If disaster strikes, is your data safe?

I have a confession to make: I’m not the most organized person in the world.

Taking one look at my desk, this would not come as a surprise. I consider organizing my important documents and files to be a Sisyphean task. The rooms in my almost brand-new townhouse, when company isn’t expected, are something of a continual disaster area, in that piles of paper are constantly in motion and in flux, waiting to be filed or acted upon.

So when I hear about fires in southern California, or hurricanes in the southeast, I start getting a little nervous. What if I had to leave with 15 minutes notice? Would I be able to grab my house papers, photos and laptop in time and would I have everything I need to get my life going again?

I’d be lucky to get out with my laptop. My iPod, maybe.

I don’t know about you, but going even a day without my laptop is something I can barely think of, it’s become so much like an extension of myself and my life, my number one link to the outside world when I’m not out and about or at work.

I’m so unprepared and thinking about it led me to realize there are plenty of options out there for the average person. This is of course assuming you have more than a few minutes and that flames are not whipping up on your heels. The most important thing to save is your life and those of your family, so all this secondary, but if you have time...

“What is the single most important commodity most people have in their house? It’s your information,” said Michael Griggs, president of the Denver-based Disaster Restoration, Inc.

Sure, copies of your insurance plans, mortgages, deeds, birth certificates, 401K’s, pay stubs, etc. are already out there — with the other party in those transactions. But if you feel better when you have these documents, there are some options for you.

But first, you must go the route of scanning those documents in, or making sure they send you the PDF’s.  If you don’t already have a paper feed scanner, get one. Same with photos. Scan in those prints that have as their originals negatives. (Kids will have no idea what we’re talking about. Yes, negatives. Before digital. Yes, you had to actually wait a whole hour before they were developed!) And don’t even get me started on music. The idea that you’re filling your iPod (or Zune or alternate would-be iPod killer) with hundreds, thousands of songs that aren’t backed up — but are paid for! — should send a chill up your spine.

Also use that digital camera to make quick copies of the documents if you want to play spy daddy, or use it to document what is in your house and outside as an accurate visual record. In a pinch, use your camera phone.

You must, must, have digital back-ups of these documents. Paper burns. Paper flies away. Paper washes away. At least with digitized versions, you’ve got the first step toward moving it online or onto off-site servers where they can stand a chance of life after disaster strikes.

You can store the originals in a safety deposit box at your local bank. If you must have the security of having the digital copies close by, consider going a little spendy and investing in something hardcore. Think safe — like something out of a heist movie, sort of.

While Griggs’ company specializes in mostly corporate recovery, he said some of the same tools can also be used by homeowners.

“If you have 24 hours you’re going to be able to get what you need out of your house,” Griggs said. “If you have 20 minutes, you’re going to grab a couple pictures but in that case, a fire safe will be valuable.”

At the very least, he recommends a safe, but not just any safe. Griggs recommends one that can withstand not only heat, but also water and building collapse. It’s one you can’t crack — at least not in the way you would in “Ocean’s Eleven.”

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