Some of my friends own bug-out bags. A bug-out bag is a bag that is fully stocked and ready to grab-and-go in an emergency.
We created one when when we were going to have a baby. We had it stocked and ready to grab. . And we did. Three times. My friends’ bug-out bags are more for the end of the world emergency. Regardless, of the purpose, the contents of a bug-out bag are carefully chosen.
The point of a bug-out bag is to have what you need ready to go at a moments notice. But, what about the other situation. Suppose you have plenty of time, but limited space? What would you choose to take?
Several years ago, I found myself, and worse, my family, in a terrible situation. I had to move my family from Athlestane, Wisconsin to Seattle, Washington. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was that I was broke, unemployed and nearly $100,000 in debt. Oh, and I had a wife and 12 kids.
I managed to scrape up a little money. Enough rent a u-haul trailer to pull behind our Suburban. We had a tent trailer we pulled behind the van.
Remember the 12 kids? That’s a lot of stuff. We had to decide what to take and what to leave. We told each kid they were limited to one bin for clothes and one bin for toys. Nothing else.
That was 24 bins. A lot of space. We took some food, dishes and household stuff. But, again, just the bare minimum. And that left precious room for anything else.
What would you take? More toys for the kids? Furniture? Books? (We had tons of books.)
We ended up taking my lovely wife’s sewing machines, and fabric. She’s a wonderful seamstress. If needed she could make clothes for our kids.
We took my tools. Nearly all of them. We sold the chainsaw and the scroll saw. Those were luxury tools. But, the mechanic tools? I could use them to fix my cars. The shop tools? I could use those to make beds or partitions to make smaller rooms out of bigger ones.
When it came down to it, we prioritized functionality. We had no idea when our situation would improve. And space was at a premium. It was a scary time. For me, for my lovely wife and for my children who were the real innocent victims.
We did have one concession to beauty in the ocean of our ugliness. My lovely wife’s piano. It’s not an expensive piano. Not hugely. It was the first major purchase I made when we had first been married years earlier. Did we have room to take it?
We didn’t have room not to.
What would you take, if you only had room for your most precious or valuable items?
Stay safe
Rodney M Bliss is an author, columnist and IT Consultant. His blog updates every weekday. He lives in Pleasant Grove, UT with his lovely wife, thirteen children and grandchildren.
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