1. Keep those keep-sakes in the same area so they can be gathered quickly. Let everyone in the family know where that area is and what those things are that should be collected as you get out of your home.
2. Make several copies of all documents and give them to several relatives that live in other places. The copies might not be as valuable as the ordinals but the thoughts will not be lost forever.
3. All those important photograph should be scanned digitally. Stored not only on your computer but on a cd with several copies.
4. All those films or tapes of the kids growing up should be digitalized and stored on dvd. Make several copies that again are given to relatives in other areas.
5. Those keepsakes that are priceless...the rocking chair, grandma table cloth or a vase that has sits on your mantle that was handed down at least three generations should be photographed and put on a cd. You might not be able to save the actual item but the memory will not be lost.
6. Memoirs, Life Stories or Heirloom cookbooks should have several copies spread around. The more places or cities these are stored means the more likely a copy will last over the generations.
7. You may want to store some of your valuables in a safe in your own home. This might be the area in your home where valuables are stored with everyone in the family knowing the combinations.
8. You may also want to buy a safety deposit box at the bank as another place to keep them your heirlooms safe. You may want to choose a branch that is not in your neighborhood.
9. Do annual review to see what needs to be stored, copied and sent to relatives.
10. As technology changes, and it will, make sure that you have updated the storage methods you are using to save the copies. Photos stored on a floppy are useless today.

If you would like to share any of your ideas or tips please leave a comments...