there's a thread here from a few months ago where we discussing this very problem.

here http://www.democraticunderground.com/1156663

of where information came from so you can go back and find again. It might be more than you want.

<http://www.2manitowoc.com>
I have all my files in one program called NoteTab Light. It can be downloaded at <http://www.notetab.com>
It's a free program and the files you open makes tab at the top so you can pop back and forth to what you want to work in. I have section for marriages, births, cemeteries, etc. Which a personal genealogy can be made similarly.
I put my photos in it also and open them with an image program.
I have thousands of files and can find what I want almost instantaneously. You can also just open 2 windows (pages) and work on both at the same time. It's a really neat program.