Catalog Cleanup Mod V2

I've been meaning to update this for a while now and I had it mostly done, and then I forgot to get it out to you, and then I lost it in some computer reformatting and had to go back to my first version to start again, remade it with new tweaks, tested, tweaked, tested, and now its DONE. Another reason I'm making a new version is because BlueSoup called me out as 'not being very picky', and any of my irl friends or family can tell you - I'm picky. :D

The sole purpose of a catalog mod is to rearrange items to make them easier to find. As a by product of that it makes your deco tabs less 'soul crushingly large'. If you download ANY CC, you know what I mean. For some reason regardless of whatever the CC is, its creator will put it in the deco sculptures tab regardless of whether it's actually 'art' or even a 'decoration'. Similar to my previous version, the fountains have been moved to plumbing misc. To help clean out the wall hangings tab, I moved anything that was hanging but not actually a painting to Deco Misc. Click for pick.

The hobbies have a lot of decorations that only really correlate to these tabs. The exercising tab picked up the most and now it's kinda awesome. The recreation tab got all the playground stuff. Creative and knowledge picked up some stuff too, but I think I might have done those in my last version too.


The other major departure from Maxis order is the Party tab. I was at a loss for what to do with all the crappy holiday junk that the holiday packs saddled us with until I looked at what BlueSoup did. She (he?) put them in the Party tab and I have to admit, that's brilliant. Holidays are part and parcel to parties, so it's perfect!


I have also done some slightly weirder things, like the towels. Bath towels were put in with Showers and Tubs, and hand towels are in with Sinks. Any CC toilet papers I have are in with toilets, but TS2 doesn't have any on its own. At first this was a little weird to me, but now I'm liking it. Neither baths or sinks ever get very large with CC (I download weird things, so I have a ton of custom bathtubs) so even with that everything is still easy to find. I've heard that some people put bathroom deco in plumbing misc, but that's where fountains, radiator, and pipes are now. I also shuffled the lights around, candles are now on their own in Misc and both streetlamps and lawn lights are in Outdoor Lighting. Click for pic.

The other weird thing I've done is move the computers into the Entertainment category. The reason for this is because the TV and Computers tab gets way too large really quickly with CC tvs and computers, while the Entertainment category rarely has anything else added to it. And let's be honest, everyone here knows that computers are really for entertainment.


Similar to my last mod, the kitchen misc tab has become the catchall for kitchen deco. According to some of the comments in my last mod, I'm not the only person who does that. I've also found that the large appliances tab works well as a laundry tab. There is no maxis laundry items, but its the kinda thing I like to download, so that's where I put them all.

I didn't just stick to Buy Mode, I've also changed some things up in Build as well. The garden tab gained a few things and the orchard trees were moved to the Trees tab, cuz they are trees... The garage/driveway picked up the HVAC ductwork because they are often in garages. I have some CC air conditioner ground units and hot water heaters that are in there as well. The pool tab became more of a patio tab and picked up water toys and umbrellas and anything relating to water sports.


If you need the full list:





















If in general you like what I've done, but one or two things are 'wrong' to you, it's really easy to fix. Open up my mod in SimPE and either delete what you didn't want moved, or change its placement to a place you like better (it's a drop down box with categories to pick from - super easy). If you hate everything I did, I can suggest my first version, BlueSoups, or give it a shot yourself. If you hate almost all maxis content or are playing a medieval or Apox hood, may I suggest my Apox set?

You may notice in my pictures are the UNI electronics, OFB craftables and many of the career rewards. I have mods that make them buyable, and if you put them in your Bins folder instead of your Downloads folder, they won't have the CC Star of Shame on them. I also gave them steep prices so they aren't cheaty. These are not included, but I forgot about them when I was taking pictures.

Compatibility: If you do not have any Expansion Packs then DO NOT DOWNLOAD! It will crash your game!

Install Instructions: Place ALL of these mods together in your most recently released EP or SP ‘Stuff Pack’ folder. [i]C:\Program Files\EA GAMES\The Sims 2 Mansions and Garden Stuff\TSData\Res\Catalog\Bins. If that does not work for you, try placing them all in your Catalog/Skins or StuffPack folders. If the highest EP/SP you have is an SP other than MG, you are going to have trouble getting that one SP's stuff to move. My only suggestion is to place that one in your Downloads folder and the rest in one of the above mentioned folders.

Enjoy!
-Phae

Additional Credits:
Creds to Selly_2009 for reminding me that I had a mostly finished mod set that I needed to get out the door. And for finding a Dec/Hex mix up in my tutorial.
Also creds to BlueSoup for the 'Holiday Stuff to Party Tab' idea.