Do you have a Grab and GO box?
A Grab and GO box is a container with important items that you would need/want when you need to Grab and GO in case of an emergency like a fire or natural disaster.
An ideal Grab and GO box is a decorative box that can sit out in out bedroom or living room and mostly just look “nice”. You don’t want something that”.
Things to include in your Grab and GO box:
Medications – brand name, generic name and potency (copy the is hidden away in the back of the closet that can not be grabbed 30 seconds or less. Also, if the box is sitting out in plain sight others will not think it has all this important information contained because it is “hidden in plain sightlabels) as well as the phone numbers for all doctors and your local pharmacy.
Health insurance/pharmacy cards – copy front and back.
Medical information Sheet on each family member
Pet Records
Drivers license / Passport / Social Security Card / Birth Certificate– copy (may be useful for informational purposes while waiting for replacement)
Credit card inventory – at least a list of the 800 number for each card so you can quickly make calls for replacements
Bank account listing
Investment accounts
Insurance policy information – home, auto, life, medical – including contact numbers for agent
CASH!
Keepsake Letters and Photos that cannot be replaced.
*If possible can all of the above items and create an online back up by emailing everything to yourself
Practice the mad dash right now. Set a timer for 30 seconds and see what you can grab; trust me, that practice will come back to you when an emergency happens.
ASK AN ORGANIZER 
I love the idea of emailing everything to your self! Then you can just take the external hard drive and run. Great ideas…have any more?
By: Jan Limpach on June 30, 2009
at 6:53 am
I guess I always just assumed that if my house caught on fire, I’d loose everything, but, because of your article, now I think that it would be irresponsible of me to not put together a box of information as you have suggested. You never know, it could end up being very helpful.
I don’t think the email thing would work for me, since my emails are downloaded to my computer and not kept online. I could, however, make a copy of the information and have my parents keep it in their safe for me. I’d also be afraid of keeping that sort of information online, with worries of hacking and identity theft.
Thanks for your article.
By: Brenda on July 1, 2009
at 6:55 pm