - in this case, you. So I would start by looking at those four half-implemented plans and ask yourself what about them prevented them from working? Did you start with something logical that seemed less logical as time went on? Did they involve too much upfront work?

And I would go on by taking a representative sample and asking myself: If I were looking for this right now, where would I look for it?

One tip is to use Paladin's Object Modifier for buy mode stuff. I don't recommend using it to actually edit stuff, I did and much regretted it when I later found out that files modified with it and then compressed lose some of the information, like catalog name and description. However, it is very useful for finding what the file name of an object is, and it also has the option of deleting all recolors associated with that mesh which is quite useful for objects you don't want to keep. No need to weed out the recolors yourself.

Sometimes it's a bit of detective work. If you are lucky, the thumbnail will show you what it is, but if the thumbnail is missing you can always look where it's located in catalog, and the price, and use in-game catalog to figure out what it is. I recommend making a copy of your downloads somewhere, and make the program read that folder. That way you can keep the game open to look, while you use Object Modifier to remove stuff.

Do you want to sort by where the CC came from, or do you want to sort by what the CC is? You could of course do both, but the more subfolders you have the longer it takes for the game to read them. simmer22 says three folders deep is the threshold, and that's what I aim for, personally. Most of it is two folders deep. I use a folder system created by Jessa, that I unfortunately can't find the link to. It sorts bodyshop stuff by what it is. Clothing is one folder per category, and each age group has their own for that category, with meshes in one folder per age. Buy/build is sorted by function. It ends up being quite a lot of folders, but it keeps it all very organized. I wouldn't personally want my CC sorted by where it came from, if I wanted that information to remain I would use a renaming program and add the site name to the file name. But only you know what works best for you

I separated mine based on download types: mods, food, clothes, furniture, skins, hair, eyes, etc. and then later, as I added new stuff, by the date I downloaded them, in case something goes wrong with them.

Everybody thanks for the suggestions so far. gummilutt I downloaded that object modifier right away. i think its gonna be really helpful.

My first system for organizing my CC was by catalog, but I was ending up with a lot of subfolders and duplicates, especially of meshes and finding them really difficult to look for. I was also downloading a lot at once and didn't really know what I was doing. So from a standpoint of downloading every thing in sight that looked remotely usable it made sense to try and reorganize by creator because you'd have the creators name in front of you when downloading. Ofc now its the exact opposite of what I need.

I think I am going to have my essentials and then start by what an item is and work from there. Anymore suggestions on cleaning out CC or dealing with CC on custom lots, I'm all ears. And I do intend to keep downloading lots with CC.

My system is similar to Esme's but not as organized. I currently have a 'New Folder' that desperately needs sorting of items because I do procrastinate and don't move them from there to their proper folders often enough. Then I have a similar set up for the rest, except any folder that I know will become large or itself have sub-sub folders will have it's own spot. So my Hair folder won't be found inside my Body Shop folder because it's huge. So mine goes Downloads>Hairs>Named hair folders. It should be Downloads>Hairs> Female Hair>Named Folders but I haven't organized most that far. I never organize by site because my brain does not work that way either. If I want to find a hair I look under hair. Now if the name on the folder is not too long I tack the site name on at the end. The only time I use the creators name is when I know I have a stack of them, like Almightyhat hairs.

My old sims 2 folder was getting crashing on large crowded lots, turning the shadows down helped as did turning off neighbours. I'm pretty sure I just need a new graphics card with more memory. If your computer is struggling running things I doubt a 50/50 will find anything, that's only good for corrupted cc.

The last time my download folder got too big (like 17GB), I dumped the whole thing and started from scratch. New custom content is being created every day and you'll find items you loved have been updated/replaced/fixed/improved.

One day, I just got sick of it all and went on an organization rampage. Took me three days of non-stop work (lot of down time waiting in a hospital), but it was worth it. Doing that, I developed a system I'm 90% happy with. It's already been said: the best option is to find a system that works for YOU. How do YOU play your game? Do you remember every creator you download from? Do you prefer things by age/gender/mesh/website?

