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The last press release has the Black Forest fire at 75% contained, which is a lovely number. Some evacuees have been able to go back in, but others are still waiting. Mr. Steve and family are doing well, all things considered. They're being deluged with gift cards and the like and looking for a rental home in our area. Know anyone?
One thing that the evacuees have to deal with, those whose houses were spared, is some nasty clean up. Think about it. Those homes have been submerged in smoke for days with no power. Care to open any of those fridges and freezers? They're nasty. NASTY nasty. So nasty, there are special dumpster areas just for spoiled food.
As I was watching the news updates last week, an insurance rep gave some recommendations. These included having a physical inventory of all the stuff we own. She recommended taking photos or walking around our homes with a video camera to record it all.
A lot of people, myself included, tend to think, "Oh well, it's not the 'stuff' that's important", and we would probably remember most of the high dollar items. But as I made a mental trip through my house, I realized that little things add up.
For instance, since I work out of the house, I've built a small library of books and other reference materials over time. They don't have sentimental value, and I probably wouldn't remember each item. But as a whole, it's significant and would be a task to replace.
I'm also reminded that we do a bit of "prepping", with a small zombie apocalypse stash going on. Just how many buckets of grains and other provisions do we have now? Heck if I know!
The rep said to make sure to hit every room, even closets. And don't forget the garage and tool sheds. Open drawers and cabinets.
"Good idea!", I thought, "I'm going to do that". Sure beats writing everything down. Then I looked around my house and thought, "No way I'm recording this mess..."
So I've been doing some *ahem* tidying of my own... THEN it will be video time.
After you make YOUR video, if disaster was headed your way, what would you be grabbing on your way out the door?
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11 comments:
I found myself imagining all of what you've said, so if I were in a state of panic, exasperation, or confusion, I might just leave it all. If there was any calm in me, I'd grab the computers because of the home video and pictures, and some of the photo albums (pre-digital stuff).
Underwear and a few clothes might be good to remember. :)
Glad things are calming down out there.
Sometimes I think, just let it all go - we have SO much junk and it would save us from going through it. But then I'd always wonder what we left behind. I'm with you, though. I'd have to clean my house before recording ANYTHING.
For sure I'd bring my laptop, my phone, my favorite ice cream bowl and spoon. MAYBE the cat. Then I'd hop on my motorcycle and high tail it outa there.
ohhhh, but the Mustang. I may need to rethink this. Can I get back to you?
I thought about the people with little kids and babies. Remember those days? When you couldn't even go to the park for a few hours without bringing half the house?
It's kind of shocking to see the number of car "carcasses" left behind. I understand wanting to keep the family together in one escape vehicle - gotta choose one! And now I realize that I don't even have a favorite ice cream bowl and spoon...
The occasional hurricane has forced us to make the same assessment. Not that I have diligently recorded everything, but I do think about it every hurricane season. Imagine waking up and leaving your house in the morning and coming back to nothing? What would you replace? How would you replace it? I don't envy your friends up there in Black Forest. It's hard to replace what you have accumulated over a lifetime.
What would I grab on the way out of town? The wife, the dogs, and anything else that would fit in the land barge.
During the recent closet purge and organization project, I was sorting through photos. (Boxes upon boxes of them.) I came across a series of photos that at first glance, appeared to be pictures of the rooms in our house. Then I realized they were pictures of specific things in the rooms - televisions, stereos, numbered prints, shotguns, etc. Apparently I had once followed the advice to document our stuff for insurance purposes. The drawback is, much of that stuff has since been replaced, so apparently the photos or video should be updated.
And stuff IS important. It must be, since Mark and I had strong differences of opinion over the value of much of our stuff!
That is great news on the fire. I love the way people in communities like yours help each other out - I am not convinced it really happens over here, which is sad.
The photo/video thing is a great idea - but as you say, most of us would have to do a major tidy up before doing it.
Yep, that's what I'd be thinking - round up the people and the animals first... although, I admit. The fish would be on their own.
It makes a lot of sense to record these things. Losing a house is just the start of the battle - then you must deal with insurance.
The whole "stuff" thing reminds me of Ice Age 2 and the dung beetles:
"Do we have to take all of this crap?! I'm sure there's crap where we're going!"
"HEY! My mother gave us this crap!!"
From my own perspective, it's a very helpless feeling to watch a community burn so nearby. I can't go in there with a hose or a bucket, but I can do other useful things.
I'm still tidying!
I would grab my camera and my lyre. Then I would die trying to save my animals. I hate it when the fires come to AZ, it really does leave you feeling helpless and small. I hope your friend finds a home soon. Keep us posted please!
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