Also, I would direct a "dpkg -l" to my home directory.
Does anyone have any better ideas?
Try:
dpkg --get-selections > packages
to save your current package selections. Then later on,
dpkg --set-selections < packages apt-get dselect-upgrade
You could also back up your /var/cache/debconf directory, so that your Debconf selections will be remembered and presented to you as defaults when your packages get installed after the wipe. You could even set the debconf priority (dpkg-reconfigure debconf) to critical, and skip most of the questions.
Thanks, Bob
Regards,
-- Sam Morris