Does anyone make a personal inventory list?

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Does anyone make a personal inventory list?

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Started 11 months ago by Wass
Latest reply from Rosa
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Wass
Member

I recently found this site and wanted to share some of my ideas for organizing a house. Do any of you guys make an inventory list of your stuff? I think by making a list it makes it easier for someone to sell their stuff down the road. It also helps owners visually so they know how much they spent on a particular item before deciding to donate or sell it away. Recently I've been using Excel and inputting my purchases, from clothes, electronics, toys, etc. What I do is I make a list of stuff I just purchased, so when I'm ready to sell I just go through the list and post them on Craigslist/eBay. The system does require some effort, but the effort is well invested since it will take you less time to move the stuff down the road.

Thoughts and suggestions?

Posted 11 months ago #
Zora
Member

I don't buy stuff with the idea that I'm going to sell it eventually. I don't want anything that I'm not going to use until it falls apart.

Posted 11 months ago #
Scarlet
Member

I'm not sure about selling (for the most part I'm a use-until-falls-apart person, with some exceptions), but keeping a list of your valuables is a good idea for insurance purposes.

Posted 11 months ago #
Wass
Member

I'm the type of shopper that likes to upgrade to newer hardware if given the chance. I don't plan to sell anything until a new model comes out that fits my needs. What's the point of buying and buying without letting go of your older stuff? I understand when someone doesn't buy clothes a lot, but things around us still needs to get upgraded every so often. Even laptops nowadays only last 2-3 years before it needs to be replaced.

Posted 11 months ago #
Parsifal
Member

Short version - I don't think this is a great idea. I doubt most people sell their things frequently enough to need an itemized list, and it has a huge potential for just making you feel better about owning a bunch of clutter because it is 'organized' or too valuable to throw out.

The main reason I can imagine for needing an inventory is for insurance reasons, and in that case a video-log would be easier and could still save you money even if you have to buy the camera.

Posted 11 months ago #
Mimi
Member

i can´t imagine why such a list would make it easier to sell a thing. the value of a used "thing" is not defined by the price you have originally paid. i have sold clothes for the original price (or even more!) after wearning them some years and also some clothes were not sold at all, even though it was a "quality brand". i really don´t know why, but it´s not at all connected to the price that i paid. sometimes it´s just the fact that you can send it fast and cheap that makes a thing more valuable.

Posted 11 months ago #
Rosa
Member

I mostly don't buy things, so I don't have the "what to do when I upgrade?" problem - i benefit from other people's upgrade problem by scooping up their old stuff every once in a while, but then I generally just give away the older thing if it's still functional (we traded our Atari for a Gamecube when the cube became obsolete; the Atari was finally old enough people wanted it again.)

We DO have a short inventory of valuable things - I have some solid cherry dining room furniture, and a set of solid silver forks & spoons, and original artworks worth a few hundred dollars per piece. That stuff got inventoried, photographed, and the copy stored in a safe place offsite (most of it we got all at once, pretty much - my grandmother died the year before my parents downsized and gave us things).

Other than that, we would take the standard insurance payout (I'm sure it's more than my stuff is worth, but less than the total cost to replace) on everything but the car and the bikