I created an "Everything" vault in Obsidian, and it's one of the smartest moves I've made

Parth, a seasoned tech writer, wields the keyboard (or pen) with finesse to unravel the intricacies of both Windows and Mac operating systems. He has covered evergreen content on mobile devices and computers for multiple publications over the last six years. You can find his work on AndroidPolice, GuidingTech and TechWiser. Whether it’s demystifying system updates, deciphering error codes, or exploring hidden features, Parth’s prose guides readers through the binary maze. When not immersed in tech jargon, you’ll find him sipping chai, pondering the next software review, and occasionally indulging in a friendly debate about mechanical keyboards.

I have always liked the idea of having everything in one place, but my notes were stored in different Obsidian vaults, tasks lived somewhere else, and important projects often required jumping between multiple tools.

That’s when I decided to rethink how I use Obsidian. Instead of treating it as just another Markdown-based note-taking app, I built an ‘Everything’ vault to manage aspects of my digital life from a single place.

After spending some time with this setup, I can confidently say it’s one of the smartest productivity decisions I have made.

My entire digital life has one home

Let’s go over my Vault organization

The biggest reason behind creating an Everything vault was simple. I wanted one place to manage different parts of my digital life. Obsidian is flexible enough to make that happen. Instead of limiting it to notes and documents, I can use it to manage my work, personal projects, hobbies, random ideas, and much more.

I started by creating a new vault called ‘My Galaxy’ and focused on a simple folder structure. For example, my Work folder contains article ideas, research, client notes, meeting details, and important documents. I have a separate Personal folder for everyday notes, plans, and daily thoughts.

Similarly, I have dedicated folders for Hobbies, Learning, Finances, Resources, and Quotes. I have also created a beautiful dashboard that acts as the homepage of my vault. It includes quick links to frequently accessed folders, active projects, recent notes, daily tasks, and more.

Obsidian’s community is another great place to find inspiration. I have come across some impressive dashboards and database-styles (more on that in a minute) layouts shared by users, and there are plenty of ideas worth borrowing to make your own workspace more visually appealing.

I use a third-party plugin to automate my vault

Let me introduce you to AutoMover

Creating a proper folder structure is one thing, but maintaining it is another challenge. As I keep adding new notes, ideas, research material, and personal information, I don’t want to spend time manually moving every file to its correct location. That’s where AutoMover, a free community plugin for Obsidian, comes in.

The idea behind AutoMover is simple. I can create custom rules based on keywords in note titles, tags, and project properties to automatically organize my vault. For example, I can set up a rule that moves notes with ‘Android Auto’ in their filenames to a dedicated folder under Work.

Similarly, notes tagged with #books can go straight into my Hobbies folder, while notes tagged with #finance can land in my Personal/Money folder.

Setting everything up is straightforward. I open AutoMover’s settings, define the matching conditions, select the destination folders, and enable the relevant automation option. The plugin can move matching files when I open them, or I can manually run its file-moving function to organize existing notes.

AutoMover also supports advanced filename patterns, project-based rules, and exclusions for files I don’t want it to touch. Once I have my rules in place, I can focus on capturing information instead of worrying about where every note belongs in my all-in-one vault.

Obsidian Bases keeps everything organized

My notes finally behave like databases

While folders and AutoMover help me maintain a busy vault, Obsidian Bases takes things to another level. It’s a built-in feature that lets me turn my regular Markdown notes into powerful, database-like collections.

I can create different views, add properties, apply filters, and organize information without relying on another productivity app. For example, I have plenty of article ideas in my Work folder. With Bases, I can create a dedicated database to track them using properties like publication, category, priority, and status.

I can switch between table, list, and card views depending on how I want to see everything. The same approach works for my personal projects, reading lists, hobbies, and other collections.

The best part is that I don’t need to move or duplicate my notes. Bases simply organizes existing files into useful views. It’s another reason my Everything vault feels like a complete productivity workspace rather than just a collection of folders.

Finding information no longer feels tedious

Everything is just a search away

Another major advantage of having an Everything vault is how easy it is to find information. Instead of remembering which folder contains a particular note, I can use Obsidian’s powerful search tool to find it in seconds.

However, search is only part of the story. I also rely heavily on internal links and backlinks to connect related notes across my vault. For example, I can link an article idea to my research notes, useful resources, and previous projects. This way, I can jump between relevant information without digging through multiple folders.

I also use Obsidian’s Graph view with custom filters to visualize connections between notes. Instead of looking at a cluttered graph of my entire vault, I can focus on specific topics, projects, or folders. It makes my Everything vault feel truly connected.

My digital life finally makes sense

Creating an Everything vault in Obsidian has changed how I manage my digital life. Instead of jumping between different vaults or apps, I now have everything organized in one place.

Of course, setting up a vault like this takes some time and effort. You need to plan your folder structure, install the right plugins, and make a few changes to suit your workflow. But the effort is worth it in the long run. Once everything is in place, Obsidian does a lot of heavy lifting for you.