What Color Is Your Binder?

What do three sisters, one in her fifties, one in her sixties and one in her seventies talk about when they get together? All the usual stuff – what new medications we’re on, the price of hearing aid batteries, the silly things millennials do, and recently, organizing our “affairs.” And after recognizing that we aren’t getting any younger, our thoughts naturally turned to what we affectionately refer to as “the green binder”, which is where our father had his estate organized right down to the last detail. Its been several years since the green binder has been opened, but its legacy lives on for each sister in a different way.

Big Sis’ Story

When my cousin asked me to be the executrix of his estate, I immediately and naively agreed. He was single with no children, his only relatives were living several miles away and after all, how hard could it be? I was a complete novice but I quickly learned on the job. In fact, I could probably write a blog post!

Thankfully, Dad was always available to offer advice and a guiding hand, which included:

• keep accurate, dated and detailed records related to anything dealing with the estate
• keep a separate accurate, dated record of any financial transactions (are you seeing a pattern?)
• make several copies of all important documents such as the death certificate, and the will.
• don’t hesitate to get legal advice

I could probably fill this page with all of his suggestions. If nothing else, Dad was thorough and methodical, so much so that he could have probably written a book on the subject. If you knew him, you are probably smiling and nodding.

By the time both he and Mom passed away,I was a “veteran executrix” but I would have been lost without that green binder. It was so complete that at times, I felt he was looking over my shoulder, telling me what I needed to do next. If I had a problem the answer was probably somewhere in that binder, and on one occasion, his attention to the smallest detail helped settle a potential family conflict.

Of course this means that I am obligated to compile a similar gift for my children, because, that is what it was…. a treasured, timely and thoughtful gift. I am proud to report that I have started gathering documents, (Dad would love that!) but I must admit that it’s still a work in progress.

In case you are wondering…..my binder is blue.

Middle Sis’ Story

It was the threat of forest fires in our area that got me thinking about what I would take if we were in a situation where we had to leave our house quickly. After I made a rough list in my head, I decided that it was time to get this information organized for real. This quickly brought memories of Dad’s green binder to the fore and I realized that this was a big job and I needed some guidance to be sure I included all that was necessary.

After some online investigation I settled on a template called “What If” for putting together my binder (which is also blue by the way). After completing the basics, I recognized that I needed lots of detailed information about bank accounts, passwords, insurance policies etc. After some frustration with not being able to track down some of what I needed, I decided to take a break. Big mistake… aside from a few anemic attempts to get started again, my “What If?” binder sat on the shelf.

That is until recently, when Big Sis recommended a book called “4000 Weeks: Time Management For Mortals.” It would be understandable if you are thinking this book gave me some time management tips, like get up 30 minutes earlier or block out a time each day to work on this project, to get me inspired. But you would be wrong. The message that got me kick started, was that, if you live to be 80, you have approximately 4000 weeks of living to do. Given that I am approaching 70 years old, according to the book, I only have about 520 weeks left out of that 4000 (although I do plan on living until at least 90 which does give me a bit of wiggle room😂), so time to get going on this. This book also reminded me that there was another very important reason for doing my “What If? ” binder…. making sure that our children have all the information they need to deal with our estate.

Happily, I can report that I have revisited my “What If” blue binder and it is taking shape. (Dad would love that!) I’m sure he is breathing a sigh of relief from above. Now, if I could only remember where I put the safety deposit box key…

Little Sis’ Story

To be honest I really never gave binder preparation much thought until it became a discussion among the three of us. I always thought, that in the words of Irene Cara, 🎵” I’m going to live forever”.🎵 There is certainly some irony in those words. Well, I guess its time to start thinking because before you know it…. you get the picture

My biggest concern about my binder is not so much what would go in it, but rather the color, and the presentation, because “presentation really is everything.” (By the way, I am the creative one in the family, and sometimes a bit of a rebel.) That’s why I made the brave decision not to have a blue or green binder. Nope. I’m going to do my own thing.

Initially I thought that aqua marine, or an egg shell white might be a nice color for my binder, but then I remembered how much I like purple. I think a nice neon purple will do the trick, and some stickers. Not sure where I will get a neon purple binder, but I am sure if I go to my favorite place, Amazon, they will have something. I could most likely get some cute stickers there as well, maybe some flowers or puppy dogs. I’ll have to take a look.

As far as the content goes, not really sure. I do have a “sort of” plan, though. First, I am going to spend all my money on Amazon, and so that my banking info won’t be compromised I will use Big Sis’ account. Then, I am going to have a huge garage sale, and sell everything at rock bottom prices. (Its not every day you can find a reasonably priced set of pots, pans, and other assorted cookware that I never used.)

But I digress. Back to the binder. Any content of course will be neatly organized, with the necessary table of contents etc. Or maybe I will throw in a Power Point presentation or Excel spreadsheet. Maybe even a holographic image of me holding a neon purple note book talking to you about stuff. There are so many choices

This of course is all subject to change, and maybe I will follow in the footsteps of my two partners in crime, and have a really organized binder. (Dad would love that!) Then again I might leave an empty binder with just a picture of Hubby, Biscuit and I, to preserve for eternity all the good times we had together. Stay tuned.

We plan on doing a new post every Monday so stay tuned for our next one entitled “Time To Move On.”