Who needs a new bank format? Guide to Bank Organization!!

Are you one of those people who open up your bank and spend 20 minutes looking for a random item you need to train or do a quest with? Maybe you're constantly looking for that bottom half of your mystic robes that are in your bank somewhere? #-o

With all the bank space members get, keeping it organized can be a chore. Or, if you're f2p making, making sure you have enough bank space can be a hassle. This guide was made to help you organize it effectively and give you tips on how you can keep it clean. :thumbsup:

This guide is a bit... wordy. So, if you just need to do something specific and don't want to read the whole guide use the contents and respective summary to find what you want. I do encourage you to read the whole thing though.

Words that are bolded and not part of a headline are very important so make sure you read them. Especially if there's a sentence or two that's bolded. They're always very important and should be read even if you're just skimming though.

Posts are always appreciated. :

Contents

1. First Tips & Notes - Just a few important things to start off with.

2. Primary Steps - First steps to begin the cleaning process.

3. Sorting All Your Stuff - Short, but gives steps for the body of the organizing.

4. Clearing Out the Junk - Finish off with junk cleaning techniques.

5. Tips for Kepping Your Bank Organized - Final tips to keep your bank clean.

6. Example Bank Picture - A visual guideline with a very edited bank picture and a before/after picture of a user's bank who used this guide.

7. Final Words & Thanks - Few last words from me.

8. Linked Siggys - If you liked this guide, link to it.

*Important Note* This guide was originally made for member's and thusly has a lot of member items references, but can be used as a guideline for f2p. Also, a lot in this guide will be very vague since different people have different needs of their bank and/or different people think some skills are more important that others. Therefore, take what the guide says and apply it to your own preferences for a bank that makes you happy, because when it comes to your bank it's only about what you want.

As most of you know, your bank has two modes, Swap and Insert. Swap is what your bank is set to by default everytime you log in, and when you're moving stuff around "swaps" the item you're moving with the item in the space you're moving it to. Insert simply "inserts" the item you're trying to move into the spot you're trying to move it and pushes your other items over a space to accommodate the item you just moved.

Thusly, the very first thing you should do is put your bank's mode to insert. It is a lot easier to sort than using switch in most cases. In fact, it's a good practice to always switch to insert the first time you open your bank every time you play. It can save a lot of time and help you stay organized. Insert is your friend. Use it and bank happy. :D

Now on to some primary steps. One of the biggest problems with bank organization comes into play with incomplete jewellery, extra teleportation items (1 ring of dueling with 3 charges and then another has 5), unused farming supplies, incomplete herblore potions, items that could be stored in other places, and retrievable holiday/quest items. So these first steps will be about getting them out of the way.

Primary Steps:

1. Since jewellery was a problem of mine I'll put it first. Unless you are planning to sell the gems, use any misc. gems you have and make them into whatever jewellery suits you. Then sell or enchant the jewellery. That way you can store as much jewellery with important functions (such as teleportation) without taking up a lot of space.

2. Use up teleport items with used charges. With items like rings of dueling it is easy to use one for a few charges and then lose track of it so you start using a new one. Leave all the ones fully charged alone and use up other charges so that you get rid of them or they all stack to take up less space.

3. Farming items. The Tool Leprechauns are there for a reason so make sure you put your tools and compost there and just get rid of any others. Get rid of any seeds you don't really need. Once you get in higher levels the lower allotments become useless, and unless you're using the hops they become obsolete for experience as well. Having random sacks or baskets of some fruit or vegetables when you have the same items elsewhere just takes up bank space.

4. Herblore. With so many herbs and different doses it's hard to keep track of it all. Don't let incomplete potions just sit in your bank for very long and use up your herbs as often as possible. Unless it's a potion you're selling it's usually best to have them in 4 doses, so put your potions together so you don't have several random doses of the same potion lying around.

5. Another quick thing to do is check up with the Old Man of Draynor and see if you have any useless f2p quest items still in your bank. If you do you can just get rid of them and knock that out right now.

6. This one is important. Do not forget the power of the costume room! If you can make a costume room in your house, it is highly advisable that you do. If you can't make good pieces of furniture to put in, then you may want you buy some. The costume room can hold some very useful, space-consuming items. Use it!

