Are your important papers in order? Can you grab them in a hurry if you need to evacuate your home? Learn why you need an emergency grab-and-go binder, and how to get started building your own.
How to make an emergency grab-and-go binder
As I'm writing this, we're keeping an eye on a brush fire about a mile away behind our property. The light wind is blowing the fire up the canyon parallel to us.
Updated January 2025
High winds are predicted for tonight and tomorrow, with thunderstorms overnight.
I'm hoping for heavy rain to put out the flames, even though this particular spot seems to catch fire and burn every year.
It's never come close to us in the past, but you never know. Fire and high winds are a dangerous combination.
Several weeks ago we had another fire just up the road, less than a quarter of a mile away.
That one blew in our direction, scorching the far end of our property before the volunteer firefighters brought it under control.
As soon as we were alerted, we sprang into action. While hubby soaked the yard with the hose I gathered our most-important items and loaded the pickup truck with our 3 dogs, 3 cats, our emergency grab-and-go binder, laptops and chargers, and hubby's pills.
We made the decision to not worry about the livestock as they were pastured behind the wind's path and would have been safe.
It turned out to be just a drill, thankfully. Our volunteer fire department arrived in record time. (Much faster than the day we lost our barn.)
And I was thankful that I'd spent time a few years ago putting together our grab-and-go emergency binder.
All I had to do was put it in the tote bag, knowing that all of our important papers were safely inside. It took all of thirty seconds to grab it and go (hence the name, obviously).
Why you should have a grab-and-go binder
There are several ways to organize and store your personal information; a grab-and-go binder is just one option. But it's a good option, especially for the portability of this method.
In any emergency situation, you can simply grab this one simple binder and head out the door. No more searching for the most important items you need to take with you, or leaving your important papers behind because there isn't time to retrieve them or enough room in your car for that huge box (or a filing cabinet - it goes without saying that you're not going to be taking a whole filing cabinet with you in a hurry!).
Plus, whether there's an emergency or not, having your papers stored in one place and well-organized will benefit you in so many ways.
You'll be able to find any paper you need for whatever reason in just a few minutes.
If you need your birth certificate or marriage license, there they are. Need the title to your pickup truck? There it is.
Your emergency binder houses your homeowner's insurance policy. Your passport. Your children's shot records. Your will.
No more searching the house for a paper you need. (Because I've never done that. Yeah, right.)
And just think of the favor you are doing your family by having all this information in one place. They may need access to it all someday.
Make sure someone in your family knows where you keep your important information.
An overwhelming project?
You might read this article and think it's much too overwhelming to even start.
- How do you know what papers you need in your emergency binder?
- Where are those papers?
- What papers and documents don't you need?
- What about the papers that are in our safe deposit box?
If you need even more direction and guidance than you'll find in this article, check out the SafeHarbor Emergency Binder System in my shop.
In the SafeHarbor Binder System you'll get:
- a 40-page step-by-step guide to walk you through setting up your binder effortlessly. Learn exactly what to include and how to organize the critical details from the eight most-important areas of your life.
- 55 customizable worksheets to cover every aspect of your life: personal, financial, life-saving medical details, and more. Tailor the binder to your unique needs and print as many copies as you need for your family.
- Practical tips for security and accessibility, so your information stays safe yet easy to grab when you need it most.
- Quick-start tips to help you make fast progress.
- Instant download so you can get started right away.
>> Learn more about the SafeHarbor Emergency Binder System here. <<
Gather all your information and important papers
Start your emergency binder by photocopying the items in your wallet. Then gather your important documents and paperwork, tailored to your family and your situation.
If you are missing any of these items such as a birth certificate, a copy of your rental agreement, or your dog's rabies certificate, this is an excellent time to gather them from wherever they are hiding.
If necessary, get replacements, order certified copies of legal documents such as birth certificates, and decide if you need to update your will or insurance coverage.
Next, make a list of your extended family members' and friends' phone numbers.
Don't rely on your cell phone to store them all. Print out all those contacts and keep them with your important papers.
Then make an emergency contact list of your important numbers such as doctors, school, work, neighbors and employers.
Add up-to-date photos of your children. Include a recent family photo too, with all the members of your family. This doesn't have to be a professional portrait, of course. Just ask a friend to snap a group photo for you.
