Yeah, I use the folder tree type of organizing too. I just have everything for the sims in a folder called CAS which then has folders within folders. Like the most detailed is the CAS-female-tops-children.

Oh yes. I like my folders.

How do you compress multiple packages together?

^ I do it using s3pe. I select as many packages I want, move them all together to S3PE window (have compress option selected), and then save it as new big package. Hope that helps.

ontopic - In game, I have couple of big combined packages and commonly installed sims3packs; but on external hd, I have big folder collection (Store and CC, Sims3packs and Packages, Objects and CAS parts, Build and Buy mode, Fixes and Mods, Modded and various objects, etc etc..), including backup of Mods folder with separated packages for every patch.

I really don't give a heck about any of the packages I have in my Mod folder except all my hacks. All of them are in one folder for easy access to take the folder out, update as needed. Everything else, pfft!

I remember the days when cheats were the new thing, when LP's were made more frequently because of the discovery of cheats, those days were grand . Now we have space filling, game altering, genius, mods. I am only known to Sims 3 mods though, because...Ive only ever played JUST the Sims 3, but Ive been doing so for about 4 years. I started playing when i was 11 1/2, now im 14. Yes i am very young, but undoubtedly an expert at this game. I would go on to say, "oh my friends always ask me for help and they always praise my heavy sims skillz" but I am the only one aside from my mother who (-isnt half as expert as I am at playing Sims) plays sims here in my area/town. I use to spend my entire weekends, inside, playing the Sims 3..AND everyday after 8 "boring" hours of school.... Anyway, Ive had mods for about a year now (Ugh i remember the day I discovered cheats, I was so happy, I stayed up until 4am playing the game, exploring the cheats..very fun. You shoulda saw what happened when i finally correctly set up my mods folder...oh my), I am very swift at solving glitches, targetting problem mods and identifying .package files by name. If i cannot do any of which (rare), I have also have my trusty helpers, CCMagic and Delphy's Dashboard (I recommend getting these, They will help you). So I very well do now what I am doing. Here is some screenshots of my mods folder.



So yeah. I have a little bit of a different way of labeling files. I am running Sims on a Hp Laptop haha. So I make sure to label the amount of space a file takes. Usually if the file is over 150mb, then I go straight to it to delete some of its content, when I am cleaning up my mods folder of unused tweaks/add ons.

I am pretty sure my whole mods folder takes up 1.30 GB?, with that being said, my game actually runs great. I am very pleased with how smooth it runs. It usually only takes 5-7 minutes for my loading screen to finish, then direct me into gameplay.
The Nraas Mods I have (that help a lot) are:
NRaas Error Trap
NRaas Master Controller
NRaas Master Controller Cheats (advanced)
NRaas Master Controller Integration
NRaas Mover
NRaas OverWatch
NRaas Potrait Panel (advanced)
NRaas Story Progression (advanced)
NRaas Story Progression Population (advanced)
NRaas Woohooer

With all of those NRaas mods in game, I am quite satisfied.
I do warn you tho , alot of these mods are advanced, so if you are a rookie to mods, search up a forum/FAQ about how to use given mod..
Anyway, I have plenty of CC in my GAME launcher. Why?
I believe that in the game launcher you can see the CC because it has a thumbnail.
With mods, you use CCMagic to identify the thumbnail, if you can't do so from looking at the mod/.package name.
Sometimes(a lot), CCMagic can't/doesn't display a thumbnail, which makes deleting CC mods even harder.
So if you just download your Clothes/Hair/Accesories/etc. in a .Sims3Pack file, you can easily identify it in the Launcher. As the launcher is more reliable at providing a image of what the download looks like.
Making deleting CC "much less" (less) risky, and easier.

I mostly get Hairs and Tuning Mods/Nraas stuff and like to change the Hairs around, so I tend to not merge packages. Though maybe I should...
In Packages, I have subfolders for NRaas, Tuning Mods, Hair, Clothes, etc. And for hairs, I mostly use Chazy's retextures currently, so I don't just download the package, I also save the picture of whatever hair I get. That way, I have a good, visual reminder what hair is what and whether I want to keep it in the long run.

I'm constantly changing my mods organisation system to find out which is the best method. Recently I've been rebuilding and reconstructing the folder layouts in my mods folder. So far, I have five 'Main' folders in my mods folder - Buy, Build, CAS, Mods, and Default Replacements. Then there are subfolders of each category in the likeness of that in-game. Only after many testings and playthroughs that I confirm which CC that I want to keep, merge and forever remain in my mods folder. Then I merge the package files with s3pe. The only things I don't ever merge are skintones, defaults, mods and patterns but that's because you're not supposed to anyway.

I organize them under creators. ex: creator name@site(MTS, Tumblr... etc) and in each folder there is a notepad with link to their MTS profile, Simblr, web site.
That way i know where i got something and who to credit. This is really hard way for me because sometimes there is a lot oc CC included in a sims3pack, so i convert everything i got to every package to see what it is, find it and place a link. In case i can't fnd it it goes in the folder Other. And another folder Graveyard where anything from the Graveyard and from dead web sites goes in. This is for TS2 and TS3 for TS4 i jus tdo simple Build,Buy,CAS....

This is something I have always struggled with, so this year I learnt to make package files and compress them. Only 5 years behind everyone else! It makes me think I can keep all my custom content because it is only a few files now. They may come to a gig but compared to what others have that isn't so bad.
This weekend I have been rearranging my ATS folder into 3, base game, 2 and 4 conversions, and things that need Expansion packs or store content. 2 and 4 conversions can really be rolled into base game but as there are other creators doing that as well it is easier for me to check the smaller back up files.
It is an on going process as there are so many wonderful things out there, but at least with packages it is easier to remove them than it was to remove the sim packs.
I just wish I had been smart enough to download photos of some stuff though.