Household and Family Information Binder
Our Household/Family binder is one of those tools that provides me with peace of mind. We’ve all asked ourselves, “if I had to leave my house suddenly, what would I take?” I would definitely grab this binder. With technology, you could put all this information on your computer. But I’m still not convinced our data is secured. Our Household/Family binder is packed with pertinent information organized into tabs. This is an active and working tool in our everyday lives.
Reason Behind Creating this Binder
In 2001, the great tragedy of 911 shocked our nation and the world. Suddenly, terrorism was at our doorstep and the way we proceeded with life changed drastically. At that time, I have a 9 month old, and two toddlers. My husband is traveling domestically and internationally. And we are attending large, heavily crowded events. The feeling of vulnerability forced me to think about all the “what ifs.”
In October 2001, we are scheduled to take an international trip and a trans-Atlantic cruise. This is our first trip ever without the children. Plus we would be completely out of touch for periods of time. A rotating set of trusted caregivers will be watching the children. How will they know about all the ins and outs of the house? And God forbid, what if something happened to us? Or one of the children?
It is very much my nature to focus during unsettling times and create working solutions as a way to feel a little more in control. This is when I developed this binder.
A Well-Used Binder
Fast forward to 2020 and the binder is somewhat laughable. In its current condition, the binder is falling apart. All updated information has been shoved inside. You can tell by the cover photo that it was last officially updated in 2009. It is covered in stains and spills too, but obviously well used!
What is currently happening in our country is disconcerting. For me, it is reminiscent of the fear and chaos of 2001. And in the last 19 years, our life stage has changed. Our children are older with two of our 3 children living independently. Some of the information is now obsolete and outdated. So it is time to refresh and clean up the binder.
Making the Binder/Tabs
Find a binder that you like with the proper size spine. Mine is an 1.5″ 3 ring binder with clear plastic cover. It is simple to make a spine label using Word. The tab inserts are made using Avery Label downloadable template.
Tabs in the Binder
Here is a list of the tabs I have in our binder. Obviously you can tailor this to fit your family and lifestyle.
- Emergency Information
- Children Information
- House Info/Contacts
- Auto Info
- Insurance (house, auto, life)
- Animal Information
- Security Procedures
- Paint Colors/Filter Sizes
What Goes in Each Tab
Since we do have house sitters to look after our animals and home, the emergency section includes pertinent information for someone who doesn’t live here on a regular basis. We also have a separate binder for house sitters with daily instructions on mail, garbage, how to work the television, when to feed the pets, etc.
Emergency Info
- Water Shut Off instructions
- What to Do in a Power Outage
- What to Do if a car is stolen
- Who to Contact if something were to happen to us (with their names, addresses, phone numbers, relationship, etc.)
- List of immediate neighbors and their contact information
- Police Emergency and Non-Emergency #s
Children Info
- Doctors contact information
- Each child’s DOB, SS#, Contact Info
- All vaccinations
- Copies of Passports, Credit Cards, Global Pass, Medical Insurance
Home Information/Contacts
- Our House Street Address and phone number
- List of all contractors/maintenance personnel and their contact information
- All Utility companies account #s and phone numbers
Auto Information
- Insurance Identification Cards
- Make, Model, VIN#, License Plate to each car
- Names and Addresses for Car Repair
- Auto Insurance Information
- Road Side Service Information
- Onstar Information
- Copies of Drivers Licenses, Recent Auto Repairs
Home/Auto/Life/Medical Insurance
- Summary of Residential and Auto Coverage
- All current insurance policies for home(s), car(s), life, umbrella, travel
Security Procedures
- Alarm Instructions
- Fire Alarm Instructions
- How to Operate Gates
- Legend for Alarm Codes
- Programming Guide
Animal Information
- List of animals, their breed, description, age
- Veterinarian/Groomer contact information
- Animal Control License #s
- Microchip Information
- Current pictures of each animal
- Vaccination Certificates
- Recent Medical information
Paint Colors and HVAC Filters
This section may seem a bit out of line with the others, but I cannot tell you how many times I reference our paint colors. Plus the filters are replaced every month and we have several vents. This is a great section to add items like this.
