Updated on April 08, 2007

I recommend using a program like Microsoft Outlook 2002 or Microsoft Office XP Standard to organize your addresses. Such programs allow you to quickly update your addresses, share them with you PDA, and print them in an attractive, legible format.

Free Directory Pages Print them out and quickly keep in touch.

Friends and Family

It is wise to have all the addresses and phone numbers of friends and family members of everyone in your home ready to be looked up by last name (in alphabetical order) in case you need to contact Great Aunt Sophie for an event, such as a birthday, or just need to remind your kid, who's at a friend's house, when she needs to come home. You can also use this section to record additional information about each person, such as directions to his/her home or birth date.

Business

Businesses, such as utility companies, banks, and doctors, should be listed by company name (in alphabetical order) in a separate subsection. This way you won't have to look through the dozens or hundreds of family and friend names to find the payment address for your electricity bill.

Yellow Pages

Another useful subsection to have is a household yellow pages. This is where you would keep all of your information for things such as local auto repair shops, pizza deliveries, favorite restaurants that require reservations, movie theater phone numbers (to find out what's playing), etc. Everything in this subsection should be listed by category (e.g. restaurant, auto repair, taxi, theaters, etc.) (in alphabetical order). I highly recommend that you use plastic page protector sheets (the type with three holes punched in the side and an envelope to slip papers into) to hold menus for restaurants you order take-out from. You'll have the phone number, address, menu items, and prices all in one place. This also works well with brochures.