If you don't already, you should be using Delphy's Download Organizer and Clean Installer. Download Organizer sorts through descriptions and has a search function, but takes longer to load (every time you load the program, it'll scan your entire folder). Clean Installer doesn't give as much information, but it's faster and can show you basic information (clothing, mesh, recolors, hacks, etc). These help you find out what "2342342343423bjdsbfskjsds.package.package.package" really is.

Anyway, here's what I do (This is a good time to make a new backup of your downloads folder AND neighborhood):
- Every new download goes into a folder named "TO BE ORGANIZED". I've also gotten into the habit of saving preview images of the item. Not every creator puts previews in their zip folders.
- When my custom content binge is over, I go through EVERY single thing I downloaded. Every folder get unzipped and the preview image I saved gets put in that folder. I do not delete the original zip in case something gets deleted.
-After this, I empty downloads and throw the new items in to test. Did the game load? Good. Crash? Bad - that means we have a problem. At this point, it's the 50/50 method to locate the bad apple.
- I open a neighborhood I don't really care about destroying/losing and load a house. No crashes? Good. Crash? Bad. Time for 50/50.
- For build/buy, test EVERY object. Does the bed work? Do my doors show up? Is that sofa as pretty as it is in the preview? Blinking "damn, I forgot the master mesh" blue? This is the time to decide if I want to keep or not.
- For CAS stuff, go to the create a family screen. Check EVERY new piece of hair/clothing/makeup. Is it working? Mesh showing up? Do you like all the recolors? Gaps in the mesh? Graphical glitches? Default replacement slipped in?
- For things that fail the test, I go back to the download page and reread the information. Forgot a mesh? Maybe there's an update? If it's just something I really don't like, I delete the original AND the zip folder. If it's a really bad issue, I'll throw it in a folder called "BAD CUSTOM CONTENT." This is the stuff I try to contact creators about.
- If it passes all that, things get organized into folders by type: clothing, hair, accessories, default replacements. For build/buy, I have smaller folders for each section (fences, doors, walls, floors, etc.) For hair and clothing, I make a folder for the mesh with the name of the creator OR the person I downloaded it from and throw all recolors in that folder.
- Next is to see how it mingles with my current CC folder. This is another good time to make a backup of the neighborhood and downloads folder. No problems? Good. Problems? Mod conflict. Play with load order, go through your mods/hacks, etc.

Edit: Pictures uploaded. I guess I should note -
1) I have an external hard drive. This contain ALL my custom content organized during that three day hospital stay rampage. All of my backups are stored here as well. Most files are uploaded here before added to my game. If you have an external, use it to store backups.
2) Special characters "( ) [ ] ~ @ # $" etc will slow your game down. Only my top level folder use them. I'll take an extra ten seconds of loading in exchange for organization.
3) Purgatory is for files still in testing, but have been organized into its appropriate folder.
4) The folders "Holding - Using" and "Holding - Not Using" are REALLY helpful. "Using" is for dumping my normal play folder when I'm testing files or working on my custom vacation hood. "Not Using" is for stuff that works fine but I don't use after having for like 5-10 game loads. Before I add new stuff, I check that folder. Seems silly, but it curbs CC binges (some times).
5) Every folder gets the same naming system: Item (Name of creator and website). In three months, you wouldn't remember where you got "bunnysofa-mesh-MASTERFILE.package" from. Save yourself the headache; just name it now before it goes in game.

Wow this turned into a wall of text. Hope it helps.

You can turn off neighbors? does that mean that you won't get walk-bys? As for the 50/50, it took me a bit to conclude that it wasn't a case of bad CC, but too much CC. :/ it is time to update my graphics card on GP alone, but I should still really clean-up my game.

something else I need to know as I'm clearing up my CC. I know things like a moving animal or bicycle will generate and NPC. Do CC cars generate them as well?

And MiddyMeep by all means please post your pictures. :D

No, it just means your computer isn't having to render their houses etc, so less strain on the system. Walkbys generate at your lots pedestrian portals.

When objects move around your lot they are often based on the remote control car which uses an NPC to move it about. That also includes the surfing mod and any cc that makes a sim like Echo's clown. CC Cars are based on cars and do not move around your lot, they move off lot. cars do not use an NPC. A bicycle which is really a car (It gets placed on a driveway, sims can get in and 'drive' off) like this one https://www.modthesims.info/download.php?t=117872 is cloned from a car and does not contain an NPC. Bicycles which are just for ridding around the lot like this https://www.modthesims.info/d/260676 do use an NPC. They do not get placed on a driveway, they do not have the option of cars such as 'drive to work', they are just fun items.

