The Contents of a Safety Deposit Box

Last year we moved our accounts to a different bank, but we didn't move our safety deposit box as the rent on it didn't expire til this month.  My husband closed the account yesterday and brought home the contents. We will be opening a safety deposit box at our new bank later this week. I looked through everything yesterday and had forgotten about a lot of the items that we had in that box.  It was almost like opening a time capsule.

When our kids were born, there were no digital cameras.  I always worried that in case of some kind of disaster (i.e., flood, tornado, fire) pictures would get destroyed.  As I looked through the contents of that safety deposit box, there were several envelopes that had photo negatives.  When our kids were young, each year we would take 1 or 2 rolls of film negatives and put them in the safety deposit box.  Then, at least, we would have some pictures of our children in case of a disaster.  Now, we can simply burn a c.d. with a year's worth of pictures on 1 c.d. to put into our safety deposit box.  How times have changed.

There were coins in the box.  We had collected a set of the State quarters for our sons and there were some old coins that were given to our sons from their grandmother. 

Then there were the legal documents such as our Last Wills and Testaments, our Powers of Attorney and our Abstract of Title for our house, birth certificates for my husband and me and our youngest son and our immunization cards.  Then in one large envelope there were the pictures of our deceased daughter, Kelsey, and her birth and death certificates. 

As I looked at our Wills, I was happy to know that we had prepared such a document for our family in case of our deaths.  Our oldest son was happy to know that since his brother made it to 18 years of age last week, that he and his wife wouldn't have to worry about being a guardian to his youngest brother in case we would die.

In one envelope there was a jewelry appraisal of my rings and a few necklaces.  There was my wedding and engagement ring that needs to be repaired as soon as the price of gold goes down - whenever that happens.  I wear a beautiful ring that my husband gave me on our 25th anniversary that serves as a wedding band. 

There are other pieces of family memorabilia such as baptismal certificates and also some financial papers.

That small box contained a small history of our family.  Now we are sorting through those items and giving our oldest son items that belong to him and also reviewing what doesn't apply to us anymore.  At the end of this week we will again pack up the majority of what my husband brought home and it will go into a new safety deposit box for safe keeping.  We will then add to it as time goes on and take out of it what doesn't apply anymore.