Managing My Universe-Part Two: Taming Uncle Sam

Back in July I blogged about my Home Management Binder aka“The Back Breaker”, now I’ll discuss my military specific binder.  For those that aren't aware The Spouse is the hottest airman on the planet (yes I’m bias).  Being a military family means we move a lot and have to maintain more paperwork than an accountant at tax time.  All that paperwork, dates, and chaos can consume a person.  I’ve found storing it all neatly in a binder helps tame the chaos and give the illusion that we are in some form or fashion in control of our life. 

I originally had a binder with everything just tossed into it, and then I decided with a move coming up I should update it a bit to make it more organized.  So I bought a new binder, printed up a nice new cover (The Spouse things the cover I have is corny, but I figure if I’m going to be his personal secretary sans pay I’m entitled to something a wee bit corny), and divided up the binder.  

Here is the cover (I think it’s rather cute, if you find it corny/lame/silly well :p I don’t care!)

Inside I have main tabs for PCS moves, Vital Information (copies of birth certificates and marriage license), and Awards & Certificates.  

 The first two tabs are probably self-explanatory as to why I would have those, but the third one may have you starching your head.  Well, the awards and certificates The Spouse earns are important and the military is great for “losing” documentation for completed training and ribbons earned.  I keep track of each certificate of completion and award that The Spouse is given so if, when, something is misplaced or lost in the system I can hand him over the proof that he needs to straighten out any inconsistencies in his record.  

 Also in our binder we have passports, calendars to ensure we don’t miss any important dates, and once we have them the binder will also houses our plane tickets.  

Why a binder?  It allows a one stop shop for all the needed information we have to have in order to ensure a smooth move and curb some of the military chaos that The Spouse will encounter over the course of his career.  It’s also only about an inch-inch and a half thick so it fits easily into a backpack ensuring I have easy access to it during our travels.  So there is no hunting for the passports, no accidently getting them packed into our checked luggage or worse our household goods (yes, this does in fact happen to military families every year!).  The last thing we ever want is to be stranded in an airport with no documentation, a strict timeline of when and where we need to be, and of course can’t get there because we've misplaced the information we need.  By being particular about these things now it will save us the headaches later, allowing us to focus on other things at that moment.  

If you’re a military family or have a lifestyle that involves lots of moving and/or paperwork how do you organize your chaos?  

Copyright(c)2012 Rayven Holmes