Open this if I am dead

Primrose

Yes little things like remembering voices are important. I know a widow whose deceased husband had recorded the usual introductory message for their answerphone. She couldn't bring herself to delete it and re-record it after his death as she got comfort from hearing his voice but said their friends found it a little spooky until she explained the reason for keeping it.

Mercenary

I'm going to do something about compiling the same thing (on a USB flash drive plus written notes) as it seems very sensible...and, yes, I'll probably use the safe in my parents' house too!

For those people blithely saying that the OP should just tell her husband the password(s) :exclamati then this is for you:
If you are creating passwords for banks and utilities correctly in these internet-hacking times, you should be using long random strings of letters, characters and numbers which are different for each site. (A password manager eases the pain of that, but you must use a strong Master password for it that must not ever be forgotten). This is NOT something that you can leave around the house in filing cabinets or a drawer :eek:.

And if you also have a partner who should willingly share that knowledge but who doesn't want to be bothered about those things, then there is no way to 'tell' them to remember the password(s). If they cavalierly write the information down on a Post-it for themselves then it is no longer secure, is it?

Putting a note of the vital information and master password, or a list of passwords to important sites, into a known locked safe away from the home is a very sensible idea as, to take the example of backing up vital information from a computer, there should be one copy in The Cloud (Google Drive), and one more copy stored off-site in case the house is burned/burgled/flooded etc.

Primrose

In principle I'm just wondering how long it will take before material in the iCloud is hacked !


To emphasise the safe storage issue, a relative of ours stored regular updates on his degree dissertation on our computer after another student in his accommodation had his laptop stolen and all his work was lost. He'd not taken the precaution of storing a backup copy anywhere in another location.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Oooh, another incredibly important thing that you haven't thought of yet. Found out by myself last night after lots of swearing at the laptop.



Make, Model Number and purchase details of every electrical appliance, instruction booklets, warranty details and proof of purchase/registration of warranty.


My Bosch dishwasher might be subject to a safety recall. Risk of overheating and fire, so it's covered even after all these years. However, the label on the door edge with these details has worn blank over the years, so I can't find out for certain. And the instruction booklet and purchase details aren't in the folder with the other appliances' ones. I've seen pictures of the model online, but there are absolutely none that give even the model number, much less the serial number or other codes the manufacturer requires to check if it's an affected model. If I wasn't around to keep trying to find these details on an old laptop that *might* have a couple of minutes' life left in it before it gives up the ghost again, the OH wouldn't have a clue. Bosch don't have a clue, either. They've said they have to have the numbers or they can't help at all. That sort of information is now vital if an appliance goes bang or is recalled years after purchase.


[By the way, if anyone reading this knows the model number of a Bosch Classixx Exxcel Freedom full size standalone dishwasher bought from Comet in about 2004/2005, please let me know. The details weren't on an embossed plate like they were on all their models after that date, they were on a sticky label on the top left edge, but there's not even a dent in the pure white shininess of the label to give me a clue.]

Malthusian

Make, Model Number and purchase details of every electrical appliance, instruction booklets, warranty details and proof of purchase/registration of warranty.

Well that will teach me for binning about a dozen fossilised warranty booklets for the appliances that the previous houseowner left us. I thought I was being productive by finally sorting out all the paperwork cluttering up the dining room.

Practically speaking, the thing hasn't caught fire yet afer 7 years of use and if the dishwasher was recalled I'm not sure how I'd even find out.

I suppose you've tried lifting up the dishwasher to make absolutely sure it doesn't have a serial number on the bottom or elsewhere? Did you buy it online - you might still have an email receipt if so?

Potato_Fist

I have something similar...

I call it the open this if i'm late. Instead of waiting for me to arrive, she opens up something that takes her mind off me being late and by the time i have arrived she has forgot about me being late :beer:

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Malthusian wrote: »

Well that will teach me for binning about a dozen fossilised warranty booklets for the appliances that the previous houseowner left us. I thought I was being productive by finally sorting out all the paperwork cluttering up the dining room.

Practically speaking, the thing hasn't caught fire yet afer 7 years of use and if the dishwasher was recalled I'm not sure how I'd even find out.

I suppose you've tried lifting up the dishwasher to make absolutely sure it doesn't have a serial number on the bottom or elsewhere? Did you buy it online - you might still have an email receipt if so?

No other identifying marks. And I bought it in Comet, so they're not going to be any help right now - if it's a Bosch, go to their website and with the numbers on the plate/sticker, it can tell you if it's affected - if you can read the numbers, that is.

The tumbledrier fix was easy (got caught by that one) because the numbers were visible. It might have been handy if I'd known about it when my fridge freezer went pouuuuuuffff and gave off a lot of smoke, as it turned out after it had been disposed of, that it was one of the ones that were responsible for burning down homes.

All of them were covered in safety recalls, so warranty details were unimportant. But I didn't know about them (other than the tumbledrier) until long after they were out of warranty.

System

Tammykitty wrote: »

Age concern have a free book - called lifebook - which has all places to put all "essential" information in it


List of banks where you have accounts, life insurance, funeral wishes,utility providers etc


http://www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/home-safety-and-security/lifebook/


Provides and easy format to do what you want and may remind you to include stuff you are currently forgetting

My nan used this and it was very helpful to my parents after her death