Yay for my less than 152 MB of CC and my less than 1 min to start my game,

It sure does. My downloads for hood building loads the game in 3 seconds and I'm like "Maybe I should lay off the custom content..." Then three sims SSX themselves to death and the social worker is taking the babies. Then ten minute loading time doesn't seem so bad

Question: Does the Object Modifier work for UC?

To be on the safe side, I tend to do a search in downloads folder before adding any new items and do use a folder system.

I started rebuilding my medieval game and sorting out my downloads this past week. My old system involved sorting by the site I got the content from, but that was getting messy due to some creators having things at multiple sites, and having similar subfolders from different sites. I also ended up with a lot of duplicates of popular meshes that way.

My new approach is loosely by catalog. Under downloads, I have the folders for Build, Buy, CAS, Mods, Defaults, Hood Decor, Unsorted, and Test. Test is where any new content gets put until I've confirmed I want to keep it and it's working properly with the rest of my content. From there, I move things to one of the others. Unsorted is where I stick things when I either don't feel like taking time to sort yet, or I am not sure what category it is best suited to - mostly, it's got packages that came with lots that are named with strings of numbers, but it also has a couple of sets that included both build and buy items, and I just haven't moved the individual packages to the right spot yet.

Under Build, I have subfolders matching the upper level of the game catalog, (doors and windows, columns, terrain,...) and everything appropriate just gets put into the right folder there. There isn't another layer of folders beyond those for build. My Buy folder is much the same but also has subfolders of sets of things that would otherwise be in multiple sets - I'm slowly sorting those items into the other folders and getting rid of the extra folders. The only buy subfolder to have further subfolders is Decor - it has files for rugs, wall hangings, and statues.

CAS has subfolders for Hair, Clothing, Accessories, and Other. Hair has a folder for each style/mesh, and the mesh and recolours are together in those folders- a couple of different styles share a mesh, and I've put them into the same folder. The Clothing and Accessories each have one subfolder for meshes and every other package file is jumbled together. I renamed the files by putting AF_, EM_, CF, and so on followed by creator name in front of each package name. That way, I can find the files for a particular age or creator without too much searching despite not having separate folders, and since a lot of the clothes use the same meshes, this cuts down on duplicate files.

My Mods folder has subfolders "Avoiding Corruption" and "Assorted new gameplay", as well as subfolders named for the mod creators. Avoiding corruption includes things like nounlinkondelete and a subfolder of mods that I can't delete without damaging my existing games (multi-PT mod, any NPC creating ones). Assorted new gameplay has mods from creators that I only have one or two items from and a subfolder of careers.

My hood decor folder doesn't have very much in it.

My Defaults folder is less organized that the others. The subfolders there are Hair, Clothing, Careers, Carpool, Skin and Face, NPCs, and then a mix of subfolders called by either creator name or the name of what is being replaced. I think I've defaulted everything I intend to, and I think it all works, so I don't expect to have to search this folder very often.

I stole this suggestion from someone and it works very well.

1. Download a program that finds and deletes duplicate files.
2. Make an empty lot and place all the buy mode stuff on it that you don't want.
3. Save and package the lot.
4. Make a folder in your Downloads called "Delete."
5. Open the packaged lot with Clean Installer, then install the lot into the "Delete" folder you just made.
6. Scan your Downloads folder with the Duplicate cleaning program.
7. Have the program remove the duplicates that are outside of the Delete folder.
8. Delete the "Delete" folder and its contents.

I've read that subfolders affect load times, so if that's a concern, it would be better to organize into larger subfolders, like Bodyshop > Clothing, rather than Bodyshop > Clothing > Female > Toddler.

I've also read that certain mods, like Inteen, shouldn't be placed in a subfolder.

This is good, but you'll have to remember to note master and slaved objects. If you downloaded a bedroom set and later decide you don't like the dresser (but it's the master file), every file slaved to it will flash blue without it. Delphy's Download Organizer and Clean Installer have the ability to show duplicates.

