How Prepared am I?

Well, I was going to start this post with some pictures I took (or tried to take) of the Herriman fire (or, as the media called it, the "Machine Gun fire" which makes us sound like a militarized zone...honestly...a bunch of idiots) but all my pictures are lame so I didn't bother.
The truth is, the fire made me a little nervous but I think it was probably good for me.  Although I never really thought for a minute that my house would actually burn down (since it would have to burn through hundreds of homes and jump some major roads to get here) I was suddenly faced with the prospect of evacuation.  I like to think I'm fairly ready for a crisis, but I found out I'm really not ready at all...(at least not for THIS kind of crisis...suddenly needing chocolate chips or tomato soup and not having to run to the store--that's the kind of "emergency" I'm ready for!)
I have six FABULOUS backpacks in the garage.  These are our 72-hour kits and I was so proud the day they were assembled to know that I was READY!  I had done what I was supposed to do and my very short arm got quite a cramp as I spent time patting myself on the back...Then the packs went in the basement where they got shifted from one place to another and finally moved to the garage where I didn't give them a second thought until last weekend.  Now I realize those backpacks are stuffed with clothes that don't fit (including mine, which is a good thing...but at least if they are too big I can still wear them.) and a bunch of expired food.  At least, long ago, I removed Braden's medications because I didn't want them to expire...the problem is, I never put any in there to replace them.  Each backpack has water that is probably stale, the radio's batteries are probably dead, and the first aid kit is also out of date.  Now I hang my head in shame. But we sure would look great carrying those fancy backpacks into an evacuation center...
The second big problem I discovered is that I have no idea where most of my important paperwork is.  Well, I shouldn't say I have NO idea...I KNOW it's in the house somewhere.  So while neighbors were packing suitcases and getting ready "just in case", I was searching for important papers that I would need to take if we had to leave.  As of right this minute, I still haven't found everything....as a matter of fact, I haven't found MOST things.  Time to get organized.
The other most precious-beyond-measure things that I would want to haul out of here are my photos, home movies, and scrapbooks....the irreplaceable stuff.  Again, that stuff is scattered from hell to breakfast.  I know where all the scrapbooks are, but looking for the CDs I've burned all my pictures to was quite the adventure.  In my search I kept finding more little videotapes from the camcorder.  I still don't know if I've found all those.  And so a few days ago I decided to put my photos in order and found out I hadn't even backed up any of my pictures since 2008!  Hope no one breaks into my house and steals my computer or I'm in trouble.
So there you have it...the answer to the question of "How prepared am I?" is "not very".  I guess we all need these little scares to happen to get us moving.  At least now I know what I need to do to be ready if/when  (please, NO!) there is a next time.