What would you grab if you had only 5 minutes to leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids and dogs. Well, and husband, of course. Presumably he'd have the five minutes, too!

After that, I'd grab my documents bag with passports and birth certificates, but if I didn't have the wherewithall to do that so be it.

I guess we'd take two cars to try to save them? [/quote

No, you do not take the two cars at a time like this. You put EVERYONE in the more reliable car or the car with more gas in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"It doesn’t even have to be for a fire."

I think if we are truly talking 5 minutes then most people would agree priorities are loved ones and pets.

But if it was something other than a fire and you had more than 5 minutes, it can get more complicated. Depending on the scenario.

Let's say someone sets off a dirty bomb in DC. Roads are all clogged and you can't use your car. Then what do you do? What should you have with you?

If it's a hurricane you have time to prep. If it's a tornado you don't. If it's freezing cold and all the power goes out for days at a time, that's a different scenario.

I agree that the nature of the emergency necessitating the evacuation might play a role in what got grabbed.

For sure, people first, then pets if there are any (we don’t have any). My work bag is always ready to-go, is a backpack (so easily carried), and has so many necessities (cash, meds, chargers, flash drives, etc) so it’d be a quick grab. DH is somewhat of a “prepper” so he’s got some form of a go-bag/container ready for all of us. LOL, I insisted on a rolling Igloo cooler cause I couldn’t “carry” a filled tote. Best “items”? A fair amount of cash in small denominations and a 6-pack of vodka minis (to drink, sell/trade, or sterilize).

But, sadly, as I age, I’ve gotten less sentimental so little of my “stuff” (including photos) matter.

In the end though, we’d try to keep it to 4 minutes instead of 5….to try to beat the rest of the panicked and crazies out of Dodge.

This. Look at the Paradise fire. Getting out faster and not being stuck when the roads either become gridlocked, blocked by debris, or just a firestorm is to your advantage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids and dogs. Well, and husband, of course. Presumably he'd have the five minutes, too!

After that, I'd grab my documents bag with passports and birth certificates, but if I didn't have the wherewithall to do that so be it.

I guess we'd take two cars to try to save them? [/quote

No, you do not take the two cars at a time like this. You put EVERYONE in the more reliable car or the car with more gas in it.

Why not take two cars? Because you'll get separated?

[Anonymous]

I’d consider ourselves lucky if we humans made it out safely with the dogs, cats, phone and car keys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The Palisades fires, like every fire, have me thinking—

When I was a very young child, my elementary school caught on fire. The K-2 building was annexed, and as the fire ravaged the main building, the 4-8 students piled into the our building while we waited for our parents to pick us up. It was chaos and it really traumatized me. I went home that night and strangely packed a bag full of my most important things, just in case my house ever caught fire. As an adult, I still keep things well organized, just in case.

I know everyone says they’d grab pictures. I’d grab pictures, memory cards, important documents, bins with keepsakes, important meds, as many clothes as I could, and honestly, that’s probably it.

I’m curious if you have a plan. It doesn’t even have to be for a fire. What would you grab in an emergency if you had to flee in five minutes?

1. Documents - passports/ birth certicates/ wedding certificates etc (have bag with that ready to go)

2. Pets (cats and dogs so we would need two cars)

3. Clothes and underwear for each family member

4. Water and food as likely to be stranded for many hours on already clogged roads in DMV

5. Something sacred from our home altar - hand painted icon or hand carved cross.

So many Photos are on iCloud that I would not bother with photos.


If we had to evacuate the cars I would just take ourselves, pets and documents.

[Anonymous]

Must-grab:
Dogs
Insulin and sugar for our T1D kid
Kids, obviously

If time:
Wallets
Passports
Phones
Computers
Chargers
Glasses
Masks
TP/toothpaste (who knows when we’ll get to a pharmacy)
Maybe sleeping bags and pillows because who knows where we’ll sleep?
Dog vaccination records are a good idea
Sneakers
Couple pairs of socks and underwear
Maybe a couple of books

Sentimental things:
One beloved childhood plushie from each kid’s room (they’re older but it will mean a lot)
A couple of Christmas ornaments
The earrings I wore on my wedding day
A small painting of my grandmother’s — not valuable to anyone but me
Maybe a sweater or two that make us feel like ourselves

I think I could do that in 5 min? I’m tempted to time it

[Anonymous]

After evacuating several times, I've learned to grab the file with all my insurance policies in it. And other files with important info such as copies of wills, POAs and medical directives.

[Anonymous]

A lot of people I know in fire country keep copies of their important documents in a safe deposit box, along with some of their valuables.

[Anonymous]

PP here. to clarify, the box is at a bank in a part of the city that isn't as exposed to fires.

[Anonymous]

Kids, 3 hard drives with all docs on it. Passports (in one place already). Laptops, phone chargers, good shoes and socks for everyone, coats/hoodies for everyone depending on weather. Dh has a go bag technically as he was in the military.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the best way to scan old pictures to put them in the cloud? My parents have shelves of old photo albums and it would be great to scan these to have digital copies.

You drop everything and use your phone to take a picture of at least one picture for every direct antecedent you can identify. Do it next time you visit. It will take less than five minutes. Then you can plan on spending half a dozen lazy days with a good quality photo scanner and a laptop scanning the rest of them in. You’re never going to actually do it, but it will make you feel better to plan it, and at least your kids will know what their great great grandparents looked like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After evacuating several times, I've learned to grab the file with all my insurance policies in it. And other files with important info such as copies of wills, POAs and medical directives.

How on earth do you not have all this stuff electronically stored at this point?!?

[Anonymous]

My daughter’s beloved stuffie

I can manage replacing anything (documents, etc), but that stuffed doggie will be what gets her through the crisis.

(passports and birth certificates if time)

[Anonymous]

All those paperwork that proves you are you and the stuff that you own and are insured. License, passport, medical cards, marriage license, insurances of all types.
Those things will the process a bit more easier when you need to file for claims and assistance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After evacuating several times, I've learned to grab the file with all my insurance policies in it. And other files with important info such as copies of wills, POAs and medical directives.

How on earth do you not have all this stuff electronically stored at this point?!?

You can’t electronically store passports.