What would you do if you had to flee your house?
Do you have an Important Document Folder?
Two and a half years ago it was devastating fires ravaging the East Coast of Australia and now it’s floods. While certain politicians and conspiracy junkies scoff, we the people need to do what we can.
Not only for climate change but to protect our stuff. The stuff that’s painstaking to replace. We need an Important Document Folder. This could also be crucial if you are fleeing domestic violence.
If panic strikes, you won’t be thinking straight. It will be difficult to collect your thoughts, let alone figure out which paperwork you need and where it is. Now is the time to make the decisions about what you will need to flee with, not when the sirens are blaring.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have all that crucial stuff in one A4 folder, clearly labelled so you can be out the door ASAP?
This is what you need for each family member (as applicable to you):
- Birth certificates
- Passports
- Insurance details
- Super details
- Bank and loan details
- House titles
- Wills
- Medical information and anything else relevant to you
- Important phone numbers, including family and friends
- iCloud or equivalent password (written obscurely or with clues) to unlock and access your online profiles.
We rely on our phones A LOT but they are not immortal and your trusty mobile could be lost or broken in the rush.
At the very front of your Important Documents Folder, should reside an Evacuation List pointing you to other important items. The evacuation list might include:
– Devices and chargers
– Wallets and cards
– Medications
– Pets
– Pet items and medications
– Precious jewellery
– Memorabilia boxes
The last point demonstrates why it’s awesome to have organised memorabilia. But that’s a job for another day.
There are lots of other things you could put on the Evacuation List list – clean undies, toothbrush, water bottle, etc. But this is an emergency list, not school camp. If everything’s important, nothing’s important. You need to prioritise for clarity’s sake. You can pick up fresh knickers any time.
If you do want an extensive evacuation list, put the important things under a secondary heading, so you can pick out the crucial stuff in a hurry.
On your evacuation list make a note of elderly neighbours to check on.
You could consider a waterproof, fireproof folder or a locked safe for protection.
Other useful resources include:
ABC emergency, which gives current emergency information.
ABC radio search page, which allows you to check the frequency of your local emergency broadcast.
For most of us, the likelihood of needing this folder in a hurry is small. But if you do, you will be so relieved it’s there.
And in the meantime you will be able to retrieve your passport and insurance details with ease – and how good is that?
