Household Safety

My best friend Van and I were recently talking about how important it is to own a safe (with a lock and key as well as a combination), and this Young House Love post came to mind. They share the suggestions from a family who tragically lost their home to an awful fire earlier this year.

Some of those suggestions include:

1. Subscribe to an online data backup service
2. Take pictures and keep hyperlinks of all expensive purchases, including jewelry
3. Put phones in a consistent place each night
4. Scan each photo and receipt, again keeping them offsite, or on an online backup service

Mr. Love Bird and I recently purchased an external hard drive since our computers are on the fritz and new computers aren't in the budget right now. We at least wanted to back them up in the event they crash. I've lost a hard drive before and it's something I truly mourn because 10 years of memories were on it including over 10,000 songs. Ughhh, I hate thinking about it. 

Fortunately, I haven't been in a home emergency situation, but I know how important it is to be prepared, especially as a renter, which most people are in large cities. in 2006, Mr. Love Bird lived in ground floor apartment in Boston, and I told him how important it was to have renters' insurance. Thank God he did, because right in the last 2 weeks of his lease it flooded, and he was able to get reimbursed for his damaged items. 

Do our readers have any additional tips from personal experience?