House by the Preserve

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How to Build an Emergency Grab & Go Binder + FREE Printables!

Updated September 27th, 2022.

As hurricane Ian nears Florida and our family begins to prepares to hunker down in our home, I pulled out our emergency binder to make sure it has everything we need should anything were to happen.

It’s been years since I created this binder and I try to keep updating it as we receive important documents in the mail, but I have to admit I have not done a thorough review. Today was the first day I checked every single piece of paper in our binder. I’m so glad I did because I did notice that I had several pieces of information missing, like our life insurance policies. Eek!

It makes me feel so much better knowing that we can quickly grab this binder and it will include everything we need should we have to vacate our home quickly.

I hope the updated version helps you keep your family needs organized and gives you piece of mind knowing you are prepared

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In case of an emergency and you needed to leave your home quickly, do you know what you'll take with you? Do you have these things in a safe and easily accessible place? 

If you answered no to any of these questions, then now is the time to build your emergency grab and go binder. A grab and go binder is a binder filled with important documents that you can easily grab and go in an event of a dire emergency. And if you already have one, it's always good to review it at least once per year to make sure your documentation is updated with the latest information. 

Now, I know what you are thinking. Why not just keep this stuff in a safe? Well, in the event of an emergency and you have to leave your home quickly, do you really want to be lugging a safe around? I know I don't! 

**This post may contain affiliate links, please read my full disclosure here.**

What you need to create your own Emergency Grab and Go Binder:

  1. Binder

  2. Sheet Protectors


In order to help you organize all the documents that you may want to keep together, I've created a FREE download of 10+ cover pages to help put your binder together.

See this form in the original post

Documents to add to your Emergency Grab and Go Binder:

  1. Emergency Phone Numbers (family members, doctors, neighbors, home owner's insurance, etc.)

  2. Birth Certificates

  3. Passports

  4. Social Security Cards

  5. Marriage Certificate

  6. Home Owner's Insurance Information

  7. Copy of your Will

  8. Car Title / Vehicle ownership record

  9. Warranty Information for large ticket items (anything to help with home owner's insurance claims)

  10. High School and College Diplomas

  11. Home Improvements & Home Surveys

  12. Home Deed

  13. Health Records

  14. Life Insurance

  15. Vaccination Records

  16. Anything that you feel would be beneficial for you to have in case of an emergency and you no longer have access to your home. For example, we do most of our banking and financial transactions online, but if you don't, you may want to make a list of your account numbers, financial institutions phone numbers, etc.

The purpose of creating a binder like this is to help give you peace of mind that in the event of an emergency and you lose access to your home, by grabbing this binder, you'll have all of the information you need to help get you back on your feet.

Due to the sensitive material stores in the binder, you want to be sure to keep the binder in a secure and safe place that can be easily grabbed on your way out.

Do you keep anything like this in your home? Leave me a comment below and let me know what you keep in yours!

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