7. A final thing to take care of is those retrievable holiday and quest items. Items with the right-click option of "Destroy" are usually retrievable, but remember to read the text that pops up before the item is destroyed. More recent holiday items can be destroyed and then retrieved from Diango in Draynor Village. Make sure to look at the item database and/or read any message that would pop up when destroying that item before you get rid of it. I don't want to be blamed because you dropped something irretrievable, because you thought you could get it back... -.-

That should take care of most of the skill related junk to make the next part easier. This next part can take the longest as it is the bulk of the organization, which serves for the layout of your bank and will ultimately lead to you being able to get rid of all other junk effectively.

Sorting All Your Stuff

1. First thing you should do is think about what's most important to you. It may help to jot it down so when you're doing the actual sorting you can just look at what you wrote. One of the best ways to sort things is by skill. Group all the items that you use for a particular skill together, and then sort the skills in order of importance to you. Don't forget your monies and clothing/armor though.

2. Once you've figured out our ordering, carry it out and sort it all up. Don't worry about items that you're not sure what to do with. Just leave them at the bottom and we'll get to them later.

Those were only 2 steps, but can take awhile depending on how messy your bank is. Now on to finishing it all off by dealing with junk.

Clearing Out the Junk

1. Now look at those items you didn't group anywhere in our main sorting. First thing to do is look through them and decide right away whether to drop/sell them or keep them.

2. Now that you've got most of the junk out of the way, take another look at what you have left. Use any items that you're planning to use in the near future, such as repairing armor or rusted swords.

3. Look at whatever you have left and make sure that nothing can be sorted into one of your earlier categories.

4. Leave whatever has remained untouched by all your checks alone. Not everything fits into a category and especially if you're using it frequently (like a set of dragon armor) just leave it at the bottom. No big deal.

Well, that should leave your bank nice and sorted.

But wait. Worried about your bank becoming a wreck again and don't feel like going through all of these steps again?

Well I've got some tips that you can keep in mind or you can always come back and check them out. :)

Tips for Keeping Your Bank Organized

1. Use up any items for skills like crafting and herblore right away. Just letting them sit takes up space and they could pile up and overwhelm you.

2. Having more than one item can be very useful. Have a particular outfit you like to wear when you don't need to be wearing something specific? It's easy to get doubles of things such as ghostly robes, most capes, and many pieces of armor. So double up, so the item's place in your bank is saved.

3. Keep set pieces together. Only have 1 set of expensive armor that you can't double up on? Well just make sure all your set items stay together to make them easy to track down when the time comes.

4. Regularly clear out junk. Every so often, maybe once a month or something, just go through your stuff and decide if you still need some items or if they can move up into your categories. Doing this periodically can save you a lot of time later.

5. Remember all possibilities. If an item is easily retrievable or it's something like a book, and you're pressed for bank space then get rid of it. You can always get the item back and most books can easily be gotten back in a bookcase from construction. Just always remember to be careful with this.

Example Bank Picture

The following is a semi-recent bank picture of mine that I edited to give an example for the more visual people among us, or anyone really, to have something to base themselves on. My way isn't the only way, as I've said before, do it how you want to. It may be a bit small, but most of it is clearly legible and the point of me providing this is just as an example. Nothing shown in the picture is for sale and I'm not giving away anything for free, so don't ask or I'll just get annoyed. This picture went through a lot of editing and my bank has drastically changed by now, so don't use this picture for anything... dishonest. :shame:

The following clickable image is a before/after picture of magib1's bank when using this guide. Personally, I would have done it a bit differently, but it just shows how everyone does it differently and you should do it according to your own tastes.

Well that's about it. Hope you liked it. :

If you have a question about anything in this guide, or just want some help that's a bit more personalized, feel free to post it on the thread or PM me. I can be very friendly, and would be happy to help. :mrgreen:

If you have a correction, suggestion, and/or additional tips please tell me. I will keep this guide edited as the need arises, and if I take something from you I'll be more than happy to stick you in the thanks section.

Thanks

Vleademir - It was his horrid organization skills and constant ask for help that originally made me want to write this up. :P

pantim - Told me about the Herb Banking Trick.

harrinator1 - For suggesting I explain INSERT and telling me of brain wrinkles.

Mnia786 - For informing me of the correct price of herb examination.

magib1 - For giving me his before and after bank organization pictures to use.

Siggys

If you liked this guide or know someone specifically who could use this guide, then use one of the following siggys. Spread the word and get people everywhere organized!

