Simple Personal Organization with a Shoebox

The origins of the Shoe Box concept

Concept of “Shoe box” is something I have learned from my father.  I remember that, as a kid that he had this shoe box, it was full of papers and it was kept away from me.  His very own folder. Back than I didn’t know why it was important, but the fact I didn’t have the access to it, and it represented a mistery to me. That’s what made it exciting in my own mind. It was always sparking my childish curiosity.

Years later, I adopted this very same concept and it turned out to be a life saver! Funny how we pick up a lot of our parents habits, but this one I particulary like.

So what is actually “Shoe box”?

This is just a concept, a concept where you group all of your important things in one place. It’s your backup, in case of something bad happens. For some people it will be Evernote, for others it will be box or safe in their house. For me it’s both of the previously mentioned. It’s my peace of mind.

What goes into it?

All the important stuff went here: documents and papers (like birth certificate and passports), backup money (cash for emergencies),  and other crucial things… I can’t even remember what he used to hold there, but I liked the concept so much that I implemented it myself and expanded on it.

In addition to the things mentioned, I started collecting all sorts of important stuff in my “shoe box”. Bills and warranties for any expensive device that I bought, contracts signed, household and cell phone bills.

What I noticed was, whenever I’ve put something important in safe box, I would feel at ease with myself.  I have gave over a huge portion of thinking, by leveraging the safe box as a mind tool, rather than the actual tool.

It’s significance is the brain power that we release when we group our thoughts in physical form and when we make sense of things.  Some of the other ingredients of the shoe box consist of a leather wallet for that emergency money I’ve mentioned or an envelope, where I’ve led my finance, until I went paperless. Now I am using Numbers for my financial records.

What am I putting in it:

1. Passport
2. Various contracts (for ISP, phone, bank…)
3. Bills and warranties (of valuable items, like refridgerator, computer, gadgets…)
4. Physical copy of serial keys for purchused apps that I use on regular basis.
5. Personal documents
6. Less frequently used Credit Cards

Ofcourse when you keep all of these important informations in one place, it should always come to your mind that there are security risks involved. My concerns aren’t that great, because I live in a safe neibourghood, but if you aren’t, think of a safe spot for your “shoe” box.

Do you have something similar in your life? Did you ever consider making somethingl like that for you and your family?