👋 In Case of an Emergency...

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Hi, dear friend. Jen Glantz here.

Last week, I talked about cleaning out your life so there’s not a lingering heaviness on top of every thing that you do.

Get rid of the toxic, the stained, the maybe next year pile. All of the stuff that is weighing you down.

I wasn’t planning on talking about ‘stuff’ again this week. I had a whole other post ready to go about….spreadsheets (doesn’t sound exciting but I swear it was) and then I got a text from one of my closet friends in Los Angeles saying:

New fire close. Packing.

As much as I’ve tracked these LA fires obsessively and cried watching strangers/Facebook friends/friends of friends lose every single thing they owned and found out that some of the most extraordinary places in the city burned down, I will never be able to understand what it is like to watch the television or get a notification on your phone that says: Evacuate now and look around at all of your beloved belongings and have to decide what you will stuff in a backpack and what you might never see again.

And I hope by the time this newsletter goes out, the fires are contained and I hope you never have to be in a situation where you might have to evacuate your home, but in case you do, let’s talk about it here, today, and now, in case of an emergency.

👏 Instant Pick Me Ups

💡A list of resources for anyone in southern California who needs access to shelter, food, donations, supplies and more.

💡I took all the money I’ve made off this newsletter from paid subscribers last month + extra money and donated a little money to a lot of random people on GoFundMe who lost everything in the fires. Here’s a list of those who need support on the platform and another list that sorts through some campaigns that have stalled. It’s truly so heartbreaking reading some of their stories. Including this one, from a friend of a friend. Also, donated to the Pasadena Humane Society.

💡If you were planning on cleaning out your closets, drawers, pantries, and etc., now is the time! There might be a way to donate these items to those in LA (check different organizations and clothing drives happening in your city).

🎵Loving this song

I want to make something clear:

I thrive in chaos, however, only in very specific and niche types of chaos.

Give me a tight and impossible work deadline. I will meet it. Simon and Schuster gave me 90-days to write my second book, Always a Bridesmaid (for Hire). I wrote for 12-hours a day and finished the entire thing in 78-days.

You've never seen someone change the status of work tasks on ClickUp to "Done" faster than me. Every single one of my report cards from school and annual reviews from a real job always said the same thing: "Works too quickly, rushed, but gets things done."

But when it comes to other chaos — medical things or moments when life turns in a split second, I play a solo game of freeze dance and become entirely useless.

Last year, Gemma took a 4-foot fall off a stage in Central Park and landed on her head. I watched the whole thing happen and after it happened, I stood there silently, replaying it all in my head as if I had rewound a VHS tape on loop.

Adam was screaming for me to call 911, and my phone was in my hand, but I looked at the brick of a thing as if I hadn't seen it before. My brain felt like it was resting in quicksand. Typing those three numbers into my phone seemed impossible.

Eventually, I snapped back into reality, but it was delayed.

Some people respond level-headed to trauma. I am not one of those people. I become a bumbling idiot who walks around in slow-moving circles.

Watching what my friend in LA was faced with doing this week — packing up, just in case — made me think about how impossible it must be to figure out what to take with you if you have to leave your home — and stomach the possibility that it may not be there anymore when you return. How do you even decide what to grab before you go?

I fear I’d stand there with an empty bag for far too long and pack all the wrong things.

What would we take with us if we had to leave in minutes? I asked Adam.

He responded, level-headed, with clarity, as always. Our documents.

What documents? I asked. And where the heck are those documents?

I've cleaned out this place top to bottom a zillion times (see: anxiety) and have never seen documents. So wherever he's hiding them is good for potential intruders but bad for emergency situations.

After we both realized we have no idea where half our important documents are and the things we’d want to pack are scattered and shoved deep into closets, I started making a master list of what to pack/do"In Case of an Emergency" and here's what is on it:

Grab the documents

• Birth certificate, social security card, passport, medical records, pet records, etc. Upon writing this, I don't know where my birth certificate or SS card is. I know my parents have it, but don't know where.

Take the irreplaceable things

• Jewelry, family heirlooms, photos. I have a few rings that I would want to bring with me as well as a folder in Gemma's room of baby things I collected over the last almost two years. Next to every item, I put the location that it lives in our apartment.

Pack any must-haves — if there’s time/space

• Computers, hard drives, clothing items, art, etc. Since you can't pack some of this up in an emergency bag, write a list that tells you exactly what you'd like to grab, if you can grab it, and where it is in your house.

Take the emergency bag

• Once a year, repack the bag with nonperishable snacks, water bottles, a change of clothes, first-aid supplies, face masks, spare glasses, phone chargers, a battery-powered flashlight/radio, etc. Include extra items if you have pets and kids. If you don't want to do this, at least make a list of what to grab if you need to pack in minutes.

Remember the list of nearby hospitals/urgent care facilities

• Last year, we had a few moments where one of us had to go somewhere for care fast and we didn't know where to go, what was open, or where they were located. I remember trying to get Adam an Uber to a place but could not figure out what the right address was. I added on the Google doc all the different locations, their hours, and the right address so I can easily have that on hand.

Forward & share digital docs/passwords

• Some of my most valuable items are on my computer — my passwords and documents that I never want to lose. But what happens if my computer gets left behind/lost/damaged, or someone else needs to access my accounts on my behalf? I made a list of important account passwords and put important documents in a shared Google folder that I also gave Adam access to.

What else?

More on building an emergency kit + More items to add to your personal checklist

My heart is still breaking for the people of LA right now. It is unimaginable what they are going through and even when the fires are all eventually under control, these people will still be trying to rebuild their lives and process this immense trauma. I’ll share updates next week on how we can support them financially + with our own stuff ❤️

👏 Pick Me Up for the Week

People won’t always remember what you said, but they will remember that you said something. Which is to say, when someone is going through a devastating thing in life, rather than feel awkward or uncertain around what to say to them, just say anything. Even something short like: I’m thinking about you is better than shying away from showing up for them. I am old enough to deeply realize that being a good friend isn’t about being perfect, it’s just about being there.