If you had to quickly choose five of your most valuable possessions to take with you in the case of an emergency, what would you grab?
Many of us won't ever have to think about this, but recent disasters and evacuations serve to remind us to prioritize before an emergency arises. Of all the "stuff" that you've accumulated over the years, what would you bring with you that wasn't: the 72 hour kit, the necessary medical, financial, and identification documentation, cash, medication, or things that your family and pets, etc. would need to survive?
I think most of us would end up taking items that are tied to family and special memories. I know I would.
For me, while I'd have a hard time giving up my books*, I know that most of them could be replaced ... eventually. Yearbooks and Scrapbooks can't. Family Bibles with the genealogy can't.
Similarly, most of my music* is uploaded onto my work hard drive and is backed up on the server (shhhh, don't tell), so I know that could be downloaded. The one photo I have of my father as a little boy with his parents also could never be replaced.
Electronic equipment* and furniture* can be replaced/upgraded; the heirloom shadowbox I had made out of my paternal grandfather's vintage charm bracelet and the glamorous war-time photo of he and grandma, could not.
Clothing could be replaced; the vintage family "jewels" that include that paternal grandfather's WWII military ribbons and buttons, the bracelets he made out of scrap metal during the war, (one of which I wear every single day), my maternal grandmother's collection of vintage costume jewelry, and my "pearls," medallions, and pre-ban ivory necklaces could not.
My linens could be all be replaced, except for the handmade quilt that my maternal grandmother made just for my high school graduation and went with me to college and beyond.
What would you consider to be irreplaceable? Think about it now, while you can.
*I keep an inventory list in Excel on my computer and e-mail to my various accounts a few times a year. That way I know approximately what was in my collection in case I need to verify for insurance purposes, replace an item, or weed out duplicates. Once I get a flashdrive a copy will go there, along with scanned copies of important documents, living wills, wills, medical information, etc. The drive will then be sealed in waterproof containers and put with my evac. kit.
