I'm not quite that organized, but I have 4 rows on the bookshelf for my carving materials. I keep carving magazine in a plastic magazine holder (Walmart) by category and I put them in by date. When I get one of these magazines, I use a

It tab to mark those patterns or photos of things I think I will want to carve in the future. I also get our state's wildlife/conservation publication and it is a good source of color photos of critters and plants--so I keep them that way, also. The carving books are on one shelf-alphabetically by category. Then for all the loose patterns or photos I've torn out of other places, I just have a file drawer. I have a individual file for flowers, bears, santas, etc--major categories. Then I keep a file by instructor that I've taken, like in Debbe Edwards file I have all her project patterns, roughout ordering info, photos of projects, etc.
Like you said, it takes a day or two to organize it, but once it's done, it is much easier to find something specific when you want it.
Donna T