My best advice would be to get yourself a way of organizing information. Like many people, I had disorganized shoe boxes of "stuff" related to my family history - photos, news clippings, documents, letters etc. When I got serious about tracing family history, my husband bought me some genealogy software for Christmas. There are a range of wonderful products out there - I happen to use Reunion, which is a package designed for iMac platforms - Family Tree Maker is another popular line, designed for a PC platform.
You really do need something to help you keep it all sorted. I know some people manage with index cards and file folders, but honestly, using the software makes keeping things in order MUCH easier - plus it lets you exchange files with others easily. Most of the software also lets you plot all kinds of nifty family tree charts which are fun. It doesn't take long to get overwhelmed by data. Just to give you an example, my great grandmother, who was alive when I was a child, currently has 135 descendents.
I started out by filling in what I knew about my immediate family (my parents and grandparents), and recording every scrap from the various bits in the shoeboxes (dates from wedding invitations, death notices, baptism certificates, etc.) and then moved outwards from that. I called every living relative I could think of and picked their brain to find out what they knew, what they might have in terms of documents. Doing this also put the whole family on notice that I was interested - and they all launched into turning out their shoeboxes to see what they might be able to help with. When I had a section of the family done, I'd send off what I knew to be confirmed by that arm. I'd also bring copies to family gatherings to see what corrections and updates I could get, and see if seeing things written out would twig any memories that might help figure out where people came from. I've found my extended family absolutely fascinated by it all, and more than willing to assist.
M.
