2 minutes

[2lilsweetfoxes]

For some reason, you have 5 minutes to get what you need/want to take and get out of your house. (your kids are going, naturally) You will never be able to go back. You must be able to fit everything into a single knapsack. What do you take.

me: birth certificates, passports, DD214s, shot records, pair of glasses for each person in the family that wears them and their prescription (all that is kept together); 6 diapers and wetones; Ipod; cell phone; laptop; bottle and a few pediasures; driver's license; military ID card; money; credit/debit cards. Wear layered clothing and sturdy shoes.

[limette]

it wouldn't fit in a knapsack but my imac and my purse. that's it.

[Fujiko]

edit, oh i didn't see the part about the single napsack, lol.
well then, it would be wallet, cellphone, back-up disks of my computer, water purifier, some diapers and wipes, ring sling, file of important docs, some high calorie food (chocolate probably), water bottle, essential toiletries, tent, matches, firestarter. (this is for one of the large backpacking backpacks. omit tent if not) can i bring the double stroller? then throw in the babybag and a couple of blankets.

nak
wait, 2 minutes or 5? i'll go with 5
is this for just my family or is there a widespread emergency where food, water, etc might be limited?

kids in the car
file of "important documents" (which includes birth cert, etc)
laptop and cord
photos
blankets (for both warmth and they are all handmade and sentimental)
as many diapers and wipes i can carry in one load
load up as much clothes i can in a suitcase
essential toiletries (toothbrushes, toothpaste, brush, soap, glasses)
backpacking gear if there is some sort of disaster (includes water purifier, tent, sleeping bags, matches, flashlights, etc) (it's all in the packs already)
grab some high calorie food on my way out and a jug of water
oh, and wallets, cellphone, babybag

sounds like a lot. but much of that is already together. backpacking stuff is already in the backpacks ready to throw in the van. my house is fairly organized and small, so not as bad as it sounds.

[goddessjulia]

interesting thought experiment! it would totally depend on the situation. for some kind of disaster where my home/things were going to be destroyed, I'd be grabbing the irreplaceable (sp?) things: photos, laptop for the files stored there, camera, etc. would try to grab some clothes and diapers; grabbing my purse would be easy enough. but with only 2 minutes I'd be hard pressed to grab anywhere near what I'd want to... if it were a planned departure for living on the road I'd get organized and plan a little differently... hm, now I'll be thinking about this today!

[zoebird]

well, for me it would focus around documents.

we wear layers anyway, and would choose the sturdy shoes.

so, my knapsack would have: all important documents and IDs, cash and relevant money cards, cell phone, water bottles with the carry-able filter and tablets, first aid kit and homeopathic/herbal first aid kit, basic items for grooming, mamma cloth and DS's training pants (which are kept together), the most simple toys for DS--his trains, blocks, and tops--notebooks and pencils, matches, and if possible the cameras, lap tops, and such.

for emergency preparedness, we are learning to can and bottle water so that we will have that, and most kiwis simply keep their camping gear at the ready. we don't have any camping gear, but we do have many of the basics that wouldn't be an issue: wool blankets, plastic sheeting (to use as a foundation and cover for the wool blankets), accessible changes of clothes, layers. i also have candles, a hand-cranked flashlight, and a swiss army knife (in fact, we have two). so, we have pretty much the basics.

i'm not that worried about it though.