Nothing like a good disaster to make you realize what your disaster plan should have contained.
I've recently reorganized my papers and electronic documents. I have a folder in the safe and on my laptop for each family member. Then there is an 'important information' document with the scans of things like the birth certificate, ss card, etc. in the fireproof safe is are the same documents in the same order. I bought simple report covers and sheet protectors* and slid the documents in them. Then a business card page holds things like the social security card, and then cd holder pages with a cd copy of their folder in the computer. Then I made an additional set for the things that are joint between my wife and I, it has things like the marriage license, joint bank account info, etc. It may seem odd to have things separated like that but I found that things like retirement and life insurance info is easier to maintain under individual folders and the kids will someday grow up and leave so they can then take their files with them.
Each person has their important spreadsheet, a bank account register doc, health record spreadsheet and inventory spreadsheet. I'm working on combining those down some and in the fireproof safe receipts for everything slides into the sheet protector for each inventory sheet. In the computer I have all the different downloaded back account, health insurance, etc statements.

Now a few years ago I learned to keep files in as open format as possible. I always had isseus with Microsoft office programs deciding at random my documents were corrupt requiring copying from backups, compatibility when I would upgrade to a newer version of office requiring a lot of time and effort into conversion and cleanup. Then apps like microsoft money or taxact that couldn't even properly work with their own backups. Then finding out that apps like Microsoft works on my parents computer couldn't even open files from microsoft word or excel, there was no interoperability even within the same company. And don't get me started on all the smaller companies that would disappear two years after you bought their application and then you had no way to get your data back out of it.

So I converted to the open document format www.openoffice.org
This gives me several advantages. First the document is documented, its a simple zipped xml file, at worst case you can unzip it and still make out the contents. Second it is an offical worldwide standard so its not going to change every couple years making my old backups still readable year down the road. Third I can install the apps on as many systems as I want without worrying about $. Fourth it can run from flash or cd ( www.portableapps.com ). So when I burn a backup cd I can burn the windows install, the linux install and the portable version on that cd o I can read the files anywhere. Fifth it supports native pdf writing so I recorded a quick macro that makes a pdf copy every time I save so I have another copy of the doc in another readable format. I'm working on my macro to make it save text and csv formats each time as well so each time I edit one document I'm actually editing three at once for extra future proofing. Its much less complicated than it sounds, just make a standard set of folders now and keep each one the same.


*concern, will the sheet protectors melt inside the safe if there is a fire outside, must test somehow.