Yesterday, I opened the cabinet door beneath my kitchen sink to retrieve some dish soap. For the next 10 minutes I found myself on the kitchen floor organizing a pile of loose plastic grocery bags – hundreds of them.

I know you may feel like chastising me for even using the plastic bags at all. Why don’t I use the the new fabric reusable grocery bags that all the grocery stores are touting? I know they may be better for the environment, but honestly, those bags are plastic-gold to me. Odd yes, but true. I am admittedly in the midst of a deep, passionate love affair with the linear-low density polyethylene film bag. Here are some reasons why:

25 Brilliant Uses for Plastic Grocery Bags
Read this informative article to find out 25 ways you can recycle plastic grocery bags! They make a variety of things, from knee protectors to parachutes!

But, my shear joy for the dual-handle plastic grocery bag is not the true focus of this post… No, I must find a proper home for this revolutionary domestic resource!

I personally went with the “nifty” plastic grocery bag storage solution below and couldn’t be happier with it. No more cluttered grocery bag mess under my sink!

Nifty:

 Form and function… A proper home for my little bundles of joy!

Thrifty:

Not as flashy, but fully functional…

Super Thrifty:

Kinda’ ugly and involves some work, but hey, it does the job…

Make A Plastic Bag Storage Sack

Thanks to Chris Gardner (http://chrismgardner.com) for this budget bag storage option.

“As soon as you’re born you start dying… So you might as well have a good time.” Cake – Sheep Go To Heaven

It’s clear that it is an unavoidable, certain fact that we all die. I used to fear dying outright, but as I’ve grown older and now have a couple of children, that fear has changed. It’s a more practical fear now. Don’t get me wrong, the fear of dying is still there, though it’s not so much a fear of dying itself. These days I find myself being more afraid of leaving my young children behind. Am I prepared to die? Heavy.

Today I’ll discuss a few key points to consider regarding some simple preperations for the inevitable big sleep. When done right, you can help to ease a difficult time for your loved ones. When done wrong or not at all, your loved ones may wish to raise you from the dead so they can kill you. After all, there are some loose ends that will need to be addressed after you pass into the unknown. Some basic organization and planning can make things a whole lot easier for those you leave behind.

The following are three key points to address prior to meeting your demise:

1. Life Insurance – Be sure you have life insurance (and the necessary amount of coverage). There is ample information available out there regarding policy types and coverage. Don’t forget to take into consideration your loved one’s current and planned future residential requirements, college, expenses, etc.
2. Legal – Have a current and up to date Last Will and Testament that clearly outlines your wishes. Setup a Power of Attorney and any Trusts as necessary. Speak to a lawyer (I know – yuck). Many of these services are covered under employer-sponsored legal service plans (check your benefits and availability – you could save a lot of money doing this). Don’t forget to research if you need a living will. It is almost always a good idea to have a living will.
3. Organize – If you have all your information together, your loved-ones will just rave about how easy you made things for them (not that you’ll really care I guess). Really, look at your pile of bills and that messy file cabinet… If you have stuff scattered all over and it’s hard for you to find, what do you think it will be like for your loved ones when they are already grief-stricken? If you must work with paper, prepare a binder of all important documents including copies of:

• Your Last Will and Testament, Living Will, and other legal documents
• Loan information
• List of credititors with all contact information (credit cards, home loans, auto loans, etc.)
• List of household utility bills and contact information
• List of important contacts (lawyer, doctor, accountant, etc.)
• Banking and investments information (checking, savings, 401k, etc.)
• Key medical information (you and your children)
• Social Security cards (you and children)
• Birth Certificates (you and children)
• Family health insurance
• Letters for loved ones
• Passwords and account information (ATM pins, internet accounts, email, etc.)
• Any special instructions you might have (where to find your stack of dirty magazines to get rid of)

Seal the information in a large envelope and give it to a trusted friend or loved one. I gave my copies to my brother who is also the Executor of my Last Will and Testament. It may also be best to keep a copy of everything in a safe deposit box.

**NOTE** I have organized all of these and more electronically using a simple program. All of the information with electronic copies of the documents is clearly organized and placed on a $10 flash drive. I will discuss this program and how I used it in a post in the next week…

I have to admit that I procrastinated for quite some time prior to doing this. It was always there in the back of my mind, nagging away. I knew I needed to do this. Realistically, it didn’t take very much to do get this all done. For me, less that $250 and less than a month to do it all (and definately not working the whole time). There is a peace of mind that came with doing all this… I no longer have that nagging feeling and I have some comfort in knowing my kids will be cared for.

Death is something the vast majority of us hope to avoid for a long, long time. It took me a couple of bad car accidents before I really became determined to get this stuff done. You owe it to your loved ones to put them in the best possible position after you depart. It doesn’t take much work to get this together – get it done.

Click here for Part II – Where to Organize Your Personal Information