Elements 9 category / album and edits ?

Question

Hi everyone.  I just got elements 9 and loaded all my photos into the default category.  Before I waste tons of time tagging, etc. ALL the pictures, I have a couple of questions.
Should I delete these from the default category and make lots of other categories (say for Christmas , vacation, scenery, etc.) and search for and load those pics into these categories? 
I have my pics presently organized in Windows folders explorer per year taken and with sub-folders labelled as to what the pics are of.  Would it be a good idea to make categories or albums in the same manner?
If I make a category or album (I really am confused as to what the difference is), do I move or copy an image into it.  If I copy, are there then two distinct versions (pointers) to the actual picture?
If I edit a picture in one category, would the edits show up in the other category?  Also, would the edits show up if I opened the actual picture from windows explorer later, or will the edits only show up in Photoshop?
Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Should I delete these from the default category and make lots of other categories (say for Christmas , vacation, scenery, etc.) and search for and load those pics into these categories?
You should make tags that are under the default categories, and apply the tags to the appropriate photos. So, under the Events category, you can make a Christmas tag, and apply that tag to the appropriate photos.
I have my pics presently organized in Windows folders explorer per year taken and with sub-folders labelled as to what the pics are of.  Would it be a good idea to make categories or albums in the same manner?
In my opinion, it is a waste of time to use Organizer to match or replicate your folder structure. I say this for three reasons. First, you folder structure is already available to you inside of Organizer via Folder Location View. Secondly, the whole point of using the Organizer is that it gives you much more powerful tools than folders. If you have a photo that has both vacation and scenery elements, you can organize it better than you can with folders. By creating a scenery tag, and a vacation tag, you can now have one photo with two (or more) tags. But a photo can be in only a single folder at any time. Thirdly, the timeline feature in PSE replaces your folders by year, and gives you a more powerful tool.
In my opinion, your long term goal should be to properly tag everything so that you no longer need to rely upon your existing folder organization system, and so that you would eventually search for your photos in Elements and not in Windows.
If I make a category or album (I really am confused as to what the difference is), do I move or copy an image into it.  If I copy, are there then two distinct versions (pointers) to the actual picture?
You use tags (and categories). The only time you use an album is if you need to put the photos in a specific order that isn't chronological or reverse chronological. You are not copying or moving your photos when you assign a tag or place it in an album. You are simply telling PSE that your photo is now assigned to a particular tag(s) or album(s).
If I edit a picture in one category, would the edits show up in the other category?  Also, would the edits show up if I opened the actual picture from windows explorer later, or will the edits only show up in Photoshop?
Yes, you normally have one copy of a photo, and your edits show up whenever you look at it. You could use version sets if you want different edits of the same photo. Your edits will be apparent in Windows, although as I said earlier, it is eventually (after you have done your tagging) good practice to use PSE to search for and browse for your photos, not Windows.