Checklists for emergencies like hurricane prep. Things you might forget. Get a full tank of gas ahead of time, for example in case you need to evacuate. (Not just a plan for evacuating the house). If you need to shelter in place, what things are useful to have? You will NOT think of doing these things unless you plan ahead. A diagram of your electrical box and instructions about how to turn off the main gas line for your house.
I wish you had an updated kit. There are things that I would add that are useful-checklists for things to do to prepare ahead of time for something like a weather event (like a hurricane or blizzard). These are things you want to do, but don’t have time to think about, like filling your gas tank AHEAD of time instead of waiting until it’s too late, (important for keeping cell phones charged as well as evacuation), how will you cook if you have no electricity, and what you will eat. How will you keep warm? Another thing, would it not be useful to create a diagram of your electrical boxes, and how to turn off the main gas if you need to?
I would also suggest scanning all of these pages and having a virtual binder. Obviously it won't have the actual social security cards and things like that but I'll bet in a disaster that would work just as well. Then store that virtual binder somewhere safe - either a safety deposit box, a safe, or a secure cloud environment. For our home inventory I maintain spreadsheets of that information as well so it's easy to replace if needed (mostly for our million and one books, lol!) as well as a video walk-through. I really appreciate this video so I can get a paper version created and fill in the holes for some things I missed. I plan to store my physical emergency binder in a fire/water safe lockbox so it should be protected from most disasters. Also (if you don't have your photos stored on a cloud environment) back up all your photos on a external hard drive or flash drive too!
This video is great and resourceful for those of us that has every thing stored in multiple expandable file folders for each family member 😂. I will be having an emergency binder set up party with each of my adult children.Thank you!
Hi Kristin. I just finished watching your RUclips video on how to prepare an emergency binder. It was very good. I am over 70 yrs old and several years ago (2001) I found an "Emergency Financial First Aid Kit" that was prepared by Operation Hope, Inc. I have used this since. It contains very much the same information you have included in your emergency binder. It may be something worth checking out. Thanks again Max Christensen
Great video! I’ve had an emergency binder for years, but this video has motivated me to update the contents. I don’t keep lots of important document in my binder but I do list where those documents can be found (most are in the safe). One thing I would add to your Vital Documents section is a will. Thanks for sharing!
This is awesome! You should also make copies of the front and back of everything in your and your husbands wallet. Very helpful if your wallet gets lost or stolen about what exactly was in your wallet. That way you have a physical copy of everything. You should also include any estate planning as well as end of life wishes such as advance health care directives and wills. I’d also add a goodbye letter to your children. Very morbid I know but I figured it would be nice to include in case something ever happens to me I have a way to say goodbye and how much I love them. (Unless you have that in a separate binder that I didn’t know about 😅).
Wow, amazing video. I love this idea. I have been looking for an idea on how to put together something like this. I've just been shoving important papers in my safe. Thanks for the inspiration.
This all reminds me i need to check on our earthquake emergency home supplies and emergency kits for our cars. I’m in CA and we need these bc of earthquakes and wild fires.
I just starting thinking about this when my mom went into a fib and it made me realize that we didn’t have everyone’s medical info at hand. Thank you for this. A suggestion for this info - keep it in a fireproof safe under lock and key. I have a small safe that I can grab an go with vital and original docs.
Kristin, I finally decided to complete my Family Emergency Binder project and came across this video first. Very clear and concise explanation of all the categories. I immediately purchased your file. This will save me a lot of time to jump right in and start filling in the details. I will be taking this a couple of steps further in that I will be making copies of all of the credit cards (front and back), and the other documents to keep in the binder. These copies will also be scanned into .pdf files to be stored in a dedicated Emergency USB Drive as a digital backup with the same file hierarchy as your printables. My only other issue is that I initially wanted the original documents to be stored in a small Fireproof Safe that can be grabbed in an emergency. The safe is too small to fit the emergency binder along with the originals, otherwise it would have to be larger thus making it not portable, so I am caught in between. I am thinking the entire binder could be scanned and put on the USB Drive to go in the safe in the event I would not be able to grab either, where at least the safe would offer some level of fire protection. It is really a very time consuming project to gather all of the information, but with your format, it makes it much easier to organize and add sections as needed (Pet information, tenant lease / security deposit account, etc.). Thanks for all the work you put into this.
