Those of us in the Pacific Northwest live under the regular threat of a major earthquake and forest fires. We are told regularly to be prepared for these emergencies – to have enough food, water and medicines for your family and pets. Many of us in Portland thought we were on track to be prepared for such events. That is, until the winter storms struck much of Oregon over the MLK weekend in January.
As a camper, I was relatively prepared to weather the storm (pun intended), however I did have to invite my neighbor over for coffee . . . and ask her to please bring coffee. Now that power is restored, downed trees are being turned into firewood and we can walk without Yaktrax, we’re taking stock of what we didn’t have or weren’t prepared for. As I watched my neighbors with burst pipes throw their filing cabinet into a dumpster, I realized that many of us are overlooking another type of preparation (aside from an adequate coffee supply), protecting important documents.
To start preparing your documents for a disaster, you need to know which documents and records to protect and take with you in an emergency. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers suggestions including:
Documents you likely only have hard copies of:
- Personal records: birth, marriage, adoption and death certificates
- Identification: drivers license, passport, Social Security cards, naturalization or citizenship documents
- Deed, mortgage, lease and loan papers
Documents that may be hard copy or that are in digital form:
- Vehicle registration and title
- Pet ownership papers, vaccination records, ID tags, microchip number
- Insurance policies (including contact information)
- Will and estate planning documents, Power of Attorney
- Financial documents: bank statements, tax returns, investment account statements – and account numbers
- Medical records: prescriptions, health insurance card, provider information
Once you have located the documents you need to protect, next you’ll need to decide how to store and organize them. If you prefer hard copies, you can store them in a water and fireproof container so they may be grabbed quickly in a crisis. You should also scan and make copies of important documents, storing originals and copies separately. If you don’t have easy access to a scanner, your smart phone has a function to scan within the Notes app or you can download apps such as Adobe Scan or Scanner Pro.
Digital copies can be stored on a flash drive or by using cloud storage. Dropbox, Amazon Cloud Drive and Google Drive are all services that let you store documents onto a remote server (i.e. the cloud). They typically have a free option but also have a paid option if you need a greater amount of storage. To better protect your information, you should enable two-factor authentication to access your documents via these services.
I also recommend using a password manager to keep track of your passwords rather than having them written down somewhere in your home. LastPass and 1Password are popular, inexpensive options that will not only document and maintain your credentials for each site but can also generate them for you.
Finally, and perhaps the most challenging, you should have an inventory of items in your home. At a minimum you should have photos or videos of your belongings (don’t forget to open drawers and doors). Ideally, you will have a full inventory of your belongings.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed at the idea of taking an inventory of your entire house, you are not alone. I felt overwhelmed just typing it. Luckily, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel to create an inventory. There are several inventory apps as well as templates available via a quick Internet search. Your insurance provider likely has some recommendations or checklists as well. And remember to focus on items that are valuable – you probably aren’t as worried about replacing kitchen hand towels as you are about electronics, heirlooms, artwork, etc.
While you’re adding indoor propane heaters and snow shovels to your Amazon cart, consider protecting your documents by adding a fire/waterproof document storage container or a document scanner to your cart as well. It can feel like a daunting task to get your documents prepared for an emergency. However, when staring down a major project, think about the famous proverb, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Or in this case, one scan at a time.