Surviving a Natural—or Other—Disaster with a Disaster-Proof Legacy
Fires and floods! Tornadoes and hurricanes! Increasingly, natural disasters are having a heyday. What would you do if you had just 6 minutes to leave your home, not knowing if you can return–ever?
Then, there are those bizarre disasters. Most recently, there was a storm in Dallas that caused a construction crane to topple over onto a residential building and parking ramp. Turns out a NAPO (National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals) member, Jolene Monaco, lived one block away. One person was killed and five were injured. The damage was so significant that residents were given 10 minutes to evacuate. Cars in the ramp were destroyed. Many lives have been upended. Who anticipates such a thing? Today we consider disaster preparedness for saving our lives and our legacies.
Part One: Survival Basics
First, do you have a plan that you and your children have memorized and practiced, so initial reactions to a disaster are calm and automatic, whether fire, flood or severe weather? This prevents panic and wasted time. Next, create a “disaster packet” with critical things in a neon-colored bag. (Neon makes it easier to find.) Keep it somewhere safe, but easy to grab and go. Here’s what the Red Cross and others advise. (See the links below for an exhaustive list of resources.)
First Aid kit
Clothes
Flashlight, radio
Emergency whistle
Water and/or water filter
Keys
Cash
Personal IDs
Pets and pet care stuff
Phone charger—solar chargers are super
Hand sanitizer and/or wet-wipes
Many advise two bags: one for home, one for your car. Also, depending on the situation, sleeping bags at-the-ready can be invaluable.
Part Two: Post-Disaster and Your Legacy
Next, consider your documents and personal legacy. Consider the stress of shuffling through file cabinets searching for valuable documents with five minutes to go. Imagine if disaster struck, all vital documents were already preserved digitally and could be accessed from anywhere by you or a designated contact. Imagine not having to panic if you needed to replace your passport, drivers license, will, financial documents, birth certificate, social security card, marriage/divorce papers, power -of-attorney papers, art, photos, videos, scrapbooks and more.
Perhaps you rent online storage. Did you know that such storage is often subject to data mining and advertising? Also, how long can you depend on this service? Such businesses come and go, potentially leaving your digital documents stranded.
Now there’s a better way: Forever® is a photo and document storage service that you own, not rent. It’s a permanent system guaranteed to preserve your photos and documents for your lifetime PLUS 100 years. Pay once (or by installments for a year) and own your storage. There are no hidden fees and no recurring costs, unless you need to buy more storage space.
Best of all, Forever® never compresses your data, so it’s saved in full resolution for maximum quality when you reproduce or print.
Now imagine that disaster, and not having to grab scrapbooks, photo albums, vital documents or favorite videos. How would you choose? With Forever®, you don’t have to, because you have already stored it safely—for your entire lifetime, plus 100 years. Feeling relieved, knowing you can print or easily replace critical documents because you have them safely stored? In a disaster, Forever® eliminates the “what to save” crisis—because it already is saved, and accessible from anywhere. So, you can focus on your loved ones and survival needs. Your documents and legacy are already preserved.
As a Forever® Ambassador (and one of the original company beta testers) Beth can help you find a plan perfect for your needs. Call Beth, 612-616-1215, or beth@gettingorganizednow.com to learn more and gain unimagined peace of mind.
Resources for disaster preparedness:
LA Times: Earthquake survival Kit: https://www.latimes.com/la-me-disaster17sep17-side-htmlstory.html
https://bit.ly/2K8cOUL (ARAG Legal Assistance: 6 legal tips after a disaster)
https://bit.ly/2QT6n8h: Jason Wells: “If you had 5 minutes to evacuate, what would you grab?”