Hasta La Ideas

Creating a home inventory is a good idea for a number of reasons:

1. A complete inventory is good for determining how much home owner’s or renter’s insurance you should be carrying.
2. It is also priceless after a disaster or if something has been stolen to help with completing forms and proof of ownership for your insurance claim.
3. If you have an item stored in your basement or attic, the inventory can save you time by giving you the precise place to look to find that item.

It is best to have a copy of the inventory on your home computer, but, most importantly, have a copy saved online. If you don’t use an online backup service like DropBox or BackBlaze, simply e-mail a copy to your Gmail account.

The new Mac App Store has a program available for purchase ($10) called Compartments that looks to be simple to use. There are numerous other programs out there, I simply suggest finding one you like and using it. The inventory software programs are nice because often they’ll prompt you to remember an object you might have overlooked otherwise. An Excel spreadsheet could also work, though, if you have a keen eye. The point is to use whatever system is easiest for you that you’ll actually use.

Have you done a home inventory? What program did you use? Tell us about your experiences in the comments.

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