Minecraft wiki entry for Tips_and_tricks, associated text: If there is not enough to spare to stock the base, then you may be better off respawning at your distant base, well out of chunk loading range from the death. Your items will not disappear in unloaded chunks, so if you want to easily regain your items, move to a few hundred blocks from the death site, and then zip back there as fast as possible before the five-minute timer runs out. As preparation for this, you can mark out your route from the surface to the mine, especially the proper entrances.