- Current paint colors for exterior and interior of all buildings
- List of sizes of filters for each area of the house
The House/Family information binder is a time saver too. If I need a copy of a passport or medical identification card, it is readily available, without me having to search. When the children were little, I would have current photos with their height, weight and descriptive information readily available. Who can remember all of that, especially in the middle of a crisis or emergency?
My theory is that if you plan and prepare for the worst, then the worst will never happen. Do you have a Household/Family Binder? With an active and busy life, it is comforting to know that there is a place where important information is kept and can be accessed easily.
This post shared with To Grammas House We Go #207
Creative Crafts Linky Party #5
Turnabout Tuesday #65-My Wee Abode
If you enjoyed this post, please share it with others on Pinterest
Just a reminder that any words that are italicized bring you to the source. If it is a product on Amazon, please note that I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you purchase something through my website, I receive a small (very small!) stipend, which doesn’t affect the price you pay at all. My goal is to make sourcing the items easy for you. Thank you for your continued support.
We are so excited that you participated! Thank you for sharing your creativity!
Ann, thank you for your thank you. Happy to participate!!
Thank you for participating in our linky party!
It is so nice that your group thanks participants. I’m happy to be part of it each week.
Thank you so much for sharing to our linky party!
Always my pleasure. I just learned about link parties and am trying to participate as much as I can.
Hi Mary, I found you on Chloe Crabtree’s newsletter. I kept one of these years ago, but don’t even know where it is now. This is a great idea and I wish I’d kept it updated. Putting this on my list. In today’s age, you are so right about the importance of feeling we have a sliver of control. Pinning, too!
Kim, Don’t you just love Chloe? I am so happy I met her last year at a blogging seminar. Yes, I agree just having things organized and in one place makes me feel like I do have some control. Isn’t the world crazy right now? We all need to maintain balance, hope and kindness and organization does seem to help. Thank you for commenting.
I have a binder like this too! My mom taught me how to be organized as I’m sure you taught your children. It is so important to have a binder like this because, something bad could happen and then people/family will know where to find the important docs, but also just for practical purposes. I like how you keep paint colors inside the binder.
I actually need to update my binder since my divorce. I sent my ex all of his important documents and I need to clean up my binder so thanks for the reminder. 🙂 !!
Organized minds think alike LOL
It is important to update it when you have life changes. I was surprised how many thing change over the years. Glad to hear you are organized too!
This is so important and yet we procrastinate and struggle with how to go about it. You’ve just made it so much easier by outlining It for us! I’m inspired. Thank you Mary!
The first one is a bit time consuming, but so easy to maintain after that! Good luck!
Such a brilliant idea! I had one of these, but it was not nearly as organized as yours and like you, has gotten a little out of date. This is a great reminder to get to work on mine!
Even though I put updated paperwork in mine, I really hadn’t updated it in the last 10 years. Is a worthy project!
Wow Mary – you go girl! This is great organization, and such a great idea. Thanks so much for sharing friend.
Brilliant Mary! This is a wonderful idea and so worth the set up time! I’m starting on mine asap! 🙂
Mary, a while ago I read about creating a ‘Red’ file. This is a personal file that contains all your pertinent info so if something unfortunate should happen to you there would be a place that has your SSN, insurance info, DL and passport copies, credit and debit cards, bank account numbers, email accounts, etc., along with login and passwords for everything. That way someone could cancel your accounts, and remove you from FB, IG, LinkedIn, etc., so you won’t be getting messages and Birthday wishes after you are gone! (LOL)
Really, for me, as a single woman, this is especially important. I don’t want to make it difficult for those who love me! And, obviously, I have let everyone know where I stashed it.
I feel like I am the keeper of all things like this and not sure anyone in my family would even know where to begin. It does provide some peace of mind because we just never know, do we? I also have a friend who also had a section on what they would like (for a service, etc.) after they die. This couple just completed it and the wife had a sudden brain aneurysm and unexpectedly died (and she was active and in great health). This made it so much easier for her family to follow her wishes to the end. I’m not quite there yet as I am determined to live to 100, but an interesting story, nonetheless.
Inspiring, Mary – I am tired of being, it seems, the only one that has the answers to “all” the questions…this is a major undertaking but so worth it!
I completely agree! Now I have to do a password section too!
What A GREAT idea Mary….now will I do it?
Cindy, I laughed when I saw your comment. It is time consuming to put it together the first time, but it’s very easy to manage later. Let me know if you tackle it!