3 Easy Steps to Making a Home Inventory

Why should you make a home inventory?

You should make a home inventory because “the weakest pencil lead is stronger than the strongest memory.” We all forget things. And we really forget things when the pressure is on- like say, when your house burns down, you’re in a hotel room and you’re talking with a claims adjuster who says…

“OK Mrs. Jones, tell me exactly what was lost in the fire?”

If you suffer a loss, you need to make sure that insurance replaces everything that can be replaced. You can’t do that without a detailed list of everything you own. You need a list of everything. You need a home inventory.

Making a home inventory is something most of us know that we need to do, but we just can’t seem to find the time to do it. And maybe, we just don’t know the best way to do it. So I’m excited to show you how easy it can be!

Step 1
Choose your tools.
In the old days this meant getting your Polaroid camera out, a notebook and lots of extra film. And lunch. Because it was going to take you a long time, and you would need to take a lunch break somewhere in the middle of the ordeal. You could still do it this way (ok, maybe with a digital camera). Regardless, either way, you would also have to figure out a safe place to keep all of these photos and paperwork. It would either be Aunt Sally’s house or your safety deposit box at the bank.

Now, it’s much easier. You need just one tool:
Know Your Stuff® – Home Inventory Mobile App for iPhone
Know Your Stuff® – Home Inventory Mobile App for Android

I highly recommend this app for your smartphone. It’s simple use; my learning curve was about 5 minutes. Yours might be quicker. If you are an iPhone owner, you can also download a bundled version of this with two other great apps, Know Your Plan™ Mobile App, and Know Your Coverage.™ All three come bundled together in the app called the iiiToolkit.

They say that “it’s all about having the right tools.” They are right. This is the one to have!

Step 2
Walk through your home and take pictures.
If you are using your smartphone and the Know Your Stuff app I recommend, then open the app, go to your first room, and take a picture. Then write a few notes, like how much you paid for the item, when you purchased it, and anything else you can remember. If you have the receipt for it, take a picture of that too.

The app will store everything in its proper place by room. It will also store everything in the ever-so-famous “cloud.” Since none of us know exactly where that “cloud” is, suffice it to say that it is safely copied to a computer in a room where people with white coats make sure all the computers in the cloud are safe. And since this is the official app for the Insurance Information Institute, we feel pretty confident that it will be safe there. “It’s in the cloud” will let you sleep at night knowing that you don’t have to remember where you kept all the copies of inventory.

Or you could take the Polaroid pictures, bundle them up with your many sheets of paper, and mail them to your Aunt Sally and hope she doesn’t lose them. Your choice.
That’s it – no more steps.

I said 3 steps. I know. But it’s only two steps if you use the Know Your Stuff app. The third step would have been to figure out how you were going to keep a safe copy of the inventory outside of your home. (I kind of hinted at that in the previous steps.) The app takes care of all of that for you. It uploads everything in real time to the FREE cloud space hosted by the Insurance Information Institute. It just doesn’t get any easier or safer than this.

One final thought: Please call me if you have unique, one-of-a-kind irreplaceable or expensive items, like an expensive engagement ring, a collection of Hummel figurines, or that expensive piece of art hanging on your wall that you just had to have… and still love! I can help you decide if you need extra insurance protection to cover these.

Like always, when in doubt- call me. I value having you as a customer. If you aren’t my customer yet, I’d like to try to earn your business. You should call me too. I’m an independent insurance agent in Texas, and I’m proud to represent many fine companies, including Germania,Travelers, Met Life and more.

Wade Whiteside Insurance: (830) 693-8881.