Spring Cleaning for Writers: 5 Ways to Organize Your Memoir Project

There’s something about spring—maybe it’s the longer days or the fresh breeze through open windows—that makes us want to tidy up. But spring cleaning isn’t just for your closet or kitchen. If you're writing a memoir, this is the perfect season to clean up your creative process, too.

Memoir writing can get messy. Between journal entries, printed pages, half-formed ideas, and folders full of files with names like “Version 3 FINAL maybe??”—it's easy to feel overwhelmed. That’s why a little intentional organization can go a long way.

Here are five simple but powerful tasks to help you declutter your writing life and set yourself up for creative momentum.

1. Create a Clear, Consistent File-Naming System

Let’s start with something deceptively simple: your filenames. If you’re like many writers, you’ve probably got documents called “Draft,” “New Draft,” or “Actual Memoir THIS ONE” cluttering your desktop.

A consistent naming system brings instant clarity. Try using a structure like this:

[Memoir Working Title]_[Chapter or Scene Name]_[Date or Version Number]

Example: BecomingVisible_MotherLeavingScene_2025-04-10

You’ll always know what’s inside, where it belongs in your draft, and which version you’re working with. Bonus: It makes sorting and locating files in your digital folders a breeze.

2. Build a Folder System That Mirrors Your Process

A messy desktop or jumbled Google Drive can create more stress than you realize. Take a few minutes to create a clean digital filing system with clear labels. Here's a sample structure to get you started:

• 📁 Memoir Project
  
  
• 📁 Drafts
  
  
• 📁 Scenes or Chapters
  
  
• 📁 Research & Notes
  
  
• 📁 Inspiration (quotes, photos, etc.)
  
  
• 📁 Archived Versions
  

If you write by hand or keep printed drafts, use physical folders or binders labeled the same way. Keeping a hybrid system? Make a quick index card or note on your phone listing what’s printed and where it lives.

3. Make a “Pivotal Moments” Spreadsheet

One of the best things you can do to structure your memoir is to get clear on your key moments—the turning points, memories, or scenes that shaped you. (Want to learn how to create a Pivotal Points Timeline? Send me a quick email with the subject line “Pivotal Points,” and I’ll add this workshop to my teaching line-up as soon as I can.)

Create a spreadsheet with simple columns like:

• Moment or Scene
  
• Why It Matters
  
• Approximate Age/Date
  
• Status (Drafted, Needs Revision, Not Written Yet)
  

This gives you a bird’s-eye view of your story arc and helps you spot gaps, overlaps, and themes. It’s also deeply motivating—you’ll see just how much progress you’ve made (or where to focus next).

4. Organize Your Research

If your memoir involves interviews, journal entries, letters, timelines, or family history, gather all those resources into one place.

Whether you’re storing these items on your computer or in a file cabinet or box, create subfolders for:

• Personal documents (e.g., journals, emails, letters)
  
• Interviews (recordings and transcripts)
  
• Historical research or timelines
  
• Photos or family trees
  

Consider using an app like Evernote or Notion to keep track of details, or a simple Word doc or spreadsheet to log what each source contains and where it lives.

5. Capture and Curate Source Material for Inspiration

Memoir isn’t just about your memories—it’s also shaped by the stories, books, songs, quotes, and ideas that moved you along the way. Don’t let that inspiration get lost in random notebooks or bookmarks you’ll never revisit.

Create a simple system for storing these gems:

• 📁 Source Material folder in Google Drive or Dropbox
  
• ✏️ A digital note titled “Quotes I Love” or “Writing That Inspires Me”
  
• 📓 A physical journal dedicated to ideas, snippets, and excerpts
  

Pro tip: Keep this material close when you’re editing—it can reignite your creative spark when motivation dips.

The Magic of Tidying Up

Getting organized isn’t about perfection. It’s about clearing the path for your story to flow. When your materials are in order, your brain doesn’t have to work as hard to remember where that one brilliant paragraph went—or what scene you meant to revise next.

So this spring, open a window, take a deep breath, and give your writing life a little reset. You might be surprised at the clarity (and creativity) that emerges when you sweep out the mental and digital clutter.

Want to join me and other memoir writers for a free Spring Cleaning Co-Working Session? You'll learn a few tips on how to tidy up your writing life. Then we'll dedicate the bulk of our time to our individual "spring cleaning" projects and debrief at the end on our progress. Save your spot now for Tue, April 29, 2025, 6 pm CT (4 pm PT/7 pm ET).