How to Home Inventory

Figuring out how to home inventory isn’t difficult, and it is an important step in ensuring your property is accounted for in the event of theft, loss, fire, or other instance that can potentially result in an insurance claim. Home inventories are also important prior to a move or extended absence from your home.

A home inventory is a detailed listing of your property within your home. Inventories should ideally include detailed descriptions of the items, along with the value and any other pertinent information. The list should be as detailed as possible because this will assist you in the event that you ever need to prove your assets to your insurer. You should especially consider composing a detailed listing if you own relatively expensive pieces of electronics, arts, or other costly items.

The best way to get started is to decide your method of inventorying. You have a few options when deciding how to home inventory:

• A simple listing of items owned
• A more detailed listing complete with serial numbers, accompanying receipts, and other information
• A listing containing photographs of the items within your home
• A video recording of your property

You can choose one of the aforementioned methods, or instead, create your own listing based on more than one method. The key is to be as detailed as possible through whatever means you choose.

The more detailed you are with your home inventory, the better your chances of receiving a fair insurance settlement will be in the event of loss. You may also be able to accurately claim stolen items back based on serial numbers or photographs.

Here is a basic schedule of events for an effective home inventory:

1. Decide on the method of inventory. Whether you choose to record your property using written descriptions, photographs, or some other method, be sure it’s a method which will accurately portray your items.
2. Select items for your inventory. Not everything in your possession is worthy of notation in your inventory. Include expensive and important items but not items which are not of worth to you. For example, you might not want to waste your time documenting a few paperback books on your night table, but do make note of your hardbound set of encyclopedias.
3. Take accurate notes in as much detail as possible. Your home inventory will be a much more valuable tool if you keep accurate notes with attention to details. For example, if recording electronic equipment, make note of the serial numbers listed on the items.
4. Keep a copy of your inventory in a safe place. You will want to keep a copy in your home, but also place a copy of the listing somewhere else in the event that something happens to your home and makes the list difficult or impossible to salvage. Having a friend keep a copy of the list somewhere safe is a good idea.
5. Update the list as needed. As you acquire more items – or get rid of some items – you will want to update your inventory list to accurately reflect your possessions. An inventory that is incomplete or incorrect is not a very useful tool.

Your listing can be something you scribble down on a piece of paper, but there are plenty of resources to assist you in conducting your inventory. You can purchase a notebook designed for home inventories complete with space for detailed descriptions of items and areas for photographs. There are also a variety of computer programs which are designed to catalog your belongings into a comprehensive listing.

If you are computer savvy and prefer to keep records on your computer instead of on paper, then visit a website offering cataloging software such as PrimaSoft and Download.com.

Inventorying your possessions may be somewhat time consuming, but it’s an important task to complete in order to have peace of mind that everything is accounted for..

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