It’s time to roll in the New Year. Have you made your resolutions yet? How about preparing your family as best you can in case of any emergencies? After having lost our home in the wildfire of 2017, I’d like to discuss the importance of an emergency binder and share how I put ours together in hopes that you might consider doing the same. The goal of the emergency binder is to help take some of the load off during a moment of shock or panic.

Hindsight is 20 / 20

I’m an extremely organized person by nature. Everything has its place and I like it that way. I appreciate knowing where something is rather than having to search for it, and I prefer a calm space that isn’t chaotic and cluttered. So I always imagined that, first of all, something like losing our home to a wildfire would never happen to us, but if it did, I would be calm and collected and know exactly what to grab and take with me.

People love to say, “If that were me, I would…” Yeah, well, it’s very easy to sit on the other side of a tragedy and say what you would have done perfectly in hindsight. Take a look at Alec Baldwin‘s current headlines. How many people have felt the need to chime in with what they would have done in his situation and how they would have prevented that tragedy?

Let me tell you, it’s a whole other thing to actually experience something firsthand and in the moment. You can’t predict the future, and when you are in an emergency situation, you experience panic, shock, trauma, and a plethora of emotions. Your thoughts are clouded. Your logic is out the window. You need a guide. Why not give yourself a helping hand and create one?

When we experienced our wildfire, what I did in reality was run around in a daze not knowing what to take with me. I ended up only bringing one of Ember’s new toys from her birthday just a few days prior—a large teddy bear from my grandma. My husband was a little clearer-minded and he thought to grab our bill folder and laptop, but he said it took him a while to come to that conclusion also.

Why We Should All Have an Emergency Binder

I never expected to be the victim of such a tragedy. I don’t think any of us think that things like that could truly happen to us. But the reality is, they sometimes do. Looking back on that whole experience, it’s crazy to me that the one thing I saved (besides my daughter and animals) was a stuffed animal. But that is the perfect example of how difficult it can be to think clearly when so much pressure is suddenly thrust upon your shoulders and emotion clouds your thoughts.

I remember going to a store the next morning in our smoky pajamas that we had escaped in to buy basic items. We had nothing at that point—not a toothbrush, not a change of clothes, no diapers or wipes, nothing. It was insane to stop and think about how much we needed. The bill folders that Lane had thought to save contained important legal documents such as our marriage license and Ember’s birth certificate. Having these items saved us tremendous time and the stress of having to remember or replace those along with everything else.

An emergency binder won’t buy you enough time to grab everything you want to save. It won’t prevent tragedy from striking. But it will help you to focus on the things you need to know, do, or grab in the immediacy of an emergency. So give yourself a helping hand and create one while you are not in a state of emergency, while you are clear-headed.

The Inspiration Behind Our Emergency Binder

About a year after our fire, I watched a show where the main character’s husband died in a tragic accident. She was suddenly left alone to care for her two kids, and she started spiraling. Then she remembered the binder she had created for such incidents—an emergency binder. It was meticulously organized with divider tabs, color-coded sections, and all the important documents you might need in one place. Obviously, we all hope that we never have to experience any such tragedy, but what if you do? Wouldn’t it be nice to have the peace of mind that you are prepared (at least on paper) to handle it?

Because I want everyone to have an emergency binder, I want to make this as easy as possible. In this six-part series, I will walk you step-by-step through the process of creating your very own emergency binder. I will provide examples of how mine is set up, what’s included, and what it looks like. You can change any portion to fit your needs, but I hope this provides a jumping off point for you. Hang in there—you can do this, and you will feel so much better once you have it completed. 

What You Will Need to Create Your Own Emergency Binder

Before you get your hands dirty creating your own emergency binder, you can prepare by purchasing the following: 

1. a binder
   • consider red since it suggests “emergency,” but any color is fine (mine is teal)
   • 1″ thickness (plenty of room, but not overwhelmingly huge)
   • I also recommend getting a binder with a closable pocket on the inside of the front cover. This is useful to keep important documents in (alternatively, you could also put such documents in sheet protectors)
2. divider tabs
   • I got a pack of eight, but have not used them all (it really depends on how simplified you want finding something to be)
3. sheet protectors

Next Time…

…we will go over the Front Matter, which includes the Cover Page, Important Contacts, Table of Contents, and the documents to include in the front interior pocket of your emergency binder. See you next time!