Here it is I use the same system (tweaked for my personal preferences). It's been IMMENSELY helpful. I only have Bodyshop/CAS content and a few mods fully organized right now - I haven't played the actual game since I reinstalled months ago and I've been focused on rebuilding my CC and getting the game to generate interesting townies & NPCs and such (I'm an obsessive perfectionist). I do some of the same things MiddyMeep (I love that username ) mentioned. So some of this might be redundant, but I'd like to share in case it helps anyone.

I have a "Temp" folder on my desktop where I download CC files to. I grab a pic of the item(s) and paste the link to where I got it from in a notepad file. Then I unzip them into individual folders and put them in another temp folder within my master downloads one. They stay there until I look at the new CC in-game. When I decide to keep something, I add any info I might need to the notepad file and move the folder to where it belongs. Anything I want to keep but don't need in the game right away goes into a special "vault" folder.

I set it up so that the temp folder and the one where I put my own CC are at the top, followed by BS defaults.

Next is regular BS content sorted by category. Like Jessa does, I try to go no more than 2 subfolders deep (to keep loading times down, more on that later). This means I have a ton of folders, but they're clearly labeled and easy to navigate. I have a ridiculous amount of clothing, so it gets foldered by age/sex/category and under that by item. Anything for multiple groups gets designated UF, UM, or UU (that's how Maxis indicates multi-age and/or unisex, you probably know this if you've downloaded default replacement clothes.) Each type of makeup gets its own folder, as do eyes, skins, facial hair, brows, etc.

Hair gets sorted into female, male, and unisex (if M & F share a mesh). Then I subfolder by mesh. If I have different textures or alpha edits of the same hairstyle, they go in another folder (Newsea_FoamSummer-Nymphy, Nouk_HighPony-Dreads, etc).

Mods are a little different. I have a lot of Pescado's so they get their own folder. I'm just starting to put my gameplay mods in so the Misc folder will probably be split up. Mods that need to load first (like the CEP) and last/after a specific one get put the correct order by putting As & Zs in the folder name.

Back to file naming: Any character other than A-Z, 0-9, and _ takes the game longer to read, including spaces. This helpful thread at GoS talks about that as well as other things that can slow down loading time. I name my files with creator name first and use underscores instead of spaces. Bulk Rename Utility allows you to mass-rename your files, it saves me so much time and frustration.

I know this all sounds like a tedious pain in the ass, but it's well worth it to not have a folder with a million files named 64ab4e7f_ac99d245a7 or whatever. I know what every file is, where to find it, and where it comes from in case I need to redownload or need certain info.

My problem is the same. Broken defaults, mesh with standard game GUID, old meshes without recolor, some glitch with community lot....and 24 GB of CC. I use folder like "meshes", "clothes", etc. but my observation is: When a folder is more than 3 GB, it crash the game. I can't find the strength to sort all.

I have some more cc than Marka (around 2.5 GB) - and I just have to ask: how do you ever use all those cc? I mean, even with 224 households in my hood, I have not even used a quarter of my clothes. (No criticim intended, I really want to know - am I missing out on something here?)

I easily use all of my clothes. I mean let's say a dress comes in 5 colours, I would only put one sim in that dress, another female sim would need pants or a skirt or another dress. I might put that same outfit on another sim after a while but in another colour. Some sims have a few outfits and I don't want anyone wearing the same exact thing. Then there are clothes for each age range as well.

I've got 10 GB. My game does not lag though it does crash if there's lots of sims on a lot/lot is too big. I do use the in game delete button for stuff I don't like.
My Hair folder is 1.5 GB, this is where I dump all my hair. I don't have any subfolders that separates them by age, sex...
Clothes folder is 2 GB. I have Female, Male, Child, and Toddler stuff folders.
Objects folder is around 6 GB. I haven't sorted it by function/room so it's all just a big mess.
The remaining 0.5 GB is my accessories, defaults, Do Not Delete folder, walls and floors.

I love all the CAS items I've got. They make the game so much more modern given the outdated options you get in the vanilla game (in my opinion). I haven't used most on my playable sims (I just don't have enough sims at the moment), but they do come in handy when making townies.

Same for objects, I tend to use the same objects in many households, but what if one day I wanna play a gothic vampire? A fabulous "celebrity" living in all the glitz and glam? I won't have to hunt for cc because it's already there (I have a ton of stuff converted from Sims 3 Supernatural).

