This week, Peter talks warranties & manuals. Keeping these and personal documents organized and in one place is such an important subject.

Peter’s Tip:
Usually when you need a warranty or product manual you need it NOW! Get into the habit of keeping all your warranties and manuals in one central location like a filing cabinet, tote or file in your kitchen or home office. Create a ‘Warranties’ folder on your home computer where you can store the electronic version of all warranties and manuals for quick reference. Regularly go through your files – paper or digital – to delete information on products or appliances that you no longer own.



Keep important documents in one place. One of my favorite Peter Walsh questions is: “Can you find your passport, birth certificate or marriage license or any other important documents in fifteen minutes or less?” If the answer is “no”, you’ve got some work to do.

So, get going! Find a document file that works for you. Gather your families important documents and put them in one safe place. Family emergencies happen, so get prepared.

If you have small children, its’ also a good idea to keep an emergency permission letter saved on your desktop that you can update and print at any time. I learned the hard way when I was in a summer baseball camp carpool with one of my best friends who was away for the day. Her son was hit in the head by a baseball and needed treatment. I was the emergency contact, but did not have a permission letter to have treatment administered at the emergency room. Why? Because we just didn’t think about it. Luckily, the camp office was not far from the hospital. They delivered the card and treatment was given to him. He was fine, but you can imagine that we had letters for each other by that night for camp and for any time other time that we took care of each others children after that.

Happy Organizing!
Mrs. O