Essential Documents: How to Organize, Locate, and Replace Them

Some things in life are unavoidable: death, taxes, and the need to manage your complicated life.

The recent fires in Southern California have been a sobering reminder of how quickly emergencies can strike. Imagine receiving a 15-minute notice to gather everything important to you—slipping on your shoes, grabbing what you can, and escaping through your front door, perhaps for the last time. Fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and yes, fellow Californians, even the Big One—disasters can happen when you least expect them.

You might already have a “go bag” packed and ready to go. If not, here are a few resources to help you get started:

• Stealth Angel Survival
• Uncharted Supply Co.
• American Red Cross Emergency Preparedness Store

But what about your essential documents? Are they organized, accessible, and ready to go at a moment’s notice? Below is a list of critical documents to have on hand and instructions on how to retrieve copies if needed.

Once gathered, scan all your essential documents into a single folder titled “Essential Documents.” Save this folder to multiple secure locations: the cloud (e.g., Dropbox or Google Drive), an external hard drive, or a thumb drive stored in your go bag. For extra security, consider using password-protected platforms like LastPass to store and share access to these files if needed.

Being prepared is more than having a go bag; it’s about protecting the records that safeguard your future.