Organizing Your Family's Important Documents
On my radar for years has been getting my family’s important documents in some semblance of order. For far too long, we’ve been gluttons for punishment each time enrollment for different activities, travel or registration rolled around. As my oldest daughter pursued her driver’s license this Fall and we were pushed into the crutch of needing to know where everything was at once; I was FINALLY inspired to make sense of the gallon-sized ziploc bag that has been home to our most valuable documents.
I glanced around Pinterest and Etsy for examples of different organizing templates. Many I found to be far more robust than I was thinking including information on life insurance, estate planning, living wills and emergency contacts. For my intentions, I was looking to keep the social security cards, birth certificates and passports all in one place to streamline the registering, booking or enrolling process. As I dove into my files, I decided to add in religious records and graduation documents - many of which become relevant during registration processes.
I grouped documents by person rather than by type - more often than not I’m tackling one family member’s milestone at a time and more than one file-type is required. I needed a much larger binder than I anticipated as I began to plug things in. It made sense to make copies of original documents and keep them on hand for future needs. For our family of 6, I had no problem completely filling a 2” binder - I’d error on the side of more space than you think you need.
When storing documents in a binder, I like to store my inserts in as close to chronological order as possible - when documents are missing, it’s easy to reference which ones. Here’s how we inputted ours as applicable:
Binder divider with family member labeled tab
Birth Certificate
Social Security Card
Passport
Baptism Certificate
First Communion Certificate
Confirmation Certificate
8th Grade Graduation
High School Graduation
Marriage License
I purchased Office Depot’s Heavyweight Sheet Protectors to hold each original document along with additional copies behind it. I also purchased these mini binder pockets, that fit on to the lower two rings of the 3-ring binder and hold passports perfectly. Am I the only one who likes to save expired passports? I love looking back on the stamps and the kids’ passport photos are always GEMS!
From there, I decided to label each individual sleeve with these file folder labels such that when a document is out of place, it’s easy to figure out what’s missing and effortlessly return it to its home. Printing the labels is super easy by going to Avery.com/print and entering in the template number.
Whenever you are using sheet protectors, remember that standard ‘dividers’ for 3-ring binders won’t be wide enough to be exposed on the open side of your binder. Most are the standard 8 1/2 x 11” paper-size, so search based on ‘extra-wide dividers,’ which are 9” wide for an unobstructed reveal. I placed these in between each family member to make searching a breeze. I also considered printing a cheat sheet on each divider with a summary of each family member’s information, but ultimately chose a different format for quick-reference. More on that below.
Although the idea is that no one outside of the guardians of the family ever really lay eyes on this binder (ours is stored in our fireproof safe), it doesn’t hurt to make such a clunky piece easy on the eyes. We chose to keep the styling pretty polished and simple. I like the idea that we could build more additions to this collection with the same format - always keeping the family name but adding binders for financials, insurance, estate planning, etc. You can download the template to create your own binder cover and title insert in Canva right here. Swap out the script font to add future editions to your collection.
As idyllic as a sleeve for everything is, sometimes we need a snapshot of all the social security numbers or all the driver’s license numbers, at the same time. Rather than searching person by person, I created a Google Doc that grouped our families information together by type. A quick cheat sheet with the same information organized in a more concise, easy to reference format. I included driver’s license numbers, social security numbers, passport numbers and frequent flyer numbers. In addition, I added general insurance information for medical and dental (makes filling out school forms easier) and a list of key contacts for professionals who handle our affairs - people like accountants, financial planners, estate planners, executors, etc. Here’s a link to download the template I created that’s easy to customize and tailor to your family’s relevant information. Once you click the link, select the ‘use template’ button and it will save an editable template to your Google Drive.
While the concept is simple, the streamlined format for storing our family’s most important documents has brought peace of mind. The fact that it’s organized with quality products and has a polished appearance sparks a little joy each time I go to grab for it. One way I can imagine elevating the design is using my Cricut to print the cover temple in vinyl. We’ll see if I ever get inspired enough to give it a go! I hope this binder makes life a little bit easier for you and yours - especially during the busiest time of the year!