The S&O Guide to Being Prepared for (Almost) Anything: Why You Should Have a Home Inventory

We all like to feel prepared for anything, and good organization is always a great place to start. We are guessing that most home owners have not created a home inventory, and probably haven’t even thought about the need for one. We don’t want to add more to your “to do” list, but here are some compelling reasons why keeping a home inventory just makes sense:

• Creating a home inventory is the only way to know if you are insured properly (when you make improvements or add expensive items to your home, your policy may no longer fully cover you in case of a disaster).
• A home inventory makes claim reimbursement less risky because you have documented each item and its value.
• An inventory can help you keep up with home maintenance (especially those small things that, if done regularly, can help you avoid bigger repair bills in the future).
• An inventory can help you better manage moving (and will be needed to estimate the overall value if move insurance is required).
• A home inventory can make estate planning easier by simply providing a list of how valuable items are.

My husband and I had to do a home inventory in our early thirties due to an expat move overseas. My husband’s company needed our inventory so that they could properly insure our household contents being shipped and stored. It has been about twelve years since then, and we haven’t touched the spreadsheet that we created. We have been considering doing an update, but rather than just going back and updating our old-fashioned spreadsheet we are considering using an app to make the process a little easier.

Working with a Professional Organizer, I naturally lean towards using any products that are endorsed by the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). The app we are going to try is called HomeZada, which is a Corporate Associate member of NAPO. The amazing thing about HomeZada is that it is an all encompassing Digital Home Management app.  The app supports home maintenance calendars, home finances, home inventory and even listing your home to sell when the time comes. It even supports multiple users so that you can each log in and edit the information separately.

The initial home inventory part of the app is free (called the “Essential” package).  The following features can be added for either a monthly or yearly fee (called the “Premium” package):
Premium Features:
– Home Maintenance
– Home Improvement
– Home Finances
– Support for multiple homes
– Creating home listings to sell your home (flat fees, per their website)

Using technology to stay on top of life’s more difficult tasks is sometimes the most efficient (and fun) way to go. If you would like some professional help getting started on this or a similar project, you can always contact us for a quick and easy consultation.