We accumulate a lot of papers in our lives. Stuff from school, stuff from work, stuff from the military, stuff from the things we buy and sell, the hobbies we have, the people we marry. What do we do with all of it, anyway? It's gotta go somewhere.
Earlier today I was thumbing through the miniature file cabinet I have to lug around with me as I go on these various business trips and started thinking about what my fellow TFPers do with all their important documents. I’d imagine some of you are “stackers” and other people are “filers,” some people are meticulous accountants and others just use the shoebox-and-Sharpie method.
First, a little light reading on the topic I'd like to discuss.
Seeing that I get paid to think about this kinda stuff (and I lose sleep at night thinking about folding my socks), I'm all about the pillars of preparedness. As it applies to life’s important documents:
1 -
Security - Keeping your stuff safe from whatever potential threats are out there (fire, theft, loss, accidents).
Organizational system, locking filing cabinets, fire-resistant safes, using the safety deposit box at the bank, etc.
2 –
Accessibility - Being able to get to your stuff when you need it.
An organizational system that works, having multiple copies of documents in different locations (working copies, travel copies, originals).
3 -
Redundancy - Having different types and locations of backups in case the other two pillars fail.
Making copies of everything, keeping them in various locations, storing documents digitally (flash drive, secure online), etc.
...
Seeing that work requires me to travel overseas, my passport is the single most important document I have and thus must be safeguarded at all times. I keep it under double lock in my room and whenever I travel I wear it around my neck in a dorky ID carrier inside my shirt next to my skin. I’d be absolutely screwed if I lost it. It would take me a long time, probably several long weeks, to get another one.
That would totally suck.
As stated in the linked article, it is relatively painless for US citizen to get a secondary passport. I’m going to do this when I get home so that in the event one passport is lost or destroyed, I have one waiting somewhere. I’m also going to start scanning everything not disposable in my filing cabinets so that I can keep a digital copy of my documents in various locations, such as my parents’ house and in a safety deposit box. In the event that both houses burn down during the zombie apocalypse, I’ll still have a copy of my high school diploma when order is restored.
Back at the house: I have my own two-drawer locking filing cabinet. My organization system keeps rotating papers in the top drawer, with older records and oh-shit-super-crucial items in the bottom drawer. I've realized the biggest problem with this setup is the fact that my whole Library of Me is incredibly vulnerable to fires: either the fire itself will burn up my papers or the sprinkler system that extinguishes the fire will ruin them. Gonna need to invest in a small fire-resistant safe and waterproof sleeves for some of the more important items such as my educational parchments and original military records.
While on the go: I have a backpack designed to carry file folders and a laptop. I store all my important papers in this backpack in a locked container in a locked room. If a document is absolutely critical, I keep the original or necessary copies of it on my person (such as my passport when traveling). Recently I've also been scanning documents and storing them on my laptop and external hard drive as backups so in case I lose my physical papers, I have digital copies to reference or print later.
What do you guys do? What's your crazy system? Any disastrous stories about losing everything or saving your own ass through preparation?