New England Eeyore
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2004
- Messages
- 5,079
Some of you know about this already, but I wanted to share my story and the 2 big takeaway lessons I learned from it with you kind of as a friendly reminder.
We were on day 3 of our 10 day California vacation when we got the call that our house had been broken into and had to fly home. I dont want to go into details here, but the short story is that we (and the police) know exactly who did it, but because there isnt enough evidence to hold up in court, he is likely going to get away with it.
As far as break-ins go, it definitely could have been worse. Everything that was stolen is replaceable - nothing sentimental - and the damage to the house was fixable too. Honestly, the hardest piece to deal with is the loss of the vacation. That is something were not going to get back. This was DHs only vacation time for the year. We had 2 wonderful days in DL/DCA, but we had to leave early on our 3rd day there and we missed so much. We didnt even get a picture in front of the castle.
So anyway - my takeaway lessons.
#1 - Back up your Computer!!
So the main thing that was stolen was my computer. Thankfully, I didnt lose any of my files. I used to think about backups strictly from a computer failure standpoint. Before a few months ago, my back up was on an external hard drive. Not especially useful if thats stolen along with your computer. Recently, I subscribed to an online back up service - I use Carbonite but there are several out there. Thank God I did that when I did, because I got *everything* back - all my photos, music, documents - EVERYTHING. It took 4 days to restore everything to the new computer but its all there. The backups are automatic - after the initial setup you can just forget all about it but its there in the background doing its thing. Best money I ever spent.
#2 - Create a Home Inventory list for theft or fire and keep good records (including a copy OUTSIDE the house.)
Home insurance was one of those folders in my file cabinet that I never really thought that much about. In dealing with the paperwork for this theft, I realized how unprepared I would be if we were to ever face a more serious loss. Everything that was stolen was a big-ticket item or a recent purchase and I still had the original receipts, but I cant say that for most other things in my home. The home insurance would accept the following as proof of ownership: receipts (and they want the *originals*), proof of purchase (cancelled checks, credit card statements), owners manuals, warranty cards, product packaging, or photos. Thank goodness for that last one. I now plan to go through and create a detailed home inventory list and photograph everything. And of course burn those photos to a CD and put it in a fire-proof box or keep it outside the house. I found this website especially helpful for making the room by room lists: http://whathappensnow.com/
It was 2 weeks ago today that the break-in happened. We both went back to work this weekend so were getting back into the normal routine, although itll be awhile before things feel normal again. While I hope none of you ever have to experience anything like this, I thought Id share what I learned from it.
We were on day 3 of our 10 day California vacation when we got the call that our house had been broken into and had to fly home. I dont want to go into details here, but the short story is that we (and the police) know exactly who did it, but because there isnt enough evidence to hold up in court, he is likely going to get away with it.
As far as break-ins go, it definitely could have been worse. Everything that was stolen is replaceable - nothing sentimental - and the damage to the house was fixable too. Honestly, the hardest piece to deal with is the loss of the vacation. That is something were not going to get back. This was DHs only vacation time for the year. We had 2 wonderful days in DL/DCA, but we had to leave early on our 3rd day there and we missed so much. We didnt even get a picture in front of the castle.
So anyway - my takeaway lessons.
#1 - Back up your Computer!!
So the main thing that was stolen was my computer. Thankfully, I didnt lose any of my files. I used to think about backups strictly from a computer failure standpoint. Before a few months ago, my back up was on an external hard drive. Not especially useful if thats stolen along with your computer. Recently, I subscribed to an online back up service - I use Carbonite but there are several out there. Thank God I did that when I did, because I got *everything* back - all my photos, music, documents - EVERYTHING. It took 4 days to restore everything to the new computer but its all there. The backups are automatic - after the initial setup you can just forget all about it but its there in the background doing its thing. Best money I ever spent.
#2 - Create a Home Inventory list for theft or fire and keep good records (including a copy OUTSIDE the house.)
Home insurance was one of those folders in my file cabinet that I never really thought that much about. In dealing with the paperwork for this theft, I realized how unprepared I would be if we were to ever face a more serious loss. Everything that was stolen was a big-ticket item or a recent purchase and I still had the original receipts, but I cant say that for most other things in my home. The home insurance would accept the following as proof of ownership: receipts (and they want the *originals*), proof of purchase (cancelled checks, credit card statements), owners manuals, warranty cards, product packaging, or photos. Thank goodness for that last one. I now plan to go through and create a detailed home inventory list and photograph everything. And of course burn those photos to a CD and put it in a fire-proof box or keep it outside the house. I found this website especially helpful for making the room by room lists: http://whathappensnow.com/
It was 2 weeks ago today that the break-in happened. We both went back to work this weekend so were getting back into the normal routine, although itll be awhile before things feel normal again. While I hope none of you ever have to experience anything like this, I thought Id share what I learned from it.
You know we all love you and even more so now for taking the time and energy to share this info with us. What a miserable life this creep/these creeps must live - how sad that this is how they treat others.
