Today's mission is to fill out this free printable most important contact list template. It should take you less than 15 minutes because it's only your top 5 most important people whose information you should know even if your electronic records completely failed.
This form is designed to be used during the Organize Contact Information Challenge here on the site, which is part of the 52 Week Organized Home Challenge.
I've provided printables for several parts of this challenge, if you want them, although some people choose to keep all this information electronically, because they don't want to create more paper clutter.
In general I think that is completely fine, and can in some instances work better then keeping all contact information completely in paper form.
But one of the few times during this challenge I really say, "you really need to do this," as opposed to "I suggest you do this," is now. So fill out this simple form below.
Why? Because we've all had our smart phone battery die, or lose our phone, or the computer or laptop hard drive to fizzle.
No system is perfect, and electronic methods of organization have their dangers.
And yes, you can and should have back ups for that information electronically, so you say, "no big deal, I don't need this. I have an electronic back up."
My question to you is, have you ever restored from a back up? It can and often does work, but it can be a pain in the butt. Just think of this little one page piece of paper as the back up to the back up.
Until you can restore all the contact information from a back up, you've got the most important people's contact information listed on this one page of paper so you don't have to sweat while you go through the steps of restoring everything, or can plug in your phone to recharge, or . . . you name it.
Now that I've hopefully convinced even the most die-hard anti-paper people to just list these people, here's instructions for how to use this form.
First, whose information should you put in here? You will know the answer to that better than I would, which is why the form is generic, but suggestions includes spouse and kids' numbers, along with frequently called numbers for your work, other family, and friends.
This isn't quite the same as your emergency contact list, but if you feel like having your doctor's number, or something similar is important, put it down. You make your priorities of what is most important to you.
Make two copies of this form. Keep one in your household notebook, and the other somewhere folded up in your purse or wallet. Just do it and you might thank yourself later!
Click here to get your printable
(opens into new window, as PDF)
Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.
The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!
Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.
Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.
In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.
If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!
Right now you're decluttering your papers and files, and there's a lot of types and varieties of these around your home.
I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.
In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!
Here are several additional articles and printables on the site that you may find helpful:
Password Organizer Form |
Monthly Bill Organizer Worksheet |
Daily To Do List |
Share Your Comments, Tips & Ideas
I would love to hear from you, sharing your thoughts, questions, or ideas about this topic, so leave me a comment below. I try to always respond back!