If I had to leave my house (with my pants on, of course), there are a few things I couldn’t leave behind. Although a few would be physically impossible to take without a little help, I’d have to take my:

iPhone. I’m addicted to this second brain of mine that makes my life so much easier. Between the calendar — the alarm feature keeps me from missing appointments all of the time — GPS, camera, wireless access and all of the other apps I use, my iPhone keeps me organized.

Brother all-in-one. I can’t believe I used to use three separate machines in my home office, including a copier, printer and fax — I was too cheap to buy a scanner — when I could do everything with one machine. Now I have four functions in one, including a scanner.

MacBook. With the exception of my first computer, an IBM with a hard drive the size of a two-drawer file cabinet, I’ve always owned a Mac. My MacBook works fine but I have my eye on a MacBook Air and an iPad. I don’t need any of those things, but I want them.

External hard drive. During one of my last seminars, a guy in the audience told us about his son running over his laptop (after it had fallen off the top of the guy’s car).  The car was fine but his computer was totaled. A month before, his son had convinced him to backup his hard drive weekly. While he had to replace his laptop, he wasn’t stressed about having to replace the data.

Desk. I love my desk. It’s big enough to hold my files, supplies and equipment but not so big that it takes up all of the space in my home office.  It has plenty of storage space and even though I don’t need the pullout keyboard drawer, I use it to hold extra printer paper. Another one of my favorite desks is from aspenhome.

I’d leave my desk chair behind because although it’s functional, it’s ugly and I want a new, cooler one.

If you could take only a few things out of your home office, what would they be?

You never know when you'll need to fix your computer.

It turns out I’d cracked my LCD screen and a guy at the Apple Store told me Apple could fix it for $750. Really? I could buy a new Mac for a few hundred dollars more.

As I left the Apple store I remembered I’d met a Mac consultant, Chelanie Israel (aka Miss Mac), a few years ago. I went home, called Miss Mac and told her about my cracked screen. She said that she could replace the screen but it would be cheaper to send my laptop to Powerbook Medic. Someone who gives up business to help a client save money is at the top of my list. After I thanked her one too many times—I was going to save $500—she said that if I needed help again, she knew I’d call. She’s right.

Whether you use a small computer support service, a national chain like Geek Squad, or even a local high school kid to fix your computer, keep your computer guru’s phone number nearby. You never know when you’re going to need help with your computer, especially if your klutz ratio is as high as mine!