To customize your own binder, review the ideas below and select those that best serve your binder's purpose. Re-arrange the categories to best meet your needs. Remember that the ideas listed here include information for emergencies and day-to-day household management. If you are interested in an emergencies-only binder, see HERE. For some of the documents, I have provided a template. See links.
A friend of mine, Christina Smith, recently introduced me to a site called Organized Home. They recommend what they call a "Household Notebook," which is very similar to my system. They have some wonderful free printable forms, as well as some additional ideas for what to include in a notebook of this kind and I highly recommend checking it out.
INTRODUCTION
Binder objectives (list the purpose and function of the binder)
Index/table of contents
Directory of oft-referenced numbers and addresses
Contact info for people who have keys to your home
Meeting location in event of emergency
Out-of-state contacts in an emergency
List and location of items to grab in an emergency
Where to find 72-hour kits and emergency food and water supplies
Alarm company phone number
Clergy name and phone
Locations of the following: gas shut-off, fire extinguisher, water main, emergency water supply, 72-hour kits, neighbors' water and gas shut-offs
Print-out of your email contacts list
Print-out of your cell phone contacts list
FAMILY LIFE
Family home evening schedule
Family goals
Family rules
Family budget/financial goals
Family food storage plan
School calendars
Sports/extracurricular activity calendars
Funeral arrangements/who is to get what/personal wishes
Letters to your children/loved ones to-be-opened-in-event-of-death
Birthday list
Family traditions
Directory of family & friends (blogs, addresses, emails, phones)
Schedules and routines
Calendar of annual events of interest
Who to notify in the event of an emergency
Names, dates of birth, SSNs, and places of birth for all household members
Work and school contact information
Self and spouse's parents' full names and current status (i.e. dead or living)
Emergency authorization form for a caregiver
Elder care information
House sitter information (e.g. alarm code, keys, contact person, how to shut-off gas or water)
LEGAL & FINANCIAL
Open accounts (credit, store, email, blogs, loans, memberships, etc.)
Where to find the following: wills, trusts, living wills, power of attorney docs, pre-nuptial agreement, marriage license, social security cards, citizenship papers, birth certificates, adoption papers, custody agreement, divorce/settlement agreements, education credentials, military papers, death certificates, personal wishes/funeral arrangements, insurance policies (life, health, auto, home), safe deposit box key, credit cards, stocks/bonds/securities, real estate papers, checkbooks, tax records, passports, medical/dental files, immunization records, financial records (for the aforementioned docs, include doc dates, who prepared by, location of original, where copies are located, and who the executors are)
Passport information (include expiration date)
Social security card information (name, number, location of original)
Driver's license inf (name, number, expiration date, etc.)
Real estate deeds/purchase agreements
Automobile docs
Contracts (e.g. home, employment, business, school)
People to notify in the event of death
Insurance policies (home, auto, life, rental, valuables, health, dental, life, disability, liability, pet, long-term care, mortgage)
Insurance agents' contact information
Bank contact information
Bank account information (type of account, account number, names on accounts, online access information)
Financial advisor/CPA's contact info
Loan info
Safety deposit box information
Stocks/bonds/securities/IRA/mutual funds (name of institution, address, phone number, type of investment, name on account, account number, online access information, websites)
Mortgage (type, purchase amount, mortgagor contact info, loan number, deed and deed location)
Valuable personal property (type, description, approximate value, appraisals, date purchased, purchase amount, location)
401K/pension/retirement accounts
Real estate holdings
Credit cards (don't put account numbers, just card name, issuing bank, payment address, Internet account username/password & phone numbers)
Debts/loans (institution contact info, amount owed, current balance, etc.)
Lawyer's contact info
Family budget/financial goals
Record of expenses/pocket folder for receipts
Calendar detailing on which days of the month different bills are due
CHURCH
Congregation directory
Local and area leadership directory
Church building addresses and phone numbers
Temple address and phone number
Temple hours
Area mission home contact information
Church service assignments
Church website (url and username/password)
HEALTH
Family members' names, blood types, medical histories
Health care providers' contact information
Insurance plans
Area hospital and urgent care center information
Immunization records
Pharmacy information
Essential prescriptions
Allergies
COMMUNITY
Community directory (government services, local businesses, etc.)
County directory and information
Homeowners' association
Neighbor directory
School contact info
Parks and recreation
Public transportation
Area attractions
Shopping malls
Stores and businesses
HOME
Homeowners' association
Contractors (housekeeper, nanny, babysitter, dog walker/sitter, gardener, handyman, pool maintenance, electrician, plumber, heating & AC, gas, electric, water, cable, trash, painter, carpenter, pest control, home warranty company, computer technician, decorator, doorman and super, alarm service, cleaning services)
Repair and maintenance log for home
Cleaning schedule
Seasonal home and belongings maintenance
Replaceables information (e.g. light bulbs, furnace filters, etc.; include brand, type, etc.)
Utility and service providers (e.g. gas, electric, phone, etc.)
Household appliances (serial and model numbers, warranties, installation dates)
Automobiles (service histories, insurance policies, repair and maintenance records, VIN and license plate numbers, auto loan info)
How to shut-off gas, water, alarm system
Where to find the GFI, circuit box, water and gas shut-offs, etc.
Care instructions for anything requiring special attention (e.g. furniture, granite counter tops)
List/DVD of possessions and furniture in home
MEAL PLANNING
Monthly menu
Grocery lists
Special occasion menus
Kid-friendly recipes (meals your kids will eat)
Meal-to-be-delivered plan (if you take meals to people regularly, it's nice to have a go-to meal plan you can whip up in a hurry)
This list is a compilation of my own work and information provided by the U.S. State Department, Operation Hope, Inc., and Buttoned Up.
As you create your binder, be sure to save all of your Household Management Binder documents on your computer, in addition to printing them out for your binder.
To guard against computer failure--and also to make the information in your binder accessible to you even when the binder is not--email the electronic versions of your documents to yourself. That way, no matter where you are, no matter what may happen to your hard copies, as long as you have an Internet connection, you have access to all your information. Just be mindful not to include anything that could cause you trouble if someone were to hack into either your email account or your computer.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house. . . a house of order, a house of God.
Doctrine & Covenants 88:119
Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house. . . a house of order, a house of God.
Doctrine & Covenants 88:119
ABOUT THIS BLOG
The Household Management Binder System is an infinintely adaptable system of organization for critical documents and information--consolidated into one easy-to-use binder--that will both streamline your daily life and serve as a safety net in the event of a disaster. This blog provides you with the tools for creating your own binder.
INDEX
ABOUT ME
I am a self-confessed control freak. Systematic organization is a natural extension of my need to impose order on my world. As a mother of two young boys, I often feel that I have very little control over what happens in my day. My Household Management Binder helps me feel like I'm making headway in what on most days is most certainly a losing battle.