Only 20 minutes -

If you were told you had only 20 minutes to get out of your house what would you take?  Would you have a plan and a list or at least a general idea?  Or would you run around like that proverbial headless chicken - maybe even clucking?

There are only a couple rules for this drill -

(1) You have to be able to carry the items out yourself (well, at least the ones without their own feet).

(2) They must be able to fit in your car/van/truck so, no, you can't take the piano (see rule #1)!

That's it..

Take a minute and consider the most important things to bring.

Your family and pets are the first priority of course .  But where does it go from there?

Medications?  Are there some that you absolutely must have on a daily basis?  Do you have extra and do you know where they are?  Do you get your prescriptions refilled on a timely basis or do you wait until the day they run out - that could present some obvious issues in an emergency.

How about clothes - weather changes so perhaps it's coming on to rain or snow and you are in a light jacket.  Do you have boots or are you running out the door in sneakers? How about grabbing a heavier coat?

Records?  I mean bank accounts, tax records, birth certificates or perhaps insurance documents - we don't know why you are leaving yet but if it's flood or hurricane or another potentially destructive event you will need those things after the fact. And not in a water soaked or mushed up condition.

How about food and water?.  If you paid heed to the list of things in my car, a lot of what you would take may already be in your vehicle.

Part of the reason I ended up with "Sometimes I talk to myself" as a blog title (other than the certainty of at least a one person audience - that'd be me) is because my mind tends to bounce around from topic to topic (especially at 3 am when I wish I were sleeping).  I go from what ifs to what ifs to why I ride my motorcycle to should I repaint the spare room to another round of what ifs.  So my blog tends to do the same - from the kitchen cupboards to water essentials to the karma of gift giving it's all over the map (you remember maps, right?).

I admit to being singularly lax in this 20 minute evacuation exercise.  Every time I consider finally getting a real plan in place I see something shiny and get distracted.  I think that as I get older it will only get worse!  Sort of like starting to clean the living room and ending up taking a side trip to scrub the utility sink in the basement and on to sorting out the contents of my saddlebags!  You see the problem?

My point (I always try to arrive at some sort of point no matter how convoluted the trail I follow) is to at least think about this 20 minute deal from time to time.  Consider what is really important to you if you have to bail and try to have at least a general idea of categories if not specifics!  No one else can define your priorities - back to the theme of depending on yourself and not someone else to "git er done"!