Jeanette Isabelle[/quote]

Jeanette_Isabelle-
If you have unlimited room, paper is king. Unlimited room, waterproofer storage, done.

If not, there IS a EMP Proof digital solution. There are archival grade DVD and blu rays. The brand that I preferred in personal research is M-Disc. Still pros and cons....

Cons first- Many new machines do not have optical drives. This limits hardware. They ARE Digital- no electricity, no access

But...

Pros--
Optical Media are EMP Proof and waterproof.
M-Disc have been tested, and tests indicate storage life of over 50 years.
LG- branded DVD and Blueray players can both read and write the discs, almost any brand can read them.
If you are storing pictures, not documents, many DVD and Blu Ray players can view pictures, so for some media, you would not need a PC.

*** slight aside, used laptops are cheap. Craigslist has them for $50.00 You need someone who knows PCs

https://ocala.craigslist.org/sys/d/toshiba-p25-s507-laptop/6643808288.html Too Slow for me 50.00

https://ocala.craigslist.org/sys/d/dell-latitude-e6410-laptop/6645613848.html I have 2 of these, one from newegg 225.00, one from craigslist in Omaha 75.00. This one is 95.00

https://ocala.craigslist.org/sys/d/dell-latitude-d620-dual-core/6644174254.html Slow, but workable. 55.00

If you have faraday cage, put a spare laptop inside the cage. pull it out to charge once every quarter.

"Triage" is an excellent way to put it. I don't think there is anything to make this task easier other than use this forum as a sounding board. As I went through my fire-proof safe and a box (I have not unpacked even after four years), I was adding items I want to take with me: a birthday card from my eighteenth birthday, a letter from the cartoonist Bill Holbrook, journals and printouts of E-mail from fifteen years ago.

Adding stuff is the opposite direction I want to go. Nevertheless, these things remind me what life was like before the doctors, who were treating my disassociation, made life worse. I was a lot happier when I [actually my subconscious] was writing cryptic messages to myself.

Jeanette Isabelle

Categorize and prioritize your data. Things you must have like social security cards, birth certificate, etc to start a life over in a new location you need in that fireproof safe. Sentimental items you could live without. Scan/ take pictures of those and put in a box in the crawlspace/attic, that are nice to have in a planned move but lower priority in an unplanned evacuation.

Backups, make multiple. Keep the most important stuff, the stuff you use every day or required documents on your laptop and a copy on the desktop/server/external drive. Then make regular copies to flash/cd's/dvd's, etc. Always have more than one copy on more than one type of media.

WRT an affordable laptop look for a place that sells 'refurbished' business models. They will last for many years so you don't have to replace them as often. Most of the laptops in my house are 6-10 years old and cost me $200-$300 "new".

Then work down to things like tools and such.
If you want to keep sentimental items in a fireproof box then buy a second one. So you have a small portable for the .gov required papers and a second for other items. Make a list of each box/bag/etc and make a priority.

Something like:
1. Bug out bags
2. fireproof box with documents/backups
3. hotel overnight bag
4. self defense tools
5. additional clothing shelter
6. general tools
7. etc

you start at 1 and depending on the amount of time you have to pack and go work through the list.

Personal items tell a story and help us to remember the good things.

A fireproof safe is too heavy and bulky to bring with me. Items inside will have to be packed in a check in bag.

Jeanette Isabelle

My wife & I have been in our current house for 16 years. We were in our previous house for 10. This is the longest either of us have lived in any house. WE'VE GOT TOO MUCH JUNK.

A box here, and a box there, a box of my memories, her memories, a box of stuff that "has to stay in the family" from my parents, old homeschool projects, etc., etc. Add prepping with "this may come in handy some day...", "I need this in case ...." and the basement's got too much stuff (not hoarder levels).

I've also realized that a lot of those older memories that seemed so precious when I was a young adult, have lost some, or most, of their sentimentality as I'm now old enough to join AARP.

With many of the natural disasters happening around the country and world, I started wondering just what would I HAVE to keep with me, and what is sentimental baggage? I look at what my great-grandparents and their ancestors had, and there really wasn't that much. My grandparents, while far from wealthy, were the first generations to really have any means with which to accumulate stuff. There are reports of many people who lost houses to wildfires that were actually grateful because they didn't have to go thru sorting and disposing of "valuables".

Earlier this year, I heard someone talking about de-cluttering by asking yourself "Do I use it? Do I love it? Would I buy it again". I added a few notes, "Prepper / Packrat / Hoarder? Legitimate Heirloom?" and then printed it and posted it in my basement to force me to really look at WHY I was keeping things. Was I keeping it for legitimate prepping needs? Was I keeping it just because I don't want to get rid of it, "there must be a use for it"? or was I becoming a hoarder and just not wanting to dispose of it because ...? If something happened to me, would my wife & kids even give it a second thought before throwing it out?

American (western civilization) affluence has given us the luxury of sentimentality and the means to indulge.

Time for me to stop preaching (to myself), and get cleaning.

My doll collection and ermine plush toy would have to be left behind because they are too big.



One criterion I use is, does this tell a story? If archeologists from another time found everything I brought with me, could those items tell my complete story?

Something that would be more helpful is to understand this: Decisions can't be made overnight. Ever since I was a teenager, I saw footages on the evening news of refugees having to leave their homes and the only treasures they could keep were what they could carry. That would be impossible for those of us living in the United States. We can't carry everything we own on our person. For me, it took years of going through things, again and again, to decide what goes and what stays. The process only gets better over time.

Over this time I've gained more; that's because life happens. If I haven't acquired more, I'm not living. The newer items also need to be entered into the equation.

Jeanette Isabelle

Me too. Just finished cleaning out some gear that hasn't been used in thirty years, and I doubt I will be flirting with 20,000 feet in Alaska snow and ice - hence no need for the double boots,overboots, and crampons. Kept the ice ax, though. It will be handy for field work, excavating fossils. I am just not doing the trips of my youth, and I don't need the attendant gear. Time to donate or sell....

Evacuating on short notice last year in the face of a fast moving fire was a valuable lesson. You can carry everything you need on your person. I and mrs Hikermor did it, and no regrets. I found myself speculating about the house burning down and what pleasure it would be to rebuild and replace our lousy kitchen with something much better. After all, it is just stuff, and stuff can be replaced. Probably better that we aren't going through that process. But every cloud has its silver lining.

Don’t be in such a rush to get rid of your cold weather gear...
Earth's "Big Freeze" Looms As Sun Remains Devoid Of Sunspots For Most Of 2018

So there you are, a second Maunder Minimum is the perfect excuse to hold onto that arctic parka.

Don't worry. I still have a couple of really good parkas around. They are entirely too useful....

Is there anything that anyone owns that, currently, holds no value except sentimental value?

Jeanette Isabelle