CAN I PUT ALL MY FOLDERS AND INFO IN ONE MASTER FOLDER SO THAT IT'S EASY TO BACKUP PERIODICALLY?

You posted in the OS 9 & below forum instead of the Lion OS 10.7 forum. You are not likely to get an answer in the OS 9 forum. I'll request that Apple relocate your post.

 Cheers, Tom 😉

Emmi Kirschen wrote:

... Id like to know if there would be any downsides simply putting all of the information like: music, documents, photos, videos and downloads (not including Applications) into one unique file.

Yes.

A long time ago Apple did not force users into keeping their files in specifed locations, such as music in the Music folder, movies in the Movies folder etc. However, iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto all have evolved to the point that Apple has made it difficult for us to do anything other than follow their recommended locations.

There are certainly ways around this - you can specify alternate locations for your iTunes Library and your iPhoto Library for instance, but you will be swimming against the tide. This will undoubtedly cause problems that will be difficult to diagnose because you will be a lone outlier, attempting to circumvent Apple's preferred organizational method.

I understand that you do not want to use Time Machine, but again this is Apple's recommended (if arguably heavy-handed) way of doing things. You can easily configure Time Machine to exclude folders that you do not want it to back up. If Time Machine does not address your needs, then consider Carbon Copy Cloner. It can also be customized to back up only those folders you specify: music, documents, photos, videos and downloads if that is your wish, and it can perform on a schedule.

I believe you will find it more convenient - and assure you it will be much less likely to cause difficulty - than what you propose.