When preparing your family’s emergency plan for a tornado, fire, or natural disaster, it is very important for you and your family to have a plan for your important documents.
I live in Tornado Alley Texas and was told there was a Tornado coming towards our area in a matter of minutes. All I did was grab the red file section in my FreedomFiler system, (which consists of my important documents and court documents) put them in my bag, put my shoes on, and me and my family were in the safe area our home in less than two minutes.
It is very important to have these documents in one place and have them easily accessible. In an emergency, you may only have two minutes to get to a safe area. Our lives are so important that we don’t have time to run around to gather the documents and remember where we put them. Even if you don’t have the FreedomFiler Kit, make sure you have your own system and are able to grab them quickly. Consider having original documents in a fireproof safe and copies somewhere else. It is also a good idea to have them in two different areas such as a bank deposit box or another safe location outside of the home.
Important Documents:
- Birth Certificates
- Social Security Cards
- Home Inventory List
- Marriage Certificates
- Divorce Decrees
- Prenuptial Agreements
- Child Support Orders
- Military Discharge Papers
- Degrees and Transcripts
- Name Change Information
- Credit Cards and Cash
- Telephone Numbers
- Car Titles
- Mortgage and Deed Information
- Insurance Information
- Passports
**Although all of these items are replaceable, your life is NOT. Always use caution when determining if you can gather these documents. If and only if you have time, get them.**
NOW is the time to get prepared, before there is a natural disaster or fire. You can never be 100% prepared, but in an emergency situation, you won’t have 20 to 30 minutes to look for important documents. If you have things organized and have a system, you won’t have to worry about how to prove your identity or your belongings. Knowing where your documents are will take some stress off of rebuilding your life.
In my course we talk about being organized with the FreedomFiler system. The FreedomFiler system is a color coded, maintenance-free paper organizing solution. It’s a self-purging home filing system that eliminates the need to clean out and reorganize files.
I hope you found this information useful! Please feel free to leave any comments, questions, or suggestions.
If you need help getting your home and life organized, register for my free “5 Days to an Organized Home & Life” email course. You’ll receive tips and suggestions for five days and a copy of my eBook. You can register for the free course HERE.
A complete FreedomFiler kit is included in my Full Home & Life Organizational Strategies course, please visit HERE for information concerning the course.
As always thanks for stopping by. If you have any organizational or decorating questions, please do not hesitate to ask. I would love to hear from you. For information concerning our decorating services and products, please visit Divine Elements of Design
This is a great reminder how important it is to have all these documents in one easy to reach place!
Thanks for stopping by.
I need to get our paperwork organized. Thanks for the reminder!
You’re very welcome. Happy New Years.
Great reminder! I love in Washington so lately the news of the “big one” has everyone freaked out. All good things for people to make sure they have together
Yes, thanks for stopping by. Yes, please be prepared for the big one.
I need to get more organized with my personal and important paper works! this is a great list.
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Thanks for stopping by. Like I always say, it’s better to be prepared.
Wow. That was a crazy storm. I’m in Ennis just south of Dallas and there was a touch down near me. I have all of these important docs in a binder that I keep in my safe place. My closet under my stairs. This is crazy weather.
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Yes, I had just finished a Periscope when my boys ran in the house after seeing the tornado. I was in my office, so I quickly grabbed my files, threw on some shoes, and ran into the closet under our stairs as well. Very scary. We’re south of Dallas as well.
You can never be too prepared in Texas. Our weather is so unpredictable. I’m glad to hear you were safe.
Great tips! Especially, given some of severe weather as of late.
Thanks.
–Melissa
http://www.melissamchee.com
Yes, our weather has been completely severe lately. When I was younger,I remember only having one tornado at a time. Now, when they report a tornado siting, its always multiple tornados.
Great list! Thank you
Thanks for stopping by.
Thanks for the reminder. We have a fireproof safe but I haven’t put everything in there yet and really should!
You should come link up at our Bloggers Spotlight party, we pin everything to our group board and have two separate link-ups, one for posts and one devoted to pins so you get even more exposure!
http://www.raisingfairiesandknights.com/category/bloggers-spotlight/
Yes, please start using your safe. Thanks for the invite. I will check out the link up site. Have a great day.
I’m glad your family is okay. I live in San Antonio and was traveling from Waco right before the storm hit. You are so right even the documents that can be replaced, it is such a hassle and in the event something happens having these documents would make rebuilding your life a little easier and less to worry about. Thanks for sharing
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You’re very welcome. It’s great to hear you are safe. I don’t think San Antonio gets as much weird weather as we receive in Dallas. You’re lucky.
I’ve been saying I need to do this for years. We’re snowed in in West Texas so it’s the perfect time to get this done. Thanks for the great list!
What a great idea to take advantage of the time you’re snowed in by getting organized. Stay warm and safe.
Thank you for such a useful post! It’s always better to be safe than sorry. I live just outside of New Orleans and, of course, when a hurricane is headed in our direction, it’s always good to be prepared, especially when it comes to important documents. 🙂
Have a great New Year!
You’re very welcome. Have a Happy and Safe New Years..
WOW! I’m glad your family is safe. I am SO not involved for natural disasters and my husband and I really need to do a better job. He keeps an extra case of water in our basement, but besides that, we really aren’t prepared at all.
Happy New Year,
Allison
Having a basement is great. We don’t have them in Texas.