Downtime During Winter? Get Organized and Gain More Control!

We are living in tumultuous times. Due to the massive federal Medicaid cuts that could happen in 2025, Coloradans may struggle to get the health care and disability services they deserve. Now is a good time to get prepared by getting our records in order! As a planner myself, doing this helps me feel more in control and less anxious about the future. And keeps me busy doing something productive on slow days during this cold February month. Here are some ‘getting organized’ suggestions from your Badass Maureen Welch, who is doing the same process now to get organized! 

Digital Files and Records Organization

If you are not a digital person, I recommend that you find someone to help you! It might be a friend, family member or you can hire someone to help. I recommend you contact Amanda Driver at techsavvylife.me. She offers excellent digital training and has helped many families who are tech challenged! She can get you started with a system and then do annual maintenance check-ins. Digital organization is such an important skill that I encourage you to hire professional help to learn it well. 

In the best online digital system, you can scan into digital, save to the cloud, hard drive or even a flash drive. I also recommended saving and organizing hard copies, which I detail later in this article

If you do not have a password manager on your computer yet, now is the time to explore options. This allows your computer to have one master password (or finger print on some Macs) and once that is entered, it will generate random passwords for your miscellaneous accounts and save them for you to autofill! It is much safer than using the same password with many accounts, which is a huge security risk.  

Create these Digital folders for Your Loved One with Disabilities

1. School district folders: organize by academic year, with subfolders in each year:

1. For each year’s folder, include the current annual 504 and or IEP in digital form (make sure also to include any attachments that might be separate PDFs). 

2. Last Triennial reevaluation IEP with more assessments.

3. SOP Summary of Performance: get this when your family member leaves school services, as it is helpful for post secondary employment and education.

4. Retain these records as districts to not after 7 years. If you don’t have these records, request them ASAP!
   

2. Medical folder: organize by year and have subfolders: 

1. Medical records: download these from your physician’s online portals so you have copies for direct access.

2. On your fridge, have a current list of doctors, medical conditions and medications to ‘grab and go’ off the fridge.
   

3. Medicaid Case Management Agency folder: organize by plan year like 24/25 then have subfolders below:

1. Current service plan, request for proposals from providers (RFPs), support intensity scale (SIS) results, waiver documents and any related assessments.

2. Recent letters from county or state MedicaidList of contacts and providers at each agency where services are received.

3. Tip sheets on how to best accommodate your disabled loved one’ these are a great reference for respite help.
   

4. Social security account folder 

1. Scan into digital any information pertaining to benefits, and keep  a current monthly statement.
   

5. Identification folder: original, and duplicates (or photocopies, if in use)

1. Social security card 

2. Medical cards 

3. Passport

4. State IDs or driver's license
   

6. Update contacts in computer and phone.

7. Add an ICE, your ‘in case of emergency’ contact in your phone.

8. Create one page saved with instructions for emergencies including where to find hard copies of records or important items.

Create these Digital folders for Yourself and Other Family Members

1. Medical folder with your records, medications, and list of contacts

2. Your certifications, trainings and records as a caregiver

3. Identification folder: original, and duplicates (or photocopies, if in use)

1. Social security card 

2. Medical cards 

3. Passport

4. state IDs or driver's license 

4. Update contacts in computer and phone.

5. Add an ICE, your ‘in case of emergency’ contact in your phone.

6. Create one page saved with instructions for emergencies including where to find hard copies of records or important items.
   

Hardcopy Organization: Keep Important documents, Keys and Important Items in One Physical Place

There is a lot of wisdom in getting hard copies of documents. For example, if a national Internet outage occurred, there would be no way to access critical documentation stored online! Also, Colorado’s various medicaid platforms are often down for days at a time, temporarily preventing access to your files. Or what if your doctor’s office burned down and all of your online medical records were destroyed!

If you are missing hard copies of critical items, like birth certificates, social security cards, passports, medical cards, now is a good time to request replacement copies and get them organized.

I invested in a fireproof NokBox, which happens to be a Colorado small business started when a family realized the need to get organized!  This box has the files, labels and small bags to get started with, and some options offer fire protection features. Check them out at: https://www.thenokbox.com/

NOK means ‘Next of Kin’ - here’s info directly from NokBox which explains why their product is so valuable - I’m obviously a big fan!

ABOUT NOKBOX
The Nokbox is a complete system that helps you organize all of your accounts, possessions, social media presence, communities, kids, pets, personal history, and estate plans (even if you don't have estate plans yet!). It's an estate planning tool AND a home organization system: if you have a household, you need a Nokbox.

Forget Binders & Workbooks.

Maybe you've set up your will or trust and figured you are all set. You might even have a little "death binder" or a workbook you've filled out. However, look around your home...will your NOK be able to find and manage everything they need to? Are there file cabinets, junk drawers, or stacks of paper? Is information in your phone, on your computer, or just in your memory? How will your NOK know what do with it all? And how can YOU keep it all together so you make your life easier while you are living? The check sheets in the Nokbox tell you exactly what to drop into each folder, making it simple to fill out and keep updated. They also help your NOK manage your estate when you are gone. We have so much digital these days: The Nokbox organizes it all and will save priceless hours for both you and your NOK.

Inside each kit are 15 categories, covering everything from your life insurance policies to your funeral directives, to your dog’s vet information, to the code to that storage unit across town. The BEST part of the Nokbox is the checklist inside each folder. On one side, it tells you what to add to the folder. On the other, it tells your next of kin what to do with the information. You won't find anything else like it! Nothing has been left out, so you will know you've got it ALL covered.

Ok, when you’ve got some free time, start taking action, and join me in making February our ‘get organized’ month! 

Next, I will hit my basement and garage for spring cleaning!! (GROAN) 🙂