The Worst Case

This might actually surprise those of you that know me, because I’m a generally outgoing and funny gal, with a pretty positive attitude even in crappy situations.

But are you ready for a secret? Here goes…

During the course of a typical day, I will think about and plan for horrible scenarios that will likely never, ever happen.

For example: As I’m sitting at a stop light, what would I do if a car rear-ended me and I got pushed straight into the intersection? Or as I’m getting gas, what would I do if I saw someone run into the store with a gun and start shooting up the place? Or as my husband is out running with no phone and no ID (does anyone else’s do this? Just mine?), what if he gets hurt and no one knows who he is, so they take him as a John Doe to the hospital? Or as I’m at home typing my blog on the computer, what would I do if the keyboard started shooting sparks and caught on fire, promptly lighting up the mess of paperwork all over our work desks?

In other words, my whole plan is to literally plan so much that I’m ready for anything.

In the heat of the moment, when that robber actually pulls his gun, or when I get rear-ended into the intersection, I won’t need to take precious seconds to think about what to do because I will have already thought it all out months ago.

Yes, I know it’s ridiculous, especially when these types of thoughts can keep me up at night, laying awake, stressing about all of the horrible things that could happen. But maybe one day all of this crazy planning might actually be helpful, right?

Well folks, that day actually came, and chances are, some of you might be going through it too. As I’m writing this, my family in Oregon is sitting on Evacuation Level 2 because of the wildfires raging through the Pacific Northwest. I have spent days on the phone with my mom going over what on earth she needed to toss into the car and drive away with; what is irreplaceable? What can she not live without? What does she need to survive until we can get her on her feet again?

So here’s my question for you: If you were faced with leaving your home with just a few hours notice, what would you do?

I’ve taken some quality time to think about this over the past week or so and dug into some disaster readiness sites like lifestorage.com and readyforwildfire.org to come up with what I think is a pretty great list (if I do say so myself). Every few hours I would call my mom and tell her more things I had learned, everything from putting your nice dishes in a bathtub full of water to try to save them, to the certain spices to boil on the stove to help with the air quality.

So, in no particular order, here are a few of the highlights:

1. Take Pictures

If there is even a few hours of notice, one of the best things you can do is take pictures of everything you’re forced to leave behind. There’s just no way that you’re escaping with everything you own, and taking pictures will remind of you everything for making insurance claims. Think beyond just furniture! Pictures of all of your DVDs, your books, your game closet, your shoes, stuff you might have trouble remembering if asked to fill out forms.

2. Get the To-Go Boxes Packed

This was actually the first thing my mom did when the wildfires started to rage. She bought Rubbermaid bins, non-perishable food for herself and her pets, and gallons of water and stored it all in the car so it wouldn’t need to be something she thought about later. Think along the lines of granola bars, nut butters, beef jerky, wheat crackers, things that are high calorie and healthy fats. If you have an infant, make sure you have diapers, wipes, formula, all the stuff that would normally be taking up residence in your diaper bag. Get all of this in the car at the first sign of trouble, so that isn’t something you need to worry about later.

3. Get the Paperwork Ready

Each of my kids has their own bag in their room that has their medical records, social security cards, birth certificates, and immunization records. Honestly, after getting my family and dog out of the house safely, these would be the next things I grab! My husband and I have our own bag with our marriage certificate, social security cards, all of the passports, etc., but my lesson learned from all of this is that I want a big firesafe box. If I’m not able to make it to the basement to grab it, at least I will have put it all in something that can hopefully protect it.

4. Don’t Forget Meds

A travel first-aid kit is always helpful, but beyond the simple stuff like Tylenol and alcohol wipes, grab all of the medically necessary stuff if you’ve got family members with special requirements. In my house, we’ve got everything from EpiPens to growth hormone shots to steroid inhalers. Almost all of it is in one place because we use it daily, so this would be a quick grab and toss into the car. Most bottles have the prescription numbers on them, too, which will be helpful for refills if you’re still not home and you need it. Things like glasses and hearing aids fall into this category as well, so if the time comes for you to be packing up and getting out quickly, you need to make sure you grab everything your family medically needs to stay healthy.

5. Staying Plugged In

I know it’s going to be hard, but resist the urge to take your massive TV and stereo equipment. You’ve got pictures of it all—leave it behind. If you haven’t already, go right now and store your data to a backup hard drive or on a Cloud backup (online server) so that if you have to evacuate quickly, your data is as current as possible.  Laptops, phones, chargers, USB sticks, all of those things are small and easily transported, so just have a carrying case handy and be quick about tossing them in. Most of us have nice cameras, too, so just make sure they are stored in their carrying cases and ready to go at a moment’s notice. My hubs is a Cyber guy, so he’s all over saving the plugged in stuff… I’ll save the dishes; he’ll save the electronics! Teamwork!

And speaking of dishes, we’re at the final stop on our evacuation journey…

6. What Counts as an Heirloom?

Everyone has different priorities when it comes to the things they’d grab as they race out the door in an emergency, and it might help a lot to go over this ahead of time so you don’t accidentally leave something behind. In a perfect world, I’d be able to grab things like my favorite books, all of my Polish pottery (bought in Poland!), and my amazing shoes. I know my husband would want all of his fancy coffee-making equipment (yes, that’s a thing) and all of his motorcycle gear. Who on earth even knows what my kids would grab.

But for the sake of emergency evacuation, let’s narrow this down to what is truly irreplaceable. For me, there’s only a few things that fit this bill: my late grandmother’s pie plate and salt shakers and her cookbook with all of the hand-written notes in the margin. Or the beautiful hand-laced, monogrammed doilies passed down through my husband’s family and the few pieces we have of his parents’ wedding dishes. Or the hand-drawn art framed on the walls from my kids over the years. These are the pieces that I would never be able to get back, would never be able to purchase a replica of, and would be devastated to lose. What are those things for you? Make a list, and that way, if the time ever comes, you won’t have to waste time scrambling through your house stressed that you’re forgetting something important.

Look, I know hardly anyone out there actually likes to think about worst-case scenarios. It can be sad, and depressing, and sometimes even keep-you-up-at-night scary. But, I will say that in something worse-case like this, an emergency evacuation with just a few hours’ notice, a little organization and preparation can really go a long way into making a horrible event into something not as terrible.

My prayer is that not a single one of you will ever have to actually go through something like this, but if you have to, then face it head-on, knowing you’ve done your best to take care of yourself and your family.