The time is short. The storm is coming and there is so much to collect and take. What about all the business files; the 401K paperwork; insurance/ utility statements; birth certificates; wedding pictures? What about food, water, clothes and shelter? You can’t think and you are afraid. And in a hurry….
The history of the Red Book is a simple one. My daughter deployed to Iraq and needed me to take care of all of her affairs – banking, savings, financials, rentals, person paperwork and mail. She was brilliant and copied the front sheet of every important document, slid it into a plastic page sleeve and put all the documents in a 2.5 inch very Red Bookbinder. It was impossible to not notice the binder and it had every account number, phone number and address (often the contact name) of everything that was contained in her Red Book which made it easy for me to contact the service if needed. I was her Power of Attorney so it made my job easier.
Why share this with you?
Everyone in my family has a Red Book now. We have copied all credit cards, IDs, family pictures on disks, accounts, birth certificates, family records etc in our Red Books. If the wind blows here and the rivers and creeks rise, I can easily grab my Red Book and have every document I need.
In this digital world, you might turn up your nose to this idea of a paper/CD solution. It does take a bit of work to get the Red Book filled and viable. However, if you read the news about the destruction in Florida this past week, there is no cell coverage, no electricity, no grocery stores, no land lines, no communication.
Our current reliance on mobile coverage failed. In fact, while you are reading this, there is still no coverage. They are predicting that electricity will be restored in months, not days.
The other item I would like for you to have available to you in an emergency is your “bug out bag”. The purpose of your “bug out bag” is to keep you safe for the first 72 hours of any disaster. It contains these items and more:
- Water
- A wind-up radio to listen to the news of the area
- 2-3 pairs of socks
- Food, coffee bags, tea bags
- Matches, lighter, flashlight
- Some first aid
- Depending on the time of year, it could contain gloves and knit hats
- So much more – medicine, blanket, etc
- Here is the link to the best “bug out bag” I have seen: https://www.asecurelife.com/72
-hour-kit/
I have two BOBs. Both are in backpacks and one is in my car and the other is in the closet nearest my back door.
Please take care of you. Consider putting together a Red Book and a BOB for you to be safe and knowing you do not have to lose all your documents and precious pictures.
Your Red Book can be filled easily. Every time you get a notice – electronic or paper – make a copy of the first page and put it in a plastic sheet and into your Red Book it goes. I review my Red Book for accuracy at the end of each year. During the year you might have had changes in:
- Credit cards
- License
- Addresses
- New big purchases and warranties
- Taking pictures of the contents of your home
- Family documents that need storing
All you will need to do is replace the already captured information with a new copy. Once your Red Book is in existence, you will feel so good about knowing you have the information you need in one spot. I have often used my Red Book to look up information because it is easy to find and access…instead of big hunky files somewhere.
My current project is taking pictures of all the family albums so I have the pictures on a CD. Yes, I have a CD player. Why, because I have grandkids and lots of the kids’ music still comes on CDs. CDs are water resistant and easy to store in your Red Book.
The Red Book and the “bug out bag” will save you heartache and time.
To your safe success,
P.S. Here is the link again to the 72 hour “bug out bag”. Be safe.