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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

HOME INVENTORY ORGANIZING

Tragedy strikes – usually with no warning. Are you prepared? If a fire swept through your home would you be able to give your insurance company a complete and accurate listing of the contents of your home? And if so, does your homeowner’s policy cover all of the items listed?

Having a complete and accurate list, with all of the necessary information before you actually need it is crucial. Unfortunately, most people aren’t prepared (and don’t get prepared) until it’s too late.

A home inventory should be compromised of such things as:

Item Description, Brand Name, Model #, Original Cost, Serial # (if it has one), Where purchased, Date Purchased

The easiest and most efficient way to compile a household inventory is to simply go room by room. Make a complete list of all of the contents of each room. Don’t forget to go through all of the drawers and inside any cabinets. Each item needs to be logged.

If you can, take pictures of each item (or a grouping of items). Also, be sure to take a picture of the room itself. If you have a video camera it would also be helpful to take a video of the entire house.

Don’t forget the closets, laundry room, pantry, garage and all outside areas, such as the patio or a shed.

Once your have your list, review your home owners policy to be sure that you are covered for all of your items. This might also be a good time to sit down and review your policy with your agent to be sure that you are satisfactorily protected. You don’t want to be surprised that something you though was covered really wasn’t.

Another important point to remember is that you need to put a copy of your home inventory list in a safe spot outside of your home. This can be in a safety deposit box at a bank or you can give a copy to a relative to hold for safe keeping.

Making a home inventory list is very time consuming. But it is something that is definitely worth the investment of your time. Once you have made the initial list you should update it at least once a year. The yearly updating should only take a fraction of the time it took to create the original list.

Invest in yourself…… protect your home.



Organizational Consulting Services

http://www.organizationalconsultingservices.com/

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