GetButtonedUp

Three years ago, we lived in a town called Laveen, Arizona.  It was the height of the wildfire season, and we were under a constant threat of evacuation as a fire burned approximately three miles from our home.

Even though we had two major roads to serve as fire breaks, I was still concerned.  It isn’t every day that a fire threatens to wipe out your entire neighborhood, your schools, parks, stores, homes…Let’s just say it was a tiny bit disconcerting.

One thing I had working in my favor was this.

This is Life.doc  - and it’s definitely a Fabulous Find.  Inside this seemingly unassuming little binder are several tabs – organizing your most important documents and papers.  There’s a place for birth certificates, immunization records, insurance policies, emergency contact numbers, health records (was little Jimmy allergic to penicillin or was it Tabitha?).  It takes a few hours to set up and fill out – but worth every minute once done.

In addition, we also have Valuables.doc- the binder to help you catalog all your valuables and irreplaceable in the event of something truly unimaginable, like a wildfire or home burglary.  There’s a place to store photos, receipts, serial numbers, and other important –yet easily forgettable in a stressful situation – information.

Get Buttoned UP! has products for organizing and simplifying many aspects of life.  And I truly do consider them a Fabulous Find.  Their binders start at about $20.00 and can be found at Target Stores, which is where I got mine.

Archivalife

Fabulous doesn’t even begin to describe today’s find.

First I need to tell you a secret. 

I am a closet scrap-a-holic…but I’m not very good at it. 

Regardless of how pretty I can make my scrapbook pages, I do believe that it is very important to preserve your family history, and your personal history.  In fact, my most treasured possession is a book written by my grandmother that details her life from childhood through marriage, children and grandchildren.

Grandma. Kept. Very. Detailed. Notes. And. Journals.

I think she may have loved to have one of these:

(image source – http://www.archivalife.com)

Look, I was skeptical about this at first – I figured it was just another scrapbook company (I’m from Utah originally, and I know scrapbook companies are a dime a dozen…seriously, go to the yellow pages, look ‘em up.)

This thing goes beyond a scrapbook (and doesn’t even require any frilly embellishments or glue.)  It’s a timeline.  In one book you can chronicle decades of a lifetime in one easy to read and view format.

The pages fold out in an accordion style so that you can read the entire timeline at once, or in periods of 10 units at a time.  Each unit gives you a space to note the things that are most important to you in that year. 

Who was your loved one/significant other?  (Or you know, who were you crushing on that year???)

What pets did you have?

What kind of car did you drive?

What school did you attend?

All at a glance.

You can flip the page over and write a detailed summary of the decade complete with embarrassing facts interesting tidbits.

You can buy either the Lifelines (which is the timeline described above) or the traditional scrapbook – OR you can opt to purchase both which come in a fabulous beautiful wonderful leather bound display quality case.

I’ve been trying to chronicle my history in this book since I got it three weeks ago.  It’s been a fun walk down memory lane and a great family project  (EWWWW Mom!  You drove WHAT?????)

I won’t lie to you, it is a big purchase - $125.00 for the Classic Edition or $49.95 for just the LifeLines book – however, Like I said above, the most priceless possession I own is my grandmother’s history.  This will last for generations, as will your family legacy – and that is what is most important.

*As with all Fabulous Finds posts – I have this product in my possession and have used it myself.  I am not in any way compensated for this review of this product nor will I receive any compensation should you decide to purchase this product.  Archivalife did offer me a complimentary sample of the product for review.  Please refer to our disclaimer if you have any further questions.*