Organize for an Emergency: 5 Tips To Get Your Home Insurance Buttoned Up!

In recognition of September’s Emergency Preparedness Month, I found a great article by Guru Sarah Welch of Buttoned Up that I wanted to share.

Homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance is a necessity; it covers you for unexpected occurrences ranging from robberies to fires.

However, when it comes to assessing whether or not you have adequate coverage, the devil is in the details. For example, did you know that the majority of these plans do not cover floods or earthquakes or that some cover fire damage but not wildfire damage? With more and more extreme cases of weather and natural disasters, it is more important than ever to review your coverage and be certain that you have the best level of protection you can get given your budget constraints.

Here are 5 tips for getting your home insurance organized.

1. Watch What You Claim

Did you know that if you keep making small claims over and over, you may exhaust your insurance funds more quickly than you anticipated or be dropped from the plan? It may also cause your premiums significantly increase, in which case paying for that roof repair out of your pocket may be smarter financially. Look carefully at your plan before you make a claim or talk to your agent to find out all of the nitty gritty details on small claims and their effect on your coverage.

Valuables.doc by Buttoned Up - available at www.TheSimplifiedHome.net

2. Take Inventory

Do you know exactly what is in your home? First of all, write down from memory everything of value in your living room from electronics to DVDs. Now take that list to the living room. Did you remember it all? Now imagine doing that for your entire home after a fire rips through your home. Everyone has valuables; they are so much more than just artwork or televisions. Think about your CD’s, iPods, clothing, outerwear, golf clubs, Corningware, picture frames.  They are all valuable and worth something. Go through your home and take an inventory of everything in your house room by room. Take photos, keep the proofs of purchase for anything in your home over $200, get appraisals done on all luxury items like jewelry, and keep it all in an easy to grab binder that you can take with you at a moment’s notice. The other reason this step is important is you may find that you are carrying insurance for $25,000 worth of goods in your home, but actually have close to $50,000 worth of items in the house. You can also hire an insurance appraiser to go through your home after you take inventory if you would like. At the bare minimum, however, having the inventory log of the valuables in your home will get you a lot more in reimbursement if the worst does occur.

3. Determine Exactly What IS Covered

Insurance packets and their corresponding websites are not written for the layperson. They can be highly confusing, full of legal mumbo-jumbo, and contain asterisked scenarios such as “If your home is damaged in a fire you are covered for X amount of dollars.”* The small print under the asterisk then clarifies along the lines of *Note: Unless you own a red car, a monkey, or have ever eaten at Dale’s Deli.” These papers can be overwhelming, so schedule an appointment with your agent and discuss the ins and outs of your current coverage. To make the conversation easier, bring your valuables binder to talk about your home inventory, and discuss events that aren’t covered by your current plan, like sewage, hurricane, flood, earthquake, etc.

4. Equip and Prepare

Owning Insurance is one piece of the puzzle, but you can also take insurance into your own hands with proper emergency planning and preparation. For example, if you live in an area that has frequent wildfires, you should clear the brush around your property on a regular basis.  You may also want to consider applying a coat or two of fire deterrent paint.  If you live in a hurricane prone area, do you have proper roofing reinforcements and windows installed? Even if you don’t live in an area with extreme weather, simply having an alarm system means fire departments will be quickly alerted of flames and police of burglaries. These safety defenses also have an added bonus: they can lower your insurance rates dramatically.

5. Have an Insurance Assessor on Deck:

Keep the contact information of a trusted insurance assessor who is not affiliated with your insurance provider in your valuables inventory log. If you ever need to file a claim, have that third party assess your damage immediately. Your insurance company is going to do the same and they will try to pay you back as little as possible. Cover your bases and fight back by having another professional document the claim and cost so you get what you rightfully deserve. Your home is your safe haven, your livelihood. You should do everything you can to protect those assets by planning ahead.

We love Buttoned Up products and carry a wide variety in The Simplified Home. Here are a couple that I recommend for organizing home records and paper so you have what you need at your fingertips in the event of an emergency.

Life.doc - The only complete system for organizing all of your critical information in one spot.

