# The File Storage Module

The FIRM Guide (thefirmguide.com) — companion to The Recoverable Family.
Fill this in privately (any text editor or by hand), then store it in your Vault.


## Secure Guide Starter Template — File Storage

> Store this inside your Vault. This section defines your family's implementation of the FIRM System — the standardized organization every other Module assumes. Anyone who finds it should be able to navigate the entire system from here. Update whenever the structure changes; review annually.

The FIRM System standard arrangement: family information is organized into four Areas of Focus — System, At-Home, Financial, and Estate — all held in one container: the FIRM Binder on paper, the FIRM Directory on disk. Each Area is a tab in the binder or a top-level directory inside it; each Module is a section behind its tab, a file inside its Area's directory — or a subdirectory, when a Module holds more than one document. The container itself is protected: a physical vault for the binder, encryption for the directory (built into the operating system, a third-party tool, or inside a reputable password manager).

This Module is the heart of the FIRM System: the same four-Area shape organizes all three artifacts — The Vault, The Secure Guide, and The Family Guide — so this one record can navigate everything the family keeps, including the file system that holds this very page.

The system works best in that standard shape, so this record documents only where your arrangement differs from it. If a row or field below is blank, the standard applies.

- Media In Use: 

### The FIRM Binder / Directory
| Container | Where it lives | How it is protected |
| --- | --- | --- |
| FIRM Binder (paper) |   |   |
| FIRM Directory (digital) |   |   |

> All four Areas of Focus live inside these — tabs in the binder, top-level folders in the directory. These hold the MASTER versions of both guides: The Secure Guide and The Family Guide are maintained here first, and every shared copy of The Family Guide is a duplicate of this master — update here, then re-distribute. Protection is the physical vault for paper, encryption for digital (OS-level, third-party, or within a reputable password manager).

### Module Checklist
| Module | In Use? | If not in the FIRM Binder/Directory, where it lives |
| --- | --- | --- |
| S-01 Devices |   |   |
| S-02 File Storage |   |   |
| S-03 Network |   |   |
| S-04 Encryption |   |   |
| S-05 Passwords and Passkeys |   |   |
| S-06 Backup and Synchronize |   |   |
| A-01 Family Compass |   |   |
| A-02 Identities |   |   |
| A-03 Subscriptions and Memberships |   |   |
| A-04 Digital Legacy |   |   |
| A-05 Work History |   |   |
| A-06 Health and Medical |   |   |
| A-07 Mental Health and Well-Being |   |   |
| A-08 Pet Information and Care |   |   |
| F-01 Financial Accounts |   |   |
| F-02 Digital Financial Assets |   |   |
| F-03 Tax Planning and Documentation |   |   |
| F-04 Budget |   |   |
| F-05 Other Assets |   |   |
| F-06 Insurance |   |   |
| E-01 Disaster Preparedness |   |   |
| E-02 Communications |   |   |
| E-03 Heir Education |   |   |
| E-04 Elder Care |   |   |
| E-05 Funeral Wishes |   |   |
| E-06 Philanthropy |   |   |
| E-07 Friends and Family |   |   |
| E-08 Entities |   |   |
| E-09 Estate Plan |   |   |
|   |   |   |
|   |   |   |

> Mark Yes (or a checkmark) if in use; No or N/A if not. Use the location column only when a Module's information is not in the FIRM Binder/Directory — note where it lives. Blank = the standard place, its Area's tab or folder. The two blank rows are for Modules your family adds.

- File Naming Convention: 

- Storage Locations: 

- Encryption Method: 

- Associated Physical Original Document Location(s): 

- Retention Schedule: 

- Archive Policy: 

- Last Verified: 

- Tags: 


## Family Guide Starter Template — File Storage

> This template contains no sensitive information. It can be stored with household documents.

> In the matching Secure Guide section: master record of the filing structure — locations, naming, retention, archive policy.
>
> That detail is what makes recovery possible — and it is protected in the Vault, which opens with The Vault Key. The key is never written here, by design. The people listed on this page know how it is kept, and the steward's job is to keep that path current, so this page never leads to a locked door.

Our family's information is organized with the FIRM System. Everything lives in four Areas of Focus — System, At-Home, Financial, and Estate — and each Area is made of Modules, each covering one topic (devices, health, insurance, the estate plan, and so on). The intent is a standardized organization of family information: everything has a known place, so the right person can find the right information when it matters.

The file system holding The Secure Guide is itself protected: on paper it sits inside the physical Vault; in digital form it is encrypted (see the Encryption Module).

- How it is used: This page comes from the family's primary information system — the FIRM System (Family Information Resource Management). Everything the family keeps is organized in four Areas of Focus — System, At-Home, Financial, and Estate — held in the FIRM Binder (paper) and the FIRM Directory (digital), where the MASTER copies of The Secure Guide and this Family Guide are maintained. The copy you are reading was distributed from that master.

- Deviations From the Standard: 

- Where the Main Copy and Backups Live: 

- Encryption Method: 

- Who Manages: 

- Who to Call for More Help: 

### Additional Guidance