I never realized how important it was to have a good home inventory system until earlier this month, when two days of torrential rains in the DC area overcame our sump pump and French drains and we ended up with four inches of water covering our entire basement. Everything on the floor was soaked, and we had to move the entire contents of our basement to the back yard while we frantically tried to drain the water out. Not fun! We were lucky in that nothing really valuable was destroyed (except for a few sentimentally valuable things like some art that our sons made when they were kids), but we still had a lot of accounting to do in order to get reimbursed by our insurance company for the cost of replacing the numerous items that were ruined.
That’s when I wished I had kept better records of all the purchases, both large and small, that we had made over the years. Up to that point, I had been meticulous about keeping receipts for our big-ticket purchases such as electronics, large furniture (sofas, armchairs, etc) and artwork, but not so much with smaller things like area rugs, less expensive furniture, and other accessories. If numerous smaller items are destroyed in a fire, flood, hurricane or other home disaster, the dollars can really add up when insurance reimbursement comes into play.
Nearly 1,000 homes burn down every day (mostly due to kitchen fires), and other disasters strike on a regular basis. Most people (including myself) would not remember what they had in their homes – especially under the duress of a catastrophic event.
The simplest way to do a home inventory is to start by walking around with a smart phone and videotaping or photographing the contents of each room. If you have purchase receipts for any of these items, go ahead and scan them into your computer. Then save them in an application like Dropbox or Evernote, along with the photos you took and any other notes (such as serial numbers).
There are also some great free apps out there to help you catalog your possessions. One example is Know Your Stuff, provided by the Insurance Information Institute, which is available for both iPhone and Android. Several insurance companies have their own apps, including Allstate Digital Locker, State Farm HomeIndex and Liberty Mutual Home Gallery. Each of these apps can be used even if you’re not one of the insurance company’s customers. There are numerous other home inventory apps – many of them free – including ones designed specifically for cataloguing books, clothing, wine and more. Whatever system you end up using, it is vital to have your inventory stored in the cloud: in the terrible event that your entire home is destroyed, you will need to have access to that information from somewhere other than your home computer.
While the task of creating a home inventory may seem daunting, just take it one room at a time and try to get it done over the course of a few weeks. You will thank yourself if the need ever arises – which I hope it won’t!
4 thoughts on “The importance of a home inventory”
Great article! So timely with the beginning of hurricane season in FL. I need to do the same in our new home-so many expensive tools in our garage.
Dear Penny,
My Firm Home & Away Residential Services has been providing Residential Inventory Services (along with Home Sitting) and has provided these services since 2005. You have experienced what so many people have been put through. You were lucky with a few inches of water and have learned an extremely important lesson.
The truth is that even with the free apps out there, and all the hype about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Wild Fires and Flood in fact just the possible loss from a burglary puts every person who owns and rents in jeopardy.
But, most people are lazy, never have the time or feel that something like a Burglary or Flood is not going to happen to me. I have been telling people for 9 years that Preparation before a catastrophe is the key. NO One will remember everything that you have …. NO ONE.
The cost of a Professional Inventory with Appraisal will pay for itself should you encounter a Natural or UnNatural Catastrophe. Also think of the future, Divorce, Trust, Wills, and benefits that an inventory and appraisal would make the transition so much easier.
The problem is that most people don’t prepare and in the end react after the fact. A personal inventory is thought of like insurance we need it, we purchase it and actually are betting against ourselves. We pay for it, we need it and on the other hand we are hoping that we never need to use it.
“ Nothing ever goes according to plan …. Revise, Improvise, Change, Adapt & Innovate!”
If I can help anyone about doing an inventory …. doing it yourself or in interest having a Professional Inventory or looking for a Professional in your area please contact me at
http://www.homeawayresidentialservices.com
An excellent article, great advice and spoken from the heart. Thank You
I’d also save the inventory info on a USB drive and keep it in a safe deposit box in the bank in addition to storing the info in the cloud. Sometimes having the tangible record is comforting.
And while speaking of such things, backing up your computer somewhere off-site is important as well. There are services such as Mozy.com, an inexpensive program that backs up as often in a day as you wish and that info can be retrieved from them should it be needed.