The Life.doc binder by Buttoned Up will guide you through the process of capturing your critical information so it’s ready when you need it. Give yourself and your family peace of mind.

Learn more about Life.doc

Receipt.catcher – your receipts buttoned up.

The perfect spot for all those pesky receipts.

When it’s time to pay the taxes, balance your checkbook or return an item, you’ll know where it find the receipts when you use the convenient and compact Receipt.Catcher.

It includes nine tabbed sections that make it easy to classify receipts now and find them again later.

Learn more about Receipt.catcher

Collision.kit – The ONLY kit that ensures you have everything you need to accurately capture the details surrounding any car accident.

If you’ve ever been in a car accident, you know how critical it is to remember and document the facts after the accident. But when you’re shaken and upset it’s easy to leave the scene without complete information. Collision.kit from Buttoned Up ensures you have everything you need to record the details of the incident.

Learn more about Collision.kit

Pocket.doc – The ONLY perfectly portable record book for your essential information.

The Pocket.doc provides simple to fill out forms that easily fit into a wallet, purse or backpack. So you have critical emergency, medical, and contact information when and where you need it. 

Learn more about Pocket.doc

Originally posted 2009-09-28 15:13:52. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

How to Set-up a System to Keep Important Life Documents in One Place

How many times have you torn apart your house trying to find an important document? Often times these documents contain important pieces of your life that need to be in easy access, especially in an emergency. For most people organizing the documents and items that make up our lives is not a priority until there is a crisis. Then most will search frantically for the needed information only to waste time and increase stress.  Take it from a Professional Organizer who has worked with hundreds of clients who put this uneccessary stress upon themselves because they haven’t been proactive to design a system or were not aware that there are ready-made products available that will solve these paper clutter issues. Before the next crisis, set up a system to keep all your important documents in one place.

Ahh … imagine the relief of immediately finding any piece of needed information in the exact location you expect it to be.  I searched and found a couple of great products/solutions that solve just this dillema for my clients. Each serve as a central repository for important life and family documents, designed to be kept in easy access.

LIFE.doc  is a ready-made binder by Buttoned Up to keep all of the critical information of your life together. Life.doc has eight tabbed sections designed to organize all of the pieces of information that are needed for most people to keep one’s personal life in control.

These eight sections that encompass the most critical areas of life are:

• family basics
• in sickness & in health
• insurance
• dollars & sense
• legal ease
• caregiver information
• home sweet home
• emergency plan

It also comes with an accompanying CD-ROM with interactive forms that work with Microsoft Word (PC or MAC) making it easy to complete forms digitally and save them to a computer.

This comprehensive and bright red sturdy binder composed of 120 pages of straightforward forms for easy access are a roadmap that make it painless to get organized.  Life.doc will give you and your family the peace of mind that whatever information that you may need will be easy to find. This is the way to make sure that your house stays in one piece the next time that you need to find a piece of your personal information.

The VALUABLES.doc is another way that you can keep the things that you need in your life in one place and inventoried. This is a complete kit that will make it easy for you to catalog and keep track of all of your belongings.

• Valuables.doc binder by Buttoned Up includes:
  Eight tabbed sections for you to record all of your valuables room-by-room
• Jewelry
• Collectibles
• Family/living room
• Kitchen
• Dining room
• Bedrooms
• Basement
• Other

So, if and when disaster may strike in your life, (remember Hurricane Katrina?) you will have the necessary documentation to recoup the loss of many of the valuable keepsakes in your life.

POCKET.doc

The Pocket.doc provides simple to fill out forms that easily fit into a wallet, purse or backpack. So you have critical emergency, medical, and contact information when and where you need it.

The Pocket.doc by Buttoned Up includes:
Three sections to ensure that you have your emergency plan, medical information and important phone numbers when you need it. What’s great about this little record book is that it is the size of a credit card and easily fits in wallets, backpacks, glove compartments and briefcases.

Perfect for busy families on the go.

Each of these products would make a practical gift for your loved ones.

Visit The Simplified Home to learn more and to purchase.

