15 minutes to grab essentials - what would you take?

[Papergirl1968]

I hope this isn’t insensitive in light of Whaley Bridge, but it got me thinking, if I was in a similar situation, what would I grab in 15 minutes?
I wouldn’t have left without dcat. Otherwise precious photos, (adopted) dds’ memory books, camera and iPad as there are further photos on those, a few clothes. I’m not very materialistic so don’t have much jewellery or stuff like that. Passports, birth certificates, school exam certificates etc if I had time.
What would you grab?

we used to live in a coutry where this was a very real possibility - grab your airport bag and run.

We got into the habit of always having all our documents in a safe palce where we knew it and could grab it.
We now have one of those metal file boxes, with eveyrthing in it from passports to insurance documents.

So, assuming people and pets safe
grab that file, grab my laptop and dh's laptop, if time grab favourite toys of dcs, don't bother with anything else really.
I wear my wedding ring.

but we have fish in a tank and chickens, and I have no idea what you do with those.

so much depends on if you can put it all in your car too.
If you have to carry it, it is suddenly much smaller.

But to those saying you can replace passports etc. Can I just say that while life always should obviously take priority, many paper documents are veyr hard to replace, and the thing is, when you have lost ALL of them, you can't use one to confirm the existence of the other. eg need proof of identity to get your birth certificate, and then the passport is dependant on the birth certificate etc.
So it relaly is a good idea ot get what you can.

Insurance documents are particularly handy.

I don't think I'd go back to get anything from my house. I don't really do sentimental so there's nothing that I would feel was irreplaceable. All my important documents ie passport and exam certificates are photographed and saved in my email account after having to upload them for a job application. Insurances etc are saved in email, and clothes I'd beg, steal or borrow to avoid having to go back into a risky situation

This scares me big time, house fire is one of my biggest fears, daughter would be the first to be grabbed, just bloody hope i could get her out of a window either at ground level or where i could drop her onto a bay window roof/extension roof (have husband go out first, i pass her to him)
After that would have to round up the bloody cats and who knows where they would be, one would be easy as she goes everywhere i do, but the second would no doubt be behind the damned sofa/fridge. After all that i doubt there would be time to collect anything, but if there was then passports and jewellery.
If a flood situation then loft for suitcases, get husband gathering documents and his clothes/all toiletries/meds while i grabbed mine and daughters stuff inc her favourite blanket and teddy.
Downstairs for Mac/hard drives with irreplaceable photos/ipad and chargers
Round up the cats while leaving the house (summon with treats) grab handbag and any snacks and drinks i find along the way

Grab box of documents on the way out too, only to save time digging out the birth certificates from it's depths

Pets into carry boxes. Two dog crates and the guinea pig cage in as well. If time, pet food, hay and litter.

Don't care about anything else.

I think wrestling the cat into a carrier will take 14mins, after that as a British person with
a foreign born parent I would get as many forms of ID which prove I was born and love in the UK (learnt the lesson of what happened to the windrush citizens)

In order:
Cat in cat box an a few pouches of food
Handbag + car key
Folder with all my passport and documents in it
2x pieces of sentimental jewelry
Phone charger and power pack
Change of clothes and warm coat

Also depends what the risk was... normal style flood I woudl move my TV and expensive bikes upstairs

If it was a risk of dam bursting or fire (something totally catastrophic) I wouldn't bother doing anything like that

H20H20Everywhere cat litter is a good call oh and some Dreamies

I’d never find my driving licence in 15 minutes. Might be time to sort out some stuff