Which documents to protect, and how

Protect what is slow or costly to replace, not everything.

The documents worth protecting are the ones that are painful to replace rather than the ones that feel important. Passports, birth and marriage certificates, deeds and titles, immigration papers, wills and the schedules of your insurance policies all take weeks and fees to replace. Bank statements and utility bills do not.

Store them somewhere that answers both threats: fire and water. Fire-resistant bags and boxes handle heat for a stated period, but many are not watertight, and water from firefighting is what usually destroys paper that survived the heat. A sealed bag inside the container solves that for very little.

Photograph or scan everything and keep a copy somewhere else entirely, whether that is encrypted cloud storage or a relative’s house. A copy in another building beats any container in this one, and it costs nothing.

Part of the Stalwart guides. See all guides.