Hurricane Irma Evacuation: What would you take?

Would you evacuate your H bags with their orange boxes or just sleeper bags?

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stillfabulous

stillfabulous

Luxury Writer
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Aug 12, 2008
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#1
A few hours ago my DH tells me we are now under an evacuation order. We must leave our house.

He wants to take one car. I want to take two. We have fur baby gear that takes up beaucoup space, and I want to evacuate my H as much as possible. I want to take the orange boxes, but would they be too conspicuous? Maybe just the sleeper bags. I'm afraid they might get bruised without a protective box, but those boxes take up a lot of room. Then there are important papers like passports, insurance policies, etc. I am using an iPhone app to "document" the contents of our home. MacBook Air, iPhone, chargers and cords. I am taking my gown, MB shoes, and vintage clutch for our son's wedding next month, with earring, necklace and bracelet options. Crane invitations for a brunch we're hosting (just arrived today), LOVE stamps, fountain pen with ink that matches the printed fonts.

What would you take if you had less than a day to "pack" and might never see your house again? The second car, if we take one, would be a sports coupe with essentially no back seat, so very limited storage space. The first car is a BMW Grand Touring with a concealed "hatchback" but has four doors like a sedan. Cooler with meats and cheeses and water, juice, tea--all the food we stocked up on to eat when the power goes out.

Not to to be pessimistic--it's every woman's prerogative to change her mind, and I'm praying Irma changes hers and decides to turn away from the South Florida coast, spinning back over the Atlantic. But she is a monstrous hurricane, and we must respect her power.

So I'm thinking 5 H bags (B, K, GP, Trim I, and new Baton de Craie), H SLGs, H bracelets, H scarves/shawl/stole, a black capsule wardrobe with black Prada & Mephisto flats and black RV heels, some jewelry, watches. Keepsake items from my mother and DH's mother (may they RIP). Eye glasses and Rx sunnies. Photo album from childhood (I cannot find our wedding photo album), a drawer full of family history documents. AKC papers for the fur baby, leads, service dog ID and vest, travel bowls, food, water, water bottle stand, squeaky toys, doggy diapers, doggy papers, doggy potty pen (folds flat). My meds, BHRT, and usual cosmetics and skin care I travel with. Maybe I will pack in a LV Keepall 55 instead of a wheeled carry-on. Or maybe both.

What am I forgetting? What would you take if you had less than a day to "pack" and might never see your house again? I am so thankful our kids are grown and do not have to be considered in this exodus.
 
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#2
stillfabulous said:
A few hours ago my DH tells me we are now under an evacuation order. We must leave our house.

He wants to take one car. I want to take two. We have fur baby gear that takes up beaucoup space, and I want to evacuate my H as much as possible. I want to take the orange boxes, but would they be too conspicuous? Maybe just the sleeper bags. I'm afraid they might get bruised without a protective box, but those boxes take up a lot of room. Then there are important papers like passports, insurance policies, etc. I am using an iPhone app to "document" the contents of our home. MacBook Air, iPhone, chargers and cords. I am taking my gown, MB shoes, and vintage clutch for our son's wedding next month, with earring, necklace and bracelet options. Crane invitations for a brunch we're hosting (just arrived today), LOVE stamps, fountain pen with ink that matches the printed fonts.

What would you take if you had less than a day to "pack" and might never see your house again? The second car, if we take one, would be a sports coupe with essentially no back seat, so very limited storage space. The first car is a BMW Grand Touring with a concealed "hatchback" but has four doors like a sedan. Cooler with meats and cheeses and water, juice, tea--all the food we stocked up on to eat when the power goes out.

Not to to be pessimistic--it's every woman's prerogative to change her mind, and I'm praying Irma changes hers and decides to turn away from the South Florida coast, spinning back over the Atlantic. But she is a monstrous hurricane, and we must respect her power.

So I'm thinking 5 H bags (B, K, GP, Trim I, and new Baton de Craie), H SLGs, H bracelets, H scarves/shawl/stole, a black capsule wardrobe with black Prada & Mephisto flats and black RV heels, some jewelry, watches. Keepsake items from my mother and DH's mother (may they RIP). Eye glasses and Rx sunnies. Photo album from childhood (I cannot find our wedding photo album), a drawer full of family history documents. AKC papers for the fur baby, leads, service dog ID and vest, travel bowls, food, water, water bottle stand, squeaky toys, doggy diapers, doggy papers, doggy potty pen (folds flat). My meds, BHRT, and usual cosmetics and skin care I travel with. Maybe I will pack in a LV Keepall 55 instead of a wheeled carry-on. Or maybe both.