Small Siggy 1:

Code:

[url=http://forum.tip.it/viewtopic.php?t=655913][img=http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/deathlord552/Runescape/th_closedbankbooth.jpg][/url]

Small Siggy 2:

Code:

[url=http://forum.tip.it/viewtopic.php?t=655913][img=http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/deathlord552/Runescape/chest.jpg][/url]

All constructive criticism, corrections, suggestions, other tips for me to add in, and props all more than welcomed.

If you just want to bad mouth it without giving some sort of way I could make it better, keep it to yourself. :x

If I like your suggestion and/or additional tips I will gladly add it in and put you in the thanks section. :thumbsup:

I hope it's good enough to be sent to the AoW eventually. :pray:

Well, again, I hope you liked it. Tell me what you think.

*edits in guide*

5/17/07 - I cleaned it up a bit, threw in a few notes, and probably the biggest change is the example bank picture I threw in there.

5/18/07 - Added 2 small siggys, so you can spread the word. \

5/27/07? - Added the "Herb Trick" as a piece of adive to my guide and added pantim to the thanks for telling me about it.

7/22/07 - Made a few small changes in some info I wasn't sure about before.

8/3/07 - Added magib1's before/after bank picture and gave them a place in my credits section.

Pretty good for a start.

Examples, maybe? For those visual-oriented people.

pretty good but you know we have a short attention spam may be some pictures?

pretty good but you know we have a short attention spam may be some pictures?

Lol. [/freebump]

Good ill do it tommorow

Ty

oh yes! good guide but it does something else...

have u pmed pokemama?(if your confused read the player made guides requests)

8/10 could use some more.... organizy stuff and better pics. I guess ill work on my own bank :anxious:

Good ill do it tommorow

 

Ty

Glad I motivated you to clean up your bank. :D

Use those siggys I made and spread the word!!! :thumbsup:

Your bank looks nothing like its clean.

Good start. I suggest putting the herb stacks at the top. The reason is because ur using the herb trick, anmd you take out something, then it is messed up. Otherwise great

the problem is, wen u take an item out, you then have to reshuffle your whole bank to put it back in...

Your bank looks nothing like its clean.

Did you not read the bolded words saying how the picture went through major editing. Also, everyone likes things differently, and if my bank did look like that I could easily see how it would help me according to how I used it (which is also something I talked about in the Important Note right near the top). Enough explanation for you? =P

the problem is, wen u take an item out, you then have to reshuffle your whole bank to put it back in...

Also read the bolded section right below important note towards the top telling you how to use the insert option in your bank. I can't stress that enough. Not only is the insert option a powerful bank cleaning tool, but also is the biggest help to keep your bank clean.

INSERT IS YOUR FRIEND!!!

Use it and bank happy. :D

Nice guide. My bank is a total mess at the moment and I'll use this guide when i (eventually) get round to clearing it out. :D

Up to 1000 views. Not much, but it's a start.

Let's spread this around so everyone can be organized and maybe there won't be so many people demanding a bank re-format. :thumbsup:

THAT IS AWESOME

that helps alot

Great, those are definetley some helpful tips!

Hmmm i think i will try to rearange my bank now... May take a while

Maybe a month...

Edit: thanks i just finished reorganizing my bank all thanks to you. :

Good guide, might want to explain what the "insert" tool is. That'll make yet another wrinkle in my brain.

:) Yep, you get a wrinkle in your brain everytime you learn something :roll:

wow i didn't know about that insert thing until I heard you and brain wrinkles talking! :P Ty this will make things much easier! I would use the guide but my bank is already tidy mwahahah! :twisted:

wow i didn't know about that insert thing until I heard you and brain wrinkles talking! :P Ty this will make things much easier! I would use the guide but my bank is already tidy mwahahah! :twisted:

I'm delighted to hear that your bank is always tidy and even more delighted to hear that I helped you realize the importance of INSERT!

MWHAHAHAHAHA! INSERT IS YOUR KING!

Nice, clear guide, thanks!

It'll help with my bank/heap of stuff.

wow, my bank is nearly in the same order as yours, just switch hunter and farming equipment and i don't have a costume room .

But this is a pretty good guide

~Ddaanniiellh

Hahaha. Bank similarities how fun.

I don't have a costume room either. I just don't have a lot of different kinds of clothes, because I usually stick with one or two outfits.

wow great guide, i look forward to cleaning my bank soon! hee yah! (ask a ninja thing btw)