I’ll be the first to admit that I am one of those annoying people who is naturally organized and likes keeping good records. I love spreadsheets, templates and cute printables.
It’s probably nerdy, but I have no shame. I still have my planners from high school. Still unashamed.
Things I Saved from My Childhood
- Planners
- Diaries
- Yearbooks
- Book Reports
- Awards
Total nerd.
Anyway, there have been several times when my nerd ways have come in handy. Times when we need a random bit of information, and I have it at my fingertips.
So, here is one nerd’s list of things you should keep a record of.
6 Things to Keep Records Of
- Apartment & House History
If you’ve ever been asked to fill out a form with your addresses for the past 10 years, you know a record like this would come in handy. I keep a Word document with my and my husband’s information: the name of the apartment complex if applicable, address, phone number of office, dates lived there. - Work History
Why is it job applications want you to list every place you’ve worked since birth? Once you’ve been in the workforce for a while, it’s hard to remember some of those details. I also keep a Word document for this that lists: employer name and address; my job title(s); my last supervisor’s name, phone number and email address; dates worked; and starting and ending pay. (On an unrelated note, you don’t have to list how much you were paid on job applications. If an online application requires a number, just use something obviously incorrect like $1.) - Vehicle Repairs
I have to admit, I am the stereotypical woman who knows next to nothing about cars. So I definitely don’t remember what repairs we have done to my truck or when they occurred. That’s why I created an Excel spreadsheet to log, for both of our vehicles, the date we had something repaired, what the repair was, what the vehicle mileage was and who did the repair. My husband and dad ask me questions like this all the time, and I enjoy not looking clueless. - License Plate Numbers
Here is another quick tip for you in regard to your vehicle’s license plate numbers. Just snap a picture of your license plates and store it either in your phone or a record-keeping app like DropBox or Evernote. (I keep ours in Dropbox.) - Social Security Numbers
I obviously have my Social Security Number memorized, and even my husband’s, but I gave up after I started having kids. I took a picture of my daughter’s Social Security Card and also keep it stored on my phone in case I need it to fill out paperwork. - User Manuals
Did you know that most products you buy have an electronic version of the user manual online? Instead of keeping a million hard-copy user manuals in my house, first I look for an online version and save it to a Dropbox folder that my husband and I can access. So handy when something tears up.
Keeping good records saves me so much time and sanity. I hope this list gives you some ideas for things you can create records for that will make your life easier.