Documents you need

car titles, property deeds.  

Passports. Vaccination records. Copies of any professional licensing documents. Copy of credit card numbers. I keep a small locked fireproof box with all those on my desk for easy grabbing in event of needing to bug out. I also keep a reasonable stack of $20's in case for some reason the ATM's and credit card machines aren't working.

I also have a copy of my mother's documents assigning me power of attorney in it. 

Our home burned to the ground on Feb. 8th, 1998.  We lost everything except a few dishes and a box of photos.  What you  need is easily replaced.  We learned that we didn't need a fraction of what we thought we did, nor did any of those "important" things mean that much to us when they were gone.  Today, I couldn't name a single thing I miss from before our fire.  Then again, we didn't lose any family members......so it's easy to feel like we do.

It's just stuff.....nothing more than fuel for a fire when you strip it all away.

Without a doubt, the best "character builder" of my lifetime was losing all we had.....and the springboard to a perspective on what's REALLY important that I doubt I ever could have gained without the experience.

Car titles??? Really?  We lost our cars too....all I needed was my insurance agent's number. Same with deed to home.....it's not like anyone wanted to dispute whether or not it was ours so they could move in. Vaccination records?  Call your doctor.  Passports??  Get another....and turn the cost into your insurance agent. Credit card numbers???  Don't worry.....they'll find YOU! Birth certificates, SS cards, Marriage licenses.....blah,blah,blah....all EASILY replaced....same with Military DD-214.

All that matters is that you get yourself and your family out.....really, there is NOTHING else.

Obviously family and pets are most important.  I have a pretty hefty fireproof safe with birth certificates, DD214, marriage certificate, car titles, etc... so I'm not worried about that.  All our pictures are digital and the computers are backed up in the cloud so that's not an issue.

When I really stop and think about it I'd say sentimental things are probably the only things that couldn't be replaced.  Like the american flag that was on my Dad's coffin when we buried him.  Obviously I could buy another flag, but it wouldn't be the same.

You know, looking back because of this thread, I lost THINGS like you speak of.....I looked for days and days for a crystal duck that my favorite aunt, dead by the time of our fire, gave me....and lamented the loss when I couldn't find it.  Still.....I know she gave it to me....and I have that, and always will.  

I'd surely miss a flag of the stature of yours......but I can tell you from experience, you don't end up missing the "object" as long as you have the memory.....memories are what can't be replaced, and the flags and the crystal ducks are just reminders of the memories....you never lose those.

I disagree with both points you made on this thread (I know, big surprise). The point of having the papers in an EASILY ACCESSED spot is to have one less thing to worry about when you getting out. Fire, hurricanes, massive power outages, whatever. CAN you replace everything? Sure. But I don't think having a bugout bag and/or box is wasteful, and, done reasonably, should not slow you down from your departure. Grab it and go. If it takes you into harm's way to get it, then you leave it.

As for the idea of having the memories, well, by that reasoning, you would get rid of most things almost as quickly as you got them (mrs gearboy would actually favor this, being in the midst of a several years long mission to downsize as much of her stuff as she can). But memories are not forever, and are easily lost. Not just to dementia, but everyday memory use. There has been a lot of research done on memory in the last 20 or so years, and it is sort of scary how fragile and malleable it is.

Photos: on the computer and backed up on the cloud...

Document: Scan them all and keep them on your local computer and on the cloud.  Almost anything can be replaced if you have digital proof of the original.

There are plenty of great backup services like DropBox, BackBlaze etc... Nice thing about DropBox is you can have access to them anywhere you have an internet connection.  Backblaze will send you a USB drive full of all your stuff for $99 (I think it was)

That way you don't have to worry about grabbing ANY of it.  I've tried to make it such that they only things I'll grab are the kids, wife, dog and the bug out bag full of cash, guns and ammo.

If I have time I'll go back in for the bikes...

Tony, just remember, fire safes are not fire "proof". They all have time ratings that can withstand. Obviously, in most cases it should be fine because the fire dept. will be there to at leat put out the rubble, just saying... and I would never trust any plastic media not getting melted or at least compromised... Wedding DVDs, back up drives, ect.

As far as not "needing" stuff... everyone is different. Yes, one can get all your documents back at some point... but why bother when all it takes is a minute of your time to save hours? I will already have tons of paper work and hours spent rebuilding my life... why add to that simply because I didn't take the minor amount of time to safegaurd a few key things?

First bold - I got my kids out (wife was already on her way with the baby)......I don't remember worrying about anything else. (maybe my memory is already leaving)

Second bold - If I can't remember the moment the THING came from, I'm sure as hell not going to care about the THING.

I'm sorry, it's just stuff.....in the end it all adds up to one big pile of nothing.  Relationships with other people are all you really have that's worth anything.

This is no different than having the safe box that gets grabbed. 

And I expect to be riding the bikes to safety!

ETA: Hey, Left Brain - it looks like TriR, powerman, tuwood and I are more or less in agreement on this thread too! I think that means we will be needing those bug-out plans!!!

I'll tell you what.....wake up with your house on fire....by all means, grab the safe box.....I'll be outside.

I saw a few posts about what a pain in the arse it is to replace all of those documents that you've got in your box....here's the deal......in the days after you lose everything you own....YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO DO! 

I'm on the fence of the two sides. I don't currently have anything stored anywhere for safe keeping or easy grabbing.

When the EF3 tornado that struck my workplace (less than 5 miles away) (( ooh here's a video, too)) was headed toward my neighborhood in April, I took shelter and grabbed: My dog and his leash, my purse (with wallet, cell phone, phone charger), a bottle of water, and my running shoes. That's it.

I assumed my insurance company would help with the house and car stuff, not married and no kids so don't have any of that kind of documentation. Passport and SS card were upstairs but that honestly didn't even cross my mind, as long as I had my Drivers License on me. 

Just curious.....why was that important to you?

Why is it important to have an ID on you? To... identify yourself?

All I need is my name and birthday to identify myself.....anyone who's asking (and really needs to know) will be able to verify that, to include a picture of me, in a matter of seconds. 

I get your point.....but that hard ID isn't very important either right after everything you have is gone.  Our house burned on a Sunday.....we had new ID's the next day...easy as can be.

My point in this thread is that NONE of that stuff is really nearly as important as we think it is. 

But if I have all these documents in the bag how am I going to fit all the guns and ammo?  (The B.O.B. is actually in the truck already...)

Physical documents are overrated.  Digital my man, digital.

I get that. You've said it many times
But I don't think it's a bad thing to grab a wallet or purse on the way to safety.  

I didn't have time.  BUT....I did grab a stack of dishes.....I'm not kidding....to this day it cracks me up whenever I think about it.

Plus how the heck are you going to get into a bar the night of the fire without an ID?

Until the solar storm hits and wipes out all the servers.... but then the ammo and gums will be much more needed than any paper or ID.