Do you Home Inventory?

[ESMonitor]

I've been working on decluttering / tidying my home. I am using a modified approach to the KonMari method and now that my home is getting squared away, I want to finalize by creating a home inventory on an excel spreadsheet.

Do you home inventory? If so how thorough is it?

Do you use software to manage your home inventory or do you use a spreadsheet? If you use software what product do you use?

If you use a spreadsheet what are the titles of your columns used?

I would assume as a an additional step, taking a photo roll of everything and saving all info (inventory data and photos) to a secured cloud location is needed? Where I live we have tornadoes so this is part of my motivation for doing this.

Any other tips are appreciated. This is new to me. It has been an arduous process, but once the work is done, it's done! Then it's just a matter or maintenance like updating a budget sheet.

Ideas?

[snafu]

We've had a home inventory from Day 1 because the insurance company offered the material and a small discount for filling it out - initially a booklet, now digital. Ask your insurance broker if they offer this online or a recommendation. I've a hard copy of list and photos + now use cloud as computers and phones are stolen.

The Sections are by room, the columns are Date, Items List [space for] 'Other,' Cost, Details. We've also done photos of quality jewelry, my watch collection, electronics, items of particular value or not easily replaced. It's really easy to update or change as needed. We recently bought a new TV and DH was quick to input size, brand, model and cost using the details on the box. Photos were not necessary only because we took pictures of visitors the following day and the TV is in the background.

Cost is not a significant factor if you have 'replacement' insurance. Otherwise items are pro rated for value based on age just like vehicle BB.

We had a break-in more than a dozen years ago and the claims agent was really a pill. [Claims agent and broker are different agencies] He made us prove everything on the claim and continued to argue each line item. I was so grateful for the close up, hard copy photos of jewelry and electronics. I'd taken photos of the destruction of the door jamb/door and the mess made of the house sweeping cupboards clear, upending every drawer in every room. [BTW, police detectives make a big mess with fingerprint kits].

We were never reimbursed for cash or food stolen as there was no proof. Funnily, the thieves missed a coin collection as it had not been put away, just left stacked in a bookcase.

If I lived in a tornado or flood zone, I'd take shoot details of every room, open drawers, cabinets, closets and keep a copy off site. I found using our 'Manual' 3 ring binder helpful, we've always stapled the bill to the inside cover of useful pages of various manuals, corralled in page protectors making the model number and accessories easier to detail.

It's helpful to review details our inventory when the renewal bill comes because it's easy to put off details.

[ua_guy]

It's not something I've done to the level of spreadsheet tracking because I'm pretty sure... "i.e. need to go read our policy" ...we have replacement insurance for belongings, up to a stated value.

But when the house was clean one day, I turned all the lights on and took very detailed pictures of all the rooms and the general condition and placement of things, especially the big dollar items, equipment in the garage, etc. The plan was to use the pictures to jog our memory if the house gets broken into or if it were to burn to the ground, etc, if we ever needed to prove the condition of the home or anything else. The pictures are stored securely so that we'd be able to access them if the house was destroyed.

[FelicitaHarper]

Thanks for the details! was definitely helpful!

[FLA]

I need to do this, thanks for the push