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Securing Your Personal Property and Precious Photos

Whenever the news shows families who have been devastated by a natural disaster, a fire or a robbery and they have lost important family papers or photos it reminds me of the advice given to me a few years ago that I have been passing on to my clients preparing for a move ever sense.

Now that technology has made the purchase of scanners affordable for everyone you should consider making copies of your personal documents such as social security cards, credit card numbers, bank accounts, investment accounts, wills, power of attorney and any other documents that you might need and save them to a computer disc. Make two copies of the disc and give one to a family member who lives in a different area and save the other one in a small fireproof box that you can grab in the case of an emergency or carry with you when you move.

The same goes for photos. If you have old non-digital photos scan them and save as well. If you have a computer full of digital photos you can upload them to one of the numerous online photo albums as a backup for you to be able to retrieve anytime you need them.

Another option to consider is to have your documents and information professional stored by an online service such as WebSafe or a similiar service. Securing your documents through an online service means a second level of backup giving you even more security if you should lose documents or precious family photos.

As you prepare for your next move or getting ready for spring cleaning consider online options and backup discs of your data. Give yourself a little piece of mind. Remember your memories are priceless don't let them get away!

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Cindy Jones

As an Associate Broker with RE/MAX Allegiance in Northern Virginia and native of the area I can assist you whether you are buying, selling or renting a home anywhere in Northern Virginia. For more information about the area or my services you can check VaRealEstateTalk or my Northern Virginia website.

Search all homes available in the Northern Virginia area.

Posted by Cindy Jones-Northern Virginia Real Estate & Military Relocation Services on 02/27/2008 06:42 PM

Comments (16)

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Originally posted at: : Securing Your Personal Property and Precious Photos

This post has been included in Virginia Information Fairfax County, VA Information

16 Comments on Securing Your Personal Property and Precious Photos

FEB

2008

Excellent information, it is important to document your possessions, having dealt with an insurance company in the past without good documentation you will not get paid.

Take care!

RJH

CINDY - This is excellent advice. I guess it's time to get this done. I've seen a series of posts recently that chronicle someone's life by using photos. I'd hate to think of not having all of the years of memories. Thanks for the tips.

Cindy - These are very good ideas, I see some ideas here that I can implement myself to be even more prepared.

FEB

2008

Cindy~You have really provided such valuable information to everybody and have given much food for thought. Thank YOU!

Cindy - What great and important information! I've scanned photos and put them online, but never thought about scanning my social security and driver's license. This could save a lot of grief in an emergency.

Robert-insurance companies are expecting to see a lot more information now then they did in previous years when it comes to lost, stolen or damaged items if you need to file a claim. It is especially important for people on the move as moving companies love to try and NOT pay a claim for damaged or lost items.

Adam-I'm working now on saving some of my mom's family photos. They can't be replaced and are our tie to family history.

Steve-I know I'm working on a couple of projects now myself. We never know when we are going to lose something important and if we have at least taken some precauctions will save us a lot of heartache later.

Julie-the great think about AR is the ideas we can pick up from each other everyday.

Linda-for most of us our SSN are ingrained in our minds but every once in awhile someone actually wants to see your card and then the panic sets in. Thanks for stopping by!

Excellent ideas. Making copies of important documents and storing in other locations is like having a backup facility for continuity of operations. Good post.

Cindy - wonderful reminder of the need to protect these items! We are lucky in this age of technology to be able to do this so easily!!!

FEB

2008

Great tips! We have a huge safe in our garage - one that will have to stay with the house when we do sell our home because it is way to big to move! Plus I have been trying to save everything on my discs.

Bill & Barbara Jo-yes it is nice to be able to save our memories and important "stuff" secure. We just never know when something is going to happen. Even a broken water heater can wipe out years of stuff.

Naoma-Obviously a safe isn't going to be stolen and will probably survive anything mother nature can throw at it. Now you just need to find the buyer who is as smart as you are to be able to leave it behind.

MAR

2008

Great post, Cindy! I was just thinking about this yesterday when I got home and noticed it looked like someone had broken into my tenants' apartment. Boy was I relieved when my tenant got home and admitted he had done it himself. Having everything backed up like this goes a long way.

Dan

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