Where to put possibly-needed emergency info?

[cojo]

Great ideas all! Thank you very much. I think I will go with at least a business card in my wallet, but I will forward the email to myself so it's on my phone just in case.

Coincidentally, I'm currently on a project to consolidate and update all of my emergency information. I am keeping sheets taped to the wall on each floor of my house with family and emergency phone numbers, but I always thought "if I update them, what if i miss one?" I agree with the poster who said it's a good idea to have multiple copies, plus a "master list" of where all the copies exist so you can check them off for replacement as you update.

[Jamie Elis]

Make keeping up to date a project and also have a checklist that includes cueing the parent for updates regarding kid's activities as they wind down and new ones start.

If the kid has a cell phone, your numbers should be in it.

[Rolf F. Katzenberger]

So, now I'm holding a sheet of paper that I may not need for days, weeks, or months. But if I do need it, it should be handy (no shuffling papers, searching through files, etc). I'm thinking it should not be electronically stored, in case I'm not at my computer when she calls. But I don't want it cluttering up my purse/briefcase all the time. I'm perplexed where to put it. Maybe my car glove compartment?

Do other people have papers like this? Where do they go in your system?

I've reserved the color RED for a limited amount of items that I may need in cases of emergency. E.g., I've got two red boxes, ready to be grabbed, containing everything I'd want to bring out of the house in case of a fire.

Following that approach, I'd suggest you use a red container (envelope, folder or whatever is needed) to hold the amount of sheets you mentioned. Consider your contexts and prepare identical red containers for every context where the information is mandatory. When you need to update any of the contained items, update all containers.

[Frank Buck]

While there is something to be said for storing the information on multiple places, if you have to update it, that means updating it in multiple places as well and needing some means of keeping up with where all of those places are. Otherwise, when you see the information, you can't be sure it's the latest version. My idea is to keep the information in one place that you can get to from anywhere. I keep that sort of thing in an Outlook Note and sync it to my BlackBerry.

Frank Buck
http://FrankBuck.blogspot.com

[Oogiem]

While there is something to be said for storing the information on multiple places, if you have to update it, that means updating it in multiple places as well and needing some means of keeping up with where all of those places are. Otherwise, when you see the information, you can't be sure it's the latest version. My idea is to keep the information in one place that you can get to from anywhere. I keep that sort of thing in an Outlook Note and sync it to my BlackBerry.

True but the main reason for multiple copies is backup followed by access when machines are down. What happens if your Blackberry is stolen or broken or your machine is unavailable?

By keeping critical data in more than one place you are more certain that a copy will be around in case you really need it.