What categories do you use to organize your cards?

Solid lists. I keep mine changing with the cards. Black and white made it’s own section. Some I categorize in individual frames, on my walls, as decor. There are vintage cards that all feature the same sky imposed into every card the company made, that’s a fun one I’m working on.

I have different sorts for Send and Received. Also, I separate vintage and handmade from new cards. I love vintage and handmade and participate in Round Robins for both, so it’s easier to keep them apart.

Send cards are split into:

Utah (my state)
Abstract Art and Patterns
Animals
Architecture and Engineering
Beach
Books
Food and Drink
Games, Hobbies, Sports
Holidays and Seasons
Men
Other States
National Parks
Plants
Random
Religion
Toys and Children
Transportation
Travel
TV, Movie, Music, Theater
Weird
Women
Postal related

Books are included in their category, boxes stay separate until there’s room to add the cards without their box.

Received has far fewer categories as I pull out only my very favorites. Others are by country. All are dated, but I’m not sure why. I don’t see myself looking for a card by date.

For received:

By country
Tags, swaps, etc

For to be sent:

We have way too many (with my mom) so I didn’t include subcategories and probably forgot some…

Animals (domestic)
Animals and humans
Humans
Old times (pictures from before 2000’s)
Vehicles
Food
Mail
Flora
Hobbies
Unesco
Wild animals
Holiday cards (christmas, birthdays, halloween)
Buildings
Views
Tourist cards
Finland
My municipality
Art
Animal art
Movies and TV
Text cards
Big cards
“Trash” cards

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At the moment I have very few categories:

  • Victoria / British Columbia (this is where I live)
  • Canada (cards with a more general Canadian theme, or about places in Canada but outside B.C.)
  • Artwork
  • Japan - temples (collected during previous visits to Japan)
  • Japan - other (ditto)
  • Everything else (this is a very big category)
  • Vintage
  • Oversized
  • Humour (sometimes deliberately funny, sometimes unintentionally)

I’ve considered making finer categories, but what if you have a art postcard depicting a woman reading a book with a cat at her feet? Is that primarily “Women”, can it also be “Cat”, “Books”, “Art” …? And under which slot should I file it? I always have difficulty with the grain of categories, it is too easy to accidentally exclude something and then forget you have it.

I organize my postcards in DIN A5 punched pockets and my categories are:

  • Berühmtheiten Film (Famous people Movie)
  • DC + Marvel
  • Edition Tausenschön
  • Essen (Food)
  • Flora
  • Inkognito
  • Japan
  • Köln (Cologne, city) ← Currently empty
  • Kunst (Art)
  • Landschaften (Landscapes)
  • Leverkusen (City)
  • München (Munich)
  • Schloss Ahrensburg (Ahrensburg Palace)
  • Schloss Neuschwanstein + Füssen (Neuschwanstein Castle + Füssen, town in Bavaria)
  • Schlösser Brühl UNESCO (Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces, Brühl)
  • Siegburg (City)
  • Sonstiges (Miscellaneous)
  • Statuen, Reliefs (Statuary, Mural reliefs)
  • Tiere (Animals)
  • Tout Chocolat (Chocolate store in Siegburg)
  • WDR (West German Broadcasting Corporation Cologne. Contains postcards like Sandman, Maya the Bee and more)
  • Winter

I most have postcards of Animals, Flora and Neuschwanstein castle with Füssen. Also one postcard box (Animalium Postcards Curated by Katie Scott). Everything fits in a clear box together with my postage stamps, stickers and (clear) stamps. ^^

These are my categories:

Vienna & Austria
Flowers
Animals
Art
Transport (meaning trains, cars,…)
Foreign (cards from other countries that I bought e.g. during travels)
Seasons & Occasions
Various

I tried keeping my system simple so I won’t overwhelm myself- not having too many categories, just having my own order in each category. E.g in the first tab it’s first Vienna, then other cities in Austria, then cards of Austria in general. For animals I keep any local animals at the front, then exotic animals, and then insects. Or in the seasonal tab the cards are sorted: spring, Easter, summer, autumn, Halloween, winter, Christmas, Birthday. And it’s always photos and illustrations together.

I do not have too many cards, but even with a few hundred (or more) cards I think having too many categories can be as unhandy as having too little. I love browsing for a card after reading the profile, and I already noticed that sometimes I find a really fitting card that I would not have thought of, had it been in it’s own (more detailed) category.

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I have my blank cards to be sent arranged in some order and categories.

Portland/Oregon (my current city/state)
Seattle/Washington (former city/state)
California
New York
Random US cards
Foreign country cards
Cards from local businesses

Art cards - contemporary art
Art - traditional
Art - black & white photography
Art - color photography
Fashion cards
Pop culture
Weird cards
Oversize cards
Pomegranate bulk postcards (accidentally ordered multiple packs)

All the box set cards I leave in their boxes because it’s already organized. Same with postcard books.

Berlin
Other German cities/villages
UNESCO Germany
Street Art
Means of transport
LGBTIQ
Art
Animals/Photos
Animals/Drawn
Animals/Cartoon
Mountains
Nature
Lighthouses
Christmas
Maxicards
Touristic cards from abroad

There is some order and I use categories (reall pieces of paper). And sometimes a subjects is broken down in a lot of smaller subjects and sometimes it isn’t. :smiley:

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Postcrossing supplies are getting a bit out of control. I am a housesitter and move around a lot so everything is kept in a washing basked. Blank cards are in two boxes. One has Maxicards and one has cards that need a stamp.

The cards that need a stamp are organised by:

  • Vintage
  • Animals
  • Art Deco
  • Qantas (a series of historic cards from our national airline)
  • Movies
  • Local (tourist cards, maps, GF etc)
  • Art
  • Ukraine
  • Royals
  • Pin up girls
  • Miscellaneous
  • Offers (cards that I am offering in lotteries or swaps)

The Maxicards have different categories and they are":

  • Special occasions - birthday, engagement, wedding etc
  • Flowers
  • Books
  • Horse Racing
  • Mythical Creatures
  • Chinese New Year
  • TV and Movies
  • War
  • Design
  • Health
  • Rock Music
  • People
  • Retro cards
  • Mammals
  • Birds
  • Bugs
  • Fish
  • Historic
  • Bridges
  • Cars
  • Ships
  • Motorbikes
  • Trains
  • Antarctic
  • Children’s Books
  • Landscapes
  • Sport
  • Christmas

I find this system works well for me and I can usually quickly locate cards an ideal card when I draw a new name. I have sometimes retired a category if I used everything in it up. The Maxicards section varies by what is available.

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