Where Should They Be Kept?

Keep the bags as close to the main exit from your home as possible and keep them together.

Picture this scenario.

Terrorists have managed to blow up a dam in the foothills near your home. Your neighborhood is right in the path of the rushing water and is being evacuated.

You've been storing the bags in each of the people's rooms who will be carrying one. As you go from room-to-room making sure each of your family members has their bags, you get to your teenage son's room and find his bag spread out across the floor of his closet. He's frantically trying to repack the bag that took you hours to pack the first time around.

He needed batteries the other day and tore apart his bag to get them, then in typical teenage fashion never got around to putting the stuff he pulled out away.

You run to the front room and glance out the window to see water already starting to make its way down your street. It's just a trickle, but you know a wall of water isn't too far off.

You have to make a decision—and quick. You opt to leave the bag and all of its contents on the floor of your son's room.

Had you of kept the bags in a central location and instituted a strict hands-off policy, this wouldn't have happened.

I have a closet right next to my front door that's strictly dedicated to survival items. I keep all 4 of my family member's bags in the closet, along with a number of other items I'd like to take with me given the chance.

The closet is left unlocked, but my kids know I'd better not catch them in there. When it comes to the survival of my family, I don't play around.

Keep all the bags together and keep them close to an exit. If you don't have a closet right by the door, what about an extra room? If there's no extra room, is there a closet in the closest room you can keep them in?

When it comes to bugging out, time is of essence. Anything you can do to speed up the time it takes you to get out of the house may pay dividends when the time to get out of dodge presents itself.