It sounds like you got the idea now.
I thought I would suggest the plug in "layers Panel" as an added tool to help organize your layers.
I tend to be very selective in the add ons I use because I am essentially lazy and do not want to learn how to do to many more things, bot this one has been worth the effort.
I often make many scenes with many 3d trees and bushes that I need to control visibility and this is a very handy tool for that.
layers-panel.JPG
layers panel 2.JPG
paul