The Household Notebook
Everything in Order

When you finish up this organizing exercise you will have created a household notebook that documents your home filing system.

This notebook will hold everything anyone would want to know about your household. It holds information about all your personal files and finance files.

This notebook can be used in several ways and will become a very important document in your household.

If you want to create such a notebook, organize it into the four categories mentioned in Home Filing Systems. Those categories would be Personal Records, Assets, Liabilities and Insurance.

Create a page for each item you need to include in the book. For a list of the types of paperwork you should include, see Files to Organize. You can use this list as a guide to what needs to be included in the household notebook.

If you want to purchase a complete workbook that only needs to be filled out, go to myVIPdocs. This book is comprehensive and will cover every area you will have documents that need to be recorded. This book is very inexpensive for the value you receive.

Next you should make sure that any documents that need an original (for example birth certificates, death certificates, anything that needs to be "verified") are kept safe in a safe deposit box or a fire proof file. You can keep a copy in your household notebook.

What do to when the notebook is complete

There are a few things you need to do to make sure your notebook is complete.

1. You will need to protect this notebook. Read this about protecting your household notebook.
2. You need to tell someone else about this notebook. Obviously it will be someone you trust. The reason you want someone else to know about the notebook is in cases of emergency this person may need access to some of your information.
3. You want to make sure this notebook is portable. If you have to evacuate because of weather circumstances, or some other emergency, you want to be able to grab this book quickly and take it with you. If you need your account numbers, or insurance numbers, you will have them at hand.

If your book is in electronic format please back it up to a memory stick and give to someone for safe keeping. Or you can put it in your safety deposit box.

If your book is in manual format make sure you can quickly grab it and protect it. You will also want to take it with you in cases of emergency or evacuation.

If you have no one you trust enough, or have no family relations, you can use a trust service or an attorney. See you bank or attorney for more information on these services.

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