The Harriet Carter catalog is often a good place to find helpful care items.

One I saw recently is a MUST HAVE. The “What my Family should know” notebook is a handy repository for all that important information you will need to know if a loved one becomes too ill to take care of their affairs, and it’s only $10. My Mother didn’t share anything about her health or finances unless it was absolutely necessary, and when she began to get sick, I had to sort through piles of papers and disorganized folders to find out what I needed to take care of everything. There was a lot she didn’t even remember, like the insurance policy she had been paying on for years that expired about a year after I found the documentation. That would have really helped with the funeral expenses.

Don’t wait until your parents, or family, has already gotten ill, you may miss something. Get one of these notebooks and start meeting to write down all this handy info and keep it is a safe place…a safe-deposit box even. And make sure it gets updated!