When thinking about Emergency Binder, each family should have a disaster kit put together which includes things like first aid items. 72 hour food kits, extra outfits, etc. An emergency binder is an integral part of this kit. Basically you ask yourself this question: Would I be frustrated or mad if I lost this item in an earthquake, flood, or other emergency situation? The concept is that should an emergency occur, you could grab your entire kit and run out the door very quickly. Having an emergency binder put together in advance will enable you to have all of your important documents and information with you.
What should I include in my Emergency Binder?
Much to everyone’s surprise, including my own, I nodded, stood up and went downstairs. I opened the file cabinet, looked through the ‘W’ files and promptly plucked out a copy of John’s will. But before going back upstairs, I took a deep breath and quickly flipped through his will – for there was another urgent matter I needed to check on, before moving on to the funeral portion of the program. Click the link to find out Emergency Binder
When I found what I was looking for, I let out a huge sigh of relief. For the day before, I had authorized the removal of John’s organs for transplant. In the hospital, I had been 99% sure that’s what he’d wanted. But there’s nothing quite like seeing a loved one’s wishes in print, within a legal document, to help one come to peace with their decision… especially since John’s heart was now beating inside another man.
Back upstairs in the living room again, I read out loud to the Chaplain what John’s wishes were for his funeral. And then away we went, to make said funeral happen.
- birth certificates
- passports
- social security cards
- copies of your credit cards front and back
- homeowners insurance policy
- auto insurance policy
- life insurance policy
- bank statements
- retirement statements
- internet passwords (banking, personal, work etc)
- immunization records
- utility statements
- work/tax documents that would be difficult to replace
- CASH – keep a variety of small bills on hand
I like to put each item in a sheet protector and add divider labels to put them into sections. This makes it easy to pull things in and out when you need to access them.
What should I store my binder in?
Even though the idea is to grab the disaster kit and bring it with you. There is always the chance that you won’t be home during an emergency. In this scenario you would still want to return home and find your binder in good condition (especially if your original documents are IN the binder). We recommend storing your binder in a fireproof/ waterproof locked box that is small enough to be transported with you in an emergency.
Do I store copies or originals?
This is a personal choice but we recommend storing the originals IN your emergency binder. Store photocopies of them in a filing cabinet. And also scan a digital copy and give it to a trusted friend or put it in a safe deposit box. If your house burnt down or was flooded it would be so relieving to know that you don’t have to go through the hassle of replacing those documents. If you already have a large water/fireproof filing cabinet or safe you may choose to just put copies in your binder. So that you can have the information on hand in an emergency but know that you can return home and find the originals intact at a later time.
Remember that everyone’s emergency binder may be different. It is up to each individual to determine what things are critical and would be very difficult to replace. Other things may be seen as simply a convenience to have on hand in an emergency. You never know what may happen so it’s always best to be prepared!
When the notice of evacuation for your location is released it is entirely too late to initiate your preparation procedures. These preliminary preparations should have been concluded and ready several months ago but for some reason human nature as it is always puts things off. In this case it is way too late. The words on everyone’s lips are, “Where can we start?”
The Survival Go Binder
Let’s back up this scenario a moment to several months in the past before being instructed to depart our home by the authorities. Most of our preparations can be accomplished easily and without undo stress if and only if they are done ahead of time. One vital item which I have constructed is what I refer to as a “Go Binder”. To me this notebook is as much of a necessity as would be my car keys or the food we load up to take with us. For adequate family preparations this is the first item we should be grabbing.
In the military we had Standard Operating Procedures which related to most emergencies that we would encounter. In the same respect this binder will have within its pages loads of instructions for dealing with various emergency conditions and related information. There are several sections of this binder. The first section contains copies of any important papers which may be necessary and thus should go with us. By placing these important documents in one central location they are always available when they are required. No longer will someone in the family need to rush around the home looking for insurance papers, birth certificates, etc. You can find them all in your emergency Go Binder.
The second part of the binder consists of checklists. Here I keep checklists for vehicle bug out bags, BOV Checkout and Inspection reports, etc. There are inventory sheets that show our current food supplies as well as lists of contents for our first aid kits, etc. These are very important listings and serve a legitimate purpose.
Lastly is our log of activities. In this log we have previously documented our exercises which we have completed. What mistakes we discovered and as well as what actions have been accomplished since to correct the found problems. You can also include any miscellaneous information in this section of the binder.
To create your own emergency Go Binder” start with a 2 inch thick three ring binder. Some index tabs and your scanner. For the checklists to find https://www.itsmypost.com/, I employ document protectors so that I can write on them and reuse the lists over and over.