Don't forget your pets and livestock; they have important papers too.
- Immunization records and proof of spay/neuter for your dogs and/or cats
- Livestock registration papers and health certificates
- Photos of your pets and livestock for identification purposes and to prove ownership
I'll give you extra points if you have a photo of you and your pet together. If you are separated or your dog is lost, what better way is there to prove that this dog is yours?
How to organize your grab-and-go binder
Here's how to put it all together and get your emergency binder organized.
You'll need:
- 3-ring binder (or this zippered binder; no worrying about papers falling out)
- Sheet protectors
- Tabbed dividers
- Pencil pouch with 3-ring holes (great for holding passports!)
- Large vinyl envelopes with 3-ring holes, also called binder pockets (they'll hold those fat insurance policies, etc.)
You can find all the supplies listed above - all of which I use in my own binder - all in one place here in my Amazon shop.
What size binder should you use?
It depends on how many papers, documents and records you have. If you're just getting started in life, a 1-inch binder will probably be large enough for now.
We started with a 2-inch wide 3-ring notebook but over the years we've moved into a larger binder.
Yes, it's heavy. I keep it in a sturdy tote bag all the time so it's easy to grab and secure to carry.
Divide your papers into categories
I use sheet protectors to hold our documents, and dividers to organize them all into these general categories. I like these wider-than-usual tabbed dividers, so the tabs still show in spite of the width of the page protectors.
For instance, you might use these categories:
- Emergency contacts, including family, neighbors, doctors and veterinarian
- Personal
- Property
- Insurance
- Vehicles
- Financial records
I put all of our pets' rabies shot certificates in one sheet protector, the spay/neuter papers in another, copies of the horses' registration papers and Coggins tests in a third sheet protector, and a fourth holds the goats' paperwork.
If you prefer, you can organize your livestock and pet records by animal instead of by species as I have done.
Here's how I keep track of all my goats' paperwork, in their own goat records binder.
How long will this project take?
If you're already a well-organized person, this project might not take you long. If your papers are spread out all over your home or hiding in boxes, or if you need to request duplicate or replacement documents, it will take a little longer.
I spent several weeks locating all of our papers and documents from the various file drawers and other places they were hiding, and I sent off for an extra copy of our children's birth certificates while I was at it.
Now that our grab-and-go emergency binder is all assembled, I spend a few minutes a couple of times a year updating it.
I remove any outdated papers such as loans we've paid off, replace the annual statements our insurance company sends us, and replace the dogs' previous rabies shot certificates with the current ones.
Where to keep your grab-and-go binder
Many people have asked if this is a security risk, keeping all of your important items all in one place where they could be easily stolen.
Of course I want you to be careful! I don't want anyone's identity to be stolen.
I'm not telling you to keep this binder on your coffee table with a label on it that says "My Family's Important Information Is Inside." The images in this article show a notebook with a label as an example, but it's not a photo of our family's actual emergency binder!
Just because your grab-and-go binder is handy for you to grab in an emergency, doesn't mean it has to be in plain site.
Find an inconspicuous but accessible place to keep your binder, and if you need to label it, try something like "Susie's baby photos."
You might want to store your emergency binder in a safe instead. Since it wouldn't be accessible to grab in a hurry and take with you, be sure that you invest in a fire-proof and waterproof safe that is anchored to the floor of your home. You'll find some excellent choices in my Amazon storefront here.
Another option is to keep your grab-and-go binder in a safe deposit box at your bank. Many banks will give you a discounted rate if you have an account with them. However, there are disadvantages to keeping your important papers in a safe deposit box too.
You just need to decide which option you're most comfortable with.
Be sure you tell a trusted person where you keep your emergency notebook and what it looks like.
For more details and access to 55+ printable worksheets to help you accomplish this project, check out my SafeHarbor Emergency Binder System here in my shop. I'll help you get it done!
It's worth spending time on this project
If we ever need to evacuate quickly, we can grab our emergency binder and head out the door in just a few minutes. Putting this all together was time well spent.
>> You can find the links to the supplies I've used all in one place in my Amazon shop. <<
Listen to the podcast
I had the opportunity to discuss my emergency binder here, on KFGO Radio's It Takes Two radio show. Tune in to the podcast of this episode here!
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