BOB...EDC...INCH?

I'm assuming you have a BOB (Bug Out Bag) and I'm pretty sure you have an EDC (Every Day Carry bag) but do you have an INCH?  Apparently this term has been around for a while but it is new to me.  An INCH bag, otherwise known as an I'm Never Coming Home bag, has as its contents...you guessed it...items that you would need if you were never coming home again.

A bit of Googling shows that some people think of this bag as a minimalist set up while others think it should contain everything including the kitchen sink.  I think it should be something in between.

Your EDC bag should include everything you would need during a typical day out: daypack, wallet, keys, cell phone, keys, bottle of water, couple of granola bars, sunglasses, firearm if you choose to carry, spare magazine, etc.

Your BOB should included everything in your EDC plus the things you would need to "bug out" or leave your residence for days, up to weeks at a time, due to a local natural disaster, a family member in a far away trauma center, a mandatory evacuation due to police action or a chemical spill, etc.  The items in this bag should be a simplified version of an overnight bag (change of clothes, toiletries, laptop, etc) along with enough gear to see you to survival for several days on your own (food, water, shelter materials, cooking materials, water purification tabs, etc).

Now the INCH bag, which would include everything you would need if you could NEVER come home again, really doesn't need to contain that much stuff.  When we sold our house and nearly everything in it some years back in order to travel for a couple years, I realized that you really don't need that much stuff to survive, no matter where you are.

If you could never come back to your home, what would you REALLY need?  Aside from the basics (your EDC stuff and BOB stuff), the only other necessities that you would need would include: cash, credit cards, jewelry and small valuables, your important documents (passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate, Will, etc), and a back up of your computer files.  You really don't NEED 90% of the stuff in your house.  Most everything you own is easily replaceable.  You need to determine what isn't replaceable and then figure out what you would do if you need to leave immediately and forever.  Pictures, letters, and other documents are easy.  Scan them into your computer and keep a back up of this file.  On the other hand, great Aunt Edna's 500 pound china hutch will probably be left behind no matter how sentimental it is.

Contrary to some "INCH" lists, you really don't need to carry every tool known to man.  I'd rather carry the basics and scavenge anything else I need before I would carry a couple hundred pounds of gear.  I prefer to travel fast, light, and efficiently, with as little material stuff as possible.