Originally posted 2009-10-22 16:18:22. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Moving On? … May is Moving Month

Spring is here! Time to dust the cobwebs, polish the windows, and clean out the clutter. It’s also Moving Month. If you’re pondering buying a new home or selling your current one, read on for some great stress-free moving tips.

CONSIDER ‘STAGING’ YOUR HOME

Staging is one of the services that is requested often. In fact, much of the staging process involved in decluttering a space, for which a Professional Organizer is well qualified to provide this service.

This process of neutralizing, decluttering, organizing, and beautifying allows potential buyers to picture themselves living in the house by tapping into their emotions. Staging also starts the “letting go” process for the seller, as they transform their beloved home to a more neutral-looking home. Staging will help you sell your home quickly, at best possible price.

PLAN YOUR MOVE DATE AT LEAST FOUR TO SIX WEEKS AHEAD

The most popular times for moves include May through September and the very beginning and end of each month. So if you’re hiring a moving company, keep these peak times in mind, and contact them soon. Call family and friends for trusted mover recommendations, or contact Angie’s List.

GATHER YOUR SUPPLIES

Create a moving supplies kit that you can move from space to space throughout the packing process. Include lots of tape, packing supplies, bold markers, box cutter, colored stickers for labeling boxes, and inventory list, trash bags, sorting labels like “PACK”, “CHARITY”, “FOR OTHERS”, etc.

START PACKING SELDOM-USED ITEMS NOW

Ask your grocery store to set aside cardboard boxes for you. Pack heavier items in smaller boxes and lighter items in larger boxes.

ORGANIZE and INVENTORY YOUR BOXES

Here’s a great Franklin Covey Moving Kit by Buttoned Up to help you get organized. I have used this planner with clients and it is very helpful for keeping all the details organized and in one place.

Number each box and label which room it belongs in. Keep a separate list indicating the box number and its contents. When you get to your destination, unpack everything as soon as possible.

COMPLETE CHANGE-OF-ADDRESS FORMS

And be sure to update important documents which include address and phone number (driver’s license, checks, etc.) Bring your current phone books to your new home in case you need to contact people in your old town. This can now be done on-line through the USPS.

MOVE VALUABLES YOURSELF

Irreplaceable family photos, heirlooms, and financial and legal documents should be packed and transported by you instead of your moving company.

Originally posted 2010-05-11 14:04:27. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Ten Steps to Organizing a Downsizing Move

It’s true that our sluggish economy is keeping many people in their current home who desire to downsize to smaller quarters, because they fear not being able to sell their home. There is actually so much you can do during this economic downturn to prepare for the downsizing move, so when the economy begins to recover, you’re ready to take action. A downsizing move requires a different mindset than likely any other move you’ve experienced. The concept for a downsizing move is to determine how little you need to live a  more simplified life. Here are steps you can take now to prepare for a future move:

1. MAKE A PLAN

Moving requires a great deal of organization details and logistical coordination to happen smoothly. Establish a move binder to hold all checklists, a journal to record details of phone calls, deadlines, measurements, decisions to make, and much much more.  We just moved during the holidays and I found a great move organizer called the Moving.Kit by Buttoned Up.  This was my ‘go-to’ place for all details regarding the move. The Moving.Kit includes six sections to help you to move smoothly through the move process and lots of checklist for tracking your progress, like change of address forms, delegation lists, stickers for important boxes, a move time-line and more.

 2. START SORTING NOW

Sorting through possessions can be overwhelming, but is a necessity to accomplish a downsizing move. Pick one area to start with: the bedroom closet; the kitchen cabinets; your files. An hour or two a day is enough time to spend. The important thing is to begin.
 
3. WHAT DO I DO WITH MY STUFF?

Starting early allows you to find the right home for items that are not going with you. Now is the time to give the books to the library for their book sale; to find out whether or not your daughter wants grandma’s china; to see if the consignment shop will take the silver. There are many different ways to dispose of your items: antique dealers, consignment shops, yard sales, non-profits, etc. Each resource has its’ own guidelines. Don’t assume for example, that the local Goodwill wants your old exercise equipment (they don’t). Call and check.
 
