Karyn
I use "Incorrect" as my standard password.
If I ever forget it, or type it wrong, any system will respond with "Your password is incorrect" ...
If that's original, it's brilliant. OK, it's brilliant even if you didn't come up with it yourself.
I keep my hundreds of passwords in an encrypted Word document in an encrypted, hidden folder. My computer is in a locked room with alarms, video surveillance and bars on the windows (no I'm not in prison, just paranoid).
This superseded my previous method, which was sticky notes on the side of my monitor. I had to abandon that method when we went to flat-screens, which didn't have enough space on the sides for dozens of postits.