to ask you what paperwork you keep in your important document file if you have one

[zoflora]

Just bought one of these concertina document files ad I have put in the following

Birth certificates
Passports
Medical cards
Information on injections
Insurance documents
Copies of degrees/diplomas if small enough to fit in

So what else - I don't want to stuff it with paperwork - just the stuff that it can be vital to find quickly. I no longer have passbook based bank accounts otherwise that would be another one

Would appreciate advice from the organised as I'm not great at this kind of thing

I keep my Tax stuff in a polypocket for each tax year i.e. P45s, P60s any letters from HMRC

Car documents
Mortgage statement

Utility account stuff - not the bills but the initial info and the password/usernames which I can never remember.
Car stuff - MOT/Service documents, V10.
Employment stuff - P60/P45, payslips (relevant for pension info), contract.
Receipts for big ticket items in case of proof needed for insurance claims.

I reclaimed a 1930's style metal filing cabinet from a tip, its HUGE, big enough to run a small company out of (including desk!) and its full... of all the things I used to keep in a small concertina file. Time for a declutter I think.

Ooh Aldi - I would love a filing cabinet but DH says it would justfill up with crap.
Maybe he has a point

I think what you've got is fine. The only additional thing I have in my important documents file is my original transcripts and certification of degrees.

Oh, I don't have my glasses on, as you have already listed your degree certificates. As you were...

Trying to make sure I have right terminology on it - and we have slightly different names for things, and sometimes different stuff, here over the water:

Personal id stuff - birth certs, (baptism certs), marriage certs, passports etc
School, college, other certs of courses and qualifications etc
Medical history stuff -Dr names, vaccnination records, any notes of procedures/allergies/bloodgroups if known etc (just highlights of med history really), drugs payment scheme cards, copy of an old prescription (I have inhalers I need)
Important tax etc stuff - P60s, P45s, tax certs, social security no.s (National Insurance? We have PPS nos here),
House stuff - mortgage holder details, annual mortgage statement, solicitor details, any major works done/defects identified/surveys carried out...
Car registration details - log book, MOT history etc
Utility account nos
Bank account details - current, credit card, savings etc
Any other savings/shares - certs if have them, just a note of what we have
Insurances - health, house, car, life, mortgage cover, travel etc
List of emergency contact numbers and emails (major family members, reliable friends, school, creche, work, etc)
[Receipts for "big ticket" items have a spot too - although not in the emergency grabbable box]
I also keep our loyalty cards for the various travel/hotel groups there too

Thanks Biddy - I like the term "emergency grabbable box."That's what I'm trying to create rather than a system for all paperwork (which of course I'll sort out some day)