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URSA, ILL. -- Disaster can strike in an instant, in the form of fire, flood or tornado. You can't prevent it but you can take precautions to keep your belongings safe.

That's a lesson our own Jim Robesky learned the hard way. In this KHQA Safe Family Consumer Report, he shares his story of the overwhelming process he went through to put his life back in order.

"It was July 23. I was out of town. My wife and kids were home at the time. They had just left. And lightning struck the house. The house was engulfed in flames in a matter of minutes," said Jim Robesky.

Neighbors spotted the fire and immediately called 911.

"When I got to Ursa, I followed a truck the last five miles back to my house, knowing exactly where it was going. Then the next day, we went out and saw what was left, and it wasn't much," said Robesky.

"It's weird to think it's all gone, but it's just stuff and we can get new stuff," said Robesky, standing in front of what used to be his home.

Once the smoke cleared, the Robeskys began a three-month journey with their insurance company.

"Basically, we were left with no documentation whatsoever of anything that we owned and we had to go back from memory and envision every room and absolutely everything that was in it, going drawer by drawer, from candles to silverware, to tape dispensers and pencil sharpeners, plates, you name it. We had to list every single thing that we owned."

That was just the first step. Finding prices for every item became the second.

Insurance agencies are making it easier to document your belongings. iPhone aps lets you take as many pictures as you need of items in and outside of your home. Just take the photo, type in the description and price and you're done. All at the tip of your fingers.

"If you do take an inventory, and use a video or pictures or list, don't keep them in the house," said Kevin Beck, with Beck Insurance in Mendon, Illinois.

"Get it to another friend, a relative. Whether you take video or pictures of the rooms so that you have it in case something does happen to your house."

It could save you time, money and heartache.