I tend to organize by
Media - Music, Photos, Movies, Misc
Data - People, Browsers, Email/Contacts, Career, Recipes, My Resume Misc
Work - This should vary according to your career. I keep my resume here and in data.
Gaming - Foldered by game name. Sub folders include patches, mods, etc.
Applications and Utilities - Foldered by name. Sub folders might include, OSes, patches, utilities, etc.
I think I have a few others but I cannot access them now.
Hope this helps!