Update: I finally got busy updating my binder and decided on a 3-Tier solution. My approach for creating this Family emergency Binder comes from my interest in prepping. After doing much research, watching videos, etc. on the subject, I strongly feel that in the event of a emergency, whether it be a local or national event, the most likely scenario that would force us to leave our home would have us operating out of a hotel room or temporary shelter. This is where the binder comes into play: 1 - The binder I put together contains copies of all of our important documents for quick portability. 2 - The originals are located in a small fire safe that could also be carried if the situation allows. 3 - All documents are scanned into .pdf files to reside in an Emergency USB Drive. I currently have all of the basic sections covered, I just need to go deeper on the financial section. It is best to create a checklist of the missing documents and then working on them one by one. Persistence pays off. This project has given me a certain peace of mind and it really does not cost very much at all.
A few questions... What kind of safe do you have? Where do you keep inside it and what made you choose that safe etc. we have been thinking about getting one. Also how many years back do you keep for taxes in this folder? How do you determine if you keep a copy vs original for things like birth certificate you keep original but taxes you keep a copy etc. thanks! I have been working on this and the 72 hour kits etc for the last few paychecks getting things together. A bowl full of lemons breaks it down into weeks to gather items to build a great kit!
Just curious as to how much $$ (Ballpark) you keep in your zipper pouch? Do you keep originals, like the birth & marriage cert., passports, etc. in the binder? I usually keep those kind of docs. in our lock box.
I keep all my originals together. I even have copies in the back in case I ever need it so I can just grab a copy for my children’s school etc. I keep about $1000 in my pouch all in small bills but I ended up using it so I’m rebuilding it up again. 😅
I would personally keep money inside a lock box with other important documents unless you can of course just fit this whole binder in your lockbox then that works too it might take me awhile to save 1k tho...
What else would you include in an emergency binder?
Will, Lawyer, and funeral/burial information.
Checklists for emergencies like hurricane prep. Things you might forget. Get a full tank of gas ahead of time, for example in case you need to evacuate. (Not just a plan for evacuating the house). If you need to shelter in place, what things are useful to have? You will NOT think of doing these things unless you plan ahead.
A diagram of your electrical box and instructions about how to turn off the main gas line for your house.
I bought your emergency binder kit and have had it for several years now. I just need to update it. Thank you for the wonderful video!
I wish you had an updated kit.
There are things that I would add that are useful-checklists for things to do to prepare ahead of time for something like a weather event (like a hurricane or blizzard). These are things you want to do, but don’t have time to think about, like filling your gas tank AHEAD of time instead of waiting until it’s too late, (important for keeping cell phones charged as well as evacuation), how will you cook if you have no electricity, and what you will eat. How will you keep warm?
Another thing, would it not be useful to create a diagram of your electrical boxes, and how to turn off the main gas if you need to?
I would also suggest scanning all of these pages and having a virtual binder. Obviously it won't have the actual social security cards and things like that but I'll bet in a disaster that would work just as well. Then store that virtual binder somewhere safe - either a safety deposit box, a safe, or a secure cloud environment. For our home inventory I maintain spreadsheets of that information as well so it's easy to replace if needed (mostly for our million and one books, lol!) as well as a video walk-through. I really appreciate this video so I can get a paper version created and fill in the holes for some things I missed. I plan to store my physical emergency binder in a fire/water safe lockbox so it should be protected from most disasters. Also (if you don't have your photos stored on a cloud environment) back up all your photos on a external hard drive or flash drive too!
This video is great and resourceful for those of us that has every thing stored in multiple expandable file folders for each family member 😂. I will be having an emergency binder set up party with each of my adult children.Thank you!
Hi Kristin.
I just finished watching your RUclips video on how to prepare an emergency binder. It was very good. I am over 70 yrs old and several years ago (2001) I found an "Emergency Financial First Aid Kit" that was prepared by Operation Hope, Inc. I have used this since. It contains very much the same information you have included in your emergency binder. It may be something worth checking out.
Thanks again
Max Christensen
Would love to see a video on how to inventory a home for insurance.
Don’t forget information on pets that live in your home too xxxxxxx
Great video! I’ve had an emergency binder for years, but this video has motivated me to update the contents. I don’t keep lots of important document in my binder but I do list where those documents can be found (most are in the safe). One thing I would add to your Vital Documents section is a will. Thanks for sharing!
This is awesome! You should also make copies of the front and back of everything in your and your husbands wallet. Very helpful if your wallet gets lost or stolen about what exactly was in your wallet. That way you have a physical copy of everything. You should also include any estate planning as well as end of life wishes such as advance health care directives and wills. I’d also add a goodbye letter to your children. Very morbid I know but I figured it would be nice to include in case something ever happens to me I have a way to say goodbye and how much I love them. (Unless you have that in a separate binder that I didn’t know about 😅).