What am I forgetting? What would you take if you had less than a day to "pack" and might never see your house again? I am so thankful our kids are grown and do not have to be considered in this exodus.
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Where are you located? We have a place on hillsboro Mile in the middle of renovation but are in nj now. I would take cars and my jewelry and bags, important papers and sentimental pics. I would only take a few pairs of shoes and clothes to get me through. Last hurricane I took my bags in the boxes afraid they would get banged up otherwise. Important papers for family and pets plus cash. I remember it was so hard to get cash after hurricane sandy and no one was taking credit cards bc of no power. Be safe
 
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#4
Not related to a hurricane, but I am in a similar situation (had to pack bags and leave my home due to a mold problem). Before the construction could begin and the mold could get everywhere, I packed all my bags in a suitcase (good thing they all fit! - I guess that's the plus of a having a streamlined collection - although it is my biggest suitcase lol). The bags have held up fine (still in the suitcase). I take one out every day to wear and at first I though they were going to be squished but as soon as I take the air pillows out and take them out of the cover bags, they are fine. I did take them with the air pillows, felt, and cover bags. Hope that helps. Stay safe!

I would definitely take important papers, bags, and jewelry. If you have space for shoes sure! Maybe tell your hubby that you should take two cars to make sure your second care is safe ;)

Stay safe and dry dear
 
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#8
Praying for your safe travels. I'm riding it out here in Tampa for now, but yesterday, before Irma headed East, I was in the same boat trying to pack!

Boxes are big and cumbersome - and I'm sure Hermes would give you new boxes if you needed them after the storm. Leave them behind, take your bags and valuables, and most importantly, stay calm and safe. I'll be thinking of you!
 
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#9
Any special momentos, keepsakes, family heirlooms, passports, medications, handbags, enough clothes, important documents, jewelry, enough cash, etc. My family went through something similar with Hurricane Sandy, although we were fortunate enough that it was a second home. Are you in Miami, by chance? I have family on the east coast of Florida... hope everyone is safe!
 
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#11
Louis74 said:
I would take my H bags for sure, but I would remove the air paper and stuff them with as many scarves, SLGs, jewelry, etc... as possible to save space. I would take the dust bags but leave the boxes behind. This is not ideal, but this is an emergency.
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Mme. de la Paix said:
Nest the bags inside each other so they take up less space and there are fewer H "packages" to keep track of/move (they will be fine for a short time.) Put a trash bag around the outer dust bags to keep them dry.

Be safe! Sending prayers.
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I think these best sum up what I would do! Be SAFE! Keep us posted.
 
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#13
Sorry that you're potentially in the path of this enormous storm but as Florida's governor said today, homes can be repaired but lives cannot be. Stay safe! I would take both cars if you're able to since the stuff you can pack in them + the value of the car would probably be greater than the gas prices and inconvenience of driving separately.

Even if some of your bags get a little bruised it's a heck of a lot better than losing them altogether (worst case scenario). As other said, don't take any boxes and try to pack everything compactly. SLGs inside your bags or stuff the bags with clothing or other non-liquid valuables because they can help bags keep shape and you can fit more stuff in this way. Prioritize irreplaceable things and the most expensive things.

Also, this may sound weird, but unlike a vacation where people say don't forget your toothpaste and many pairs of underwear, those things you can buy anywhere and are generally not very expensive. I would try to pack up sentimental and valuable things first and then buy some necessities at whatever place you're evacuating to. Best of luck, my thoughts are with you.
 
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#14
missyb said:
Where are you located? We have a place on hillsboro Mile in the middle of renovation but are in nj now. I would take cars and my jewelry and bags, important papers and sentimental pics. I would only take a few pairs of shoes and clothes to get me through. Last hurricane I took my bags in the boxes afraid they would get banged up otherwise. Important papers for family and pets plus cash. I remember it was so hard to get cash after hurricane sandy and no one was taking credit cards bc of no power. Be safe
Click to expand...

@missyb that is a very good point abut extra cash and the credit card machines being down. I know DH has been to the bank for cash, but I did not mention to him your point about perhaps not being able to use credit cards. We are very close to you, between the ICW and US-1, in Broward. We have more cars than drivers, so he wants to leave two garaged here. He said I could take everything I want and he would take nothing!

I did not mention we had an unexpected death in the family this morning, and so we will also pack funeral clothing, hoping the airports will reopen by then so we can get there for what looks like a Monday funeral. We are supposed to be in LA the following weekend for a big family birthday celebration, so clothes for that weekend as well. If I wear my basic black capsule, I can switch up the H scarves and look different every day. They really do make travel so much easier. I can go to Europe for three weeks in a wheeled carry-on with a large Longchamp bag as my personal item, which holds almost as much as my suitcase ;)
 
#15
It sounds like you've thought this out very well. I would just add, from stuff I've read, to take a week's worth of food and water (and medications) for both you and your pets. That can be a lot of water, but water is the thing that seems to sell out everywhere first.

Take a bunch of cash, because if power goes out, credit cards may be useless.

Also, take a small bottle of some sort of detergent like Woolite and/or Dawn dish detergent so you can wash things in a sink if you need to. Dawn is also safe for most animals. Also a few garbage bags, paper towels, toilet paper and band-aids. If you have a first aid kit, take that.

Good luck and be safe! And please check back in here when you can and let us know how everything went.
 
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