In light of the events that are constantly in the news, the Hurricane, the flooding, the evacuation, and now the fact that they are letting people back in for a short time to check on their houses and get stuff, I have a question for you.
If this were you, what would you get? If you only had minutes or at the most a couple of hours, what would you grab to take with you?
You are limited by what you can carry. Could you find what you need easily?
Do you know where your really important papers are? Do you have copies of your birth certificates, marriage certificates, social security cards? Where are your life insurance papers? Do you have money in your home?
What pictures do you have? Where are you most precious negatives? What about your babies' pictures? Your grandmother's picture?
Do you have special jewelry that you would want to keep? Antique jewelry? (You might wear it all as you go out.) Is it mixed in with your junk jewelry from Wal-Mart?
What about your family Bible? You can buy a new Bible, but you can't replace the section where your mother or grandmother wrote out the births and deaths, family tree.
Would you know how to take your computer apart and tear out the hard drive in 2 minutes? Would it really be that important? (On a side note, there are places where you can upload your very important computer files and photos to save. Take pictures of your important papers, too, or scan them into your computers. Yahoo is the one I use. Remember banks were flooded, too, and you wouldn't be able to get into the banks to get in your lock box, although I suppose they are waterproof.)
If you only got out with the clothes on your back, would you be humiliated by the way you are dressed at this moment? Do you have your shoes on in case of an emergency? Or would you be barefooted like so many of those evacuees? What if right this very moment you had to evacuate?
Where are your important telephone numbers? Do you have them memorized? Do your children have their phone numbers, including mom and dad's cell phone numbers memorized?
Speaking of children, do your children know their full name and the full name of their parents? Do they know their address? Do they know the full names of their grandparents in case their parents are killed or unable to talk? Do your children have IDs? Do you put their IDs on them when you travel? (My grandchild is 4 and I have been working with him myself for a year to memorize his name, address, phone number, my name, his parents' full names, his other grandparents full names. I make it a game.)
Those of us in the Midwest know the possibility of tornados.
Think about this NOW!
Make a list. Find your important stuff NOW. The people of New Orleans and Biloxi never expected this to happen to them.
Make this a priority this week and then keep a record of where stuff is. Add it to your control journal. If you don't have one or don't know what a control journal is , go to http://www.flylady.net and download her control journal and fill it out. You can also join her group and sign up for the daily email reminders she sends out to help you organize and de-clutter your home.
Because I care, Lavon Lewis
P.S. I am state moderator of a group that Flylady set up for Oklahoma (she also has state groups for each state.) I am also moderator of several Flybaby or subgroups in Oklahoma including the Flying in Tulsa group.If anyone in OKlahoma is interested in joining, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flyinginoklahoma and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flyingintulsaoklahoma and click on join. For other areas of Oklahoma, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/flyinginoklahoma/links for a list of subgroups in Oklahoma.