Great idea Ms. Kristin!!! I love your organization ideas!! Like minded people think the same school teacher 👩🏫 ❤❤❤❤🗂📁😉😉☺️☺️🥰🥰🥰
I made a binder last time you did this, but I do need to update it.
Thank you! This is great! Thanks for sharing. I’m gonna get this together.
Wow, amazing video. I love this idea. I have been looking for an idea on how to put together something like this. I've just been shoving important papers in my safe. Thanks for the inspiration.
This all reminds me i need to check on our earthquake emergency home supplies and emergency kits for our cars. I’m in CA and we need these bc of earthquakes and wild fires.
I didn't even know I needed this. being an adult is a whole different degree xD xD
You always inspire me, girl. 💛
I just starting thinking about this when my mom went into a fib and it made me realize that we didn’t have everyone’s medical info at hand. Thank you for this. A suggestion for this info - keep it in a fireproof safe under lock and key. I have a small safe that I can grab an go with vital and original docs.
This demo is awesome! TFS.
I love this binder setup, but I do have a question. Things we don't keep on our person are they the original sheets?
Love your emergency video
Kristin, I finally decided to complete my Family Emergency Binder project and came across this video first. Very clear and concise explanation of all the categories. I immediately purchased your file. This will save me a lot of time to jump right in and start filling in the details. I will be taking this a couple of steps further in that I will be making copies of all of the credit cards (front and back), and the other documents to keep in the binder. These copies will also be scanned into .pdf files to be stored in a dedicated Emergency USB Drive as a digital backup with the same file hierarchy as your printables.
My only other issue is that I initially wanted the original documents to be stored in a small Fireproof Safe that can be grabbed in an emergency. The safe is too small to fit the emergency binder along with the originals, otherwise it would have to be larger thus making it not portable, so I am caught in between. I am thinking the entire binder could be scanned and put on the USB Drive to go in the safe in the event I would not be able to grab either, where at least the safe would offer some level of fire protection.
It is really a very time consuming project to gather all of the information, but with your format, it makes it much easier to organize and add sections as needed (Pet information, tenant lease / security deposit account, etc.). Thanks for all the work you put into this.
Update: I finally got busy updating my binder and decided on a 3-Tier solution. My approach for creating this Family emergency Binder comes from my interest in prepping. After doing much research, watching videos, etc. on the subject, I strongly feel that in the event of a emergency, whether it be a local or national event, the most likely scenario that would force us to leave our home would have us operating out of a hotel room or temporary shelter. This is where the binder comes into play: 1 - The binder I put together contains copies of all of our important documents for quick portability. 2 - The originals are located in a small fire safe that could also be carried if the situation allows. 3 - All documents are scanned into .pdf files to reside in an Emergency USB Drive.
I currently have all of the basic sections covered, I just need to go deeper on the financial section. It is best to create a checklist of the missing documents and then working on them one by one. Persistence pays off. This project has given me a certain peace of mind and it really does not cost very much at all.
Another great video. Are any of these sheets (Ex. Banking Info) available in your shop separately?
A few questions...
What kind of safe do you have? Where do you keep inside it and what made you choose that safe etc. we have been thinking about getting one.
Also how many years back do you keep for taxes in this folder?
How do you determine if you keep a copy vs original for things like birth certificate you keep original but taxes you keep a copy etc. thanks! I have been working on this and the 72 hour kits etc for the last few paychecks getting things together. A bowl full of lemons breaks it down into weeks to gather items to build a great kit!
Watching in 20212 - WOW! Thank you for sharing. Amazing job.
This video is awesome. I just wish I could purchase these. The Etsy website is non existent
This is great. Thank you
Where can I buy this packet? Is there a way to get it already printed?
Would you say this binder would serve all needs if you and your husband suddenly died or were incapacitated and someone had to deal with everything?
Great video
Love it!
The etsy bundle is no longer available
Thank you for this!! :)
This sucker is AH-MAZING!!!!!
Just curious as to how much $$ (Ballpark) you keep in your zipper pouch? Do you keep originals, like the birth & marriage cert., passports, etc. in the binder? I usually keep those kind of docs. in our lock box.
I keep all my originals together. I even have copies in the back in case I ever need it so I can just grab a copy for my children’s school etc. I keep about $1000 in my pouch all in small bills but I ended up using it so I’m rebuilding it up again. 😅
I would personally keep money inside a lock box with other important documents unless you can of course just fit this whole binder in your lockbox then that works too it might take me awhile to save 1k tho...
Update??