Also, this thread just reminded me that I have to clean out "average" cc. Don't wanna have useless stuff in my game! Thank the lord for the in-game delete button, I would have gone nuts without it.

Okay I also have a ton of clothing/hair for age groups and try very hard to dress each one in a different way (it is a tall order to remember every Sim's outfit in my hood). I even use some clothing that I have recolored myself. Hair less than clothes, but I do have a lot.
I not only download almost every usable wall and floor that I see, I also make some myself, so there are a lot.
I am not default-friendly, everytime I tried to download one I ended up with some floating heads in my hood (not worth the trouble imo).So my townies look like townies until they are lucky enough to marry one of my Sims
I think what may make a difference to my GB is perhaps that I do not download lots of objects (I have this thing about stuff that may not be updated for pets/Freetime, AL, whatever - no way I am going to do it myself, I scarcely know how to open SimPE). So I rather go for recolors and I believe they take up a lot less space. (I do like bathrooms, and many creators do give you an option to download a tub for pets).That would probably explain my thinner folder.

Clothes- first I change my sims clothes a lot. At minimum once per season and often moreso. I have seasons so all my sims are required to have seasonal wardrobes. Heavy sweaters, turtle necks, sweatshirts, pants and boots for the winter or skirts and dresses with tights. Light sweaters and jackets for spring, shorts, t-shirts, sun-dresses, for summer and light jackets, sweaters, etc...for fall. Like Jo and Sarah I try not duplicate outfits so recolors are essential.

clothing has to be appropriate to personality and lifestyle. I've noticed a lot of people have say a goth neighborhood and everyone is goth and that's cool and all, but for me its important for my sims to be unique with distinctive personalities and styles. For example some of my female sims never wear pants, some never wear dresses. the founder of the Savage Legacy was a glamorous dresser who almost never wore pants and was super traditionally femme. The current torcholder is still female, but dress hip-hop after the old school female rappers of the 90's who disdained traditional femininity in favor sweats shirts, baggy pants and heavy jackets. I don't think she has ever worn a high-heeled shoe, refuses dresses, won't wear sexy pajamas, etc.. her clothing must be comfortable and practical. with that approach its very easy to use all if not most of your clothing. Almost any type of clothing has a place in my game. Even the hated photo-skinned stuff has its place. If a lady wants to wear tight sexy clothing why shouldn't she?

Of course if I change their clothes I probably change their hair. I take advantage of the fact that you can have a different hairstyle for each category of clothing. So that's six different hairstyles, per sim, again I try not to duplicate though this is a bit harder. The thing I don't change as often is make-up. Once I get a look on a sim that I like with make-up I tend not to change unless their style changes radically.

One of the places I'll probably shed the most CC from is build mode. I like what I like when it comes down to things like hard wood floors, brick walls, Victorian houses, etc...Houses tend not to be as unique as people and I'll use my favorite nursery and bedroom sets in more than one home. I also use a limited amount of clutter. Usually just enough to make a home look like a person lives there, but that's about it. Even though the cluttered houses often look great and very natural I can't be bothered to place lots of CC all over everything. Clutter is where I will probably shed the most.

something else I want to mention is that race, ethnicity,sub-culture these things factor here when it comes to the amount of CC in a person's game. The base game is modeled more or less on one type of mainstream American life. The further you get from that mainstream the more CC you'll need to feel happy with the game. So some simmers no matter how judicious they are with their custom content collecting are just going to have a high baseline of CC.

Also MiddyMeep and MrsMQ'uve I'm still studying your pictures and links tbh. I'm starting to get an idea of what this is going to look like at the end. I especially like the sub-categories over sub-folders suggestion. I imagine it will simplify things tremendously.

My new Sims 2 folder which has 4,678 (1.37gb) clothing files and I haven't even started collecting Elder clothes yet except what came with some adult sets. Sometimes I change clothes based on the season as well. I could do with a few more things for teens yet as well. I love free clothes shopping.

Free clothes shopping is the best. My teens need more stuff too, tbh. One of the good things about this clean up is I'll get some really dated turn of the century (did I just say that) CAS stuff out of my game. to make room for more modern clothes.