4. MAKE A FLOOR PLAN

As soon as you know where you are going, make a floor plan. Cut out templates and arrange them on your floor plan. This will allow you to visualize where your furniture will fit and prevent you from taking too many pieces with you.
 
5. INVENTORY YOUR STAPLES

About a month before your move, take stock of paper products, canned goods and items in your freezer. Begin using up as much as possible. If you have too many items, consider donating them to the local food pantry.
 
6. NOTIFYING EVERYONE

Make a list of everyone who needs to know about your move: post office; utilities and other services; creditors and everyone you do business with, friends, relatives, on-line services, neighbors and organizations for which you belong.
 
7. DESIGNATE A “DO NOT TOUCH” SPACE

Several days ahead of time, set aside items that you will need the day of the move in a spot you have reserved. Items you might wish to include are: an overnight bag packed with a change of clothes and personal items (toiletries, medications); important papers; sheets and towels; basic tools (screw driver, hammer, flashlight); cleaning supplies (sponges, paper towels, cleanser); kitchen needs (snacks and drinks, disposable plates and cups, folding chair). Also include whatever form of payment the moving company requests. Most moving companies will not accept a personal check.
 
8. TAKE CARE OF THE MOVERS

Plan to have something cold for the crew to drink. They will appreciate it and will often take better care of you throughout the move process.

9. GET HELP IF YOU NEED IT

After helping my grandparents coordinate a downsizing move twice in a five year period, then dispursing my grandmother’s estate after her death, I felt a passion for helping the senior population through this transition. I incorporated into my Organizing services helping to coordinate downsizing moves in my local community (Indianapolis). I joined a wonderful national organization that lists its members – Senior Move Managers like me, throughout the country.  The organization is the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) and can be found on-line at: http://www.nasmm.org/.  By visiting the NASMM website, you can find a Senior Move Manager that services your area.
 
10. A DIFFICULT TIME or OPPORTUNITY for a SIMPLIFIED LIFE?

It goes without saying ~ moving is a difficult time for everyone at any age. It is hard to leave a home you have lived in for many years with all its’ memories. Moving is a transition and all transitions contain an element of loss. You are saying goodbye to part of your life. Expect to feel some grief along with your excitement and anxiety.

Originally posted 2009-02-06 12:50:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

BLOGMANIA – Let’s Get Organized!!! Theme

********** BLOGMANIA IS NOW CLOSED  **********

Thank you to all who visited The Organizing Genie and who entered our giveaway!! Winners have been chosen and contacted.

********************************************

Oh I am so excited to be participating in BLOGMANIA! As you might imagine, here on The Organizing Genie blog our theme is … LET’S GET ORGANIZED! Our prize package is a dream come true for every busy woman, wife, daughter or mother!

Here’s what’s included in our “LET’S GET ORGANIZED” prize package valued at more than $100 from The Simplified Home …

Mom, Can I Help Around the House, A Simple Step-by-Step System for Teaching Your Children Life-Long Skills for Pitching In and Picking Up

The COUPONIZER – coupon organizing system

 

 

POCKET.DOC by Buttoned Up
 

LOC-A-SOK – sock grippers for keeping socks matched in laundry

Practical Organizing Themed Post-it Notes Set

ALL OUT OF Grocery Shopping Organizer Pad

Home Organization Secrets for Busy Moms e-Book  

 

All of these great organizing products are offered courtesy of The Simplified Home!  

To Enter:

1. Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect.

2. Visit The Simplified Home and then post a comment here telling me which product you like the best.

3. Live in US or Canada

Bonus Entries:

1. Follow me on Twitter
2. Like The Simplified Home Fan Page on Facebook.
3. Join our list and receive our special report Shelf Life of 100+ Common Household Items (green sign-up box above right)
4. Subscribe to The Organizing Genie blog feed

NOTE: Your entry is not valid if entry requirements above are not followed. BLOGMANIA ends on September 16, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. The winners will be selected by random.org and contacted by email and will have 48 hours to reply back before a new winner is selected. Good luck!!

To visit more BlogMania blogs, see the full list below:




Originally posted 2010-09-14 23:24:36. Republished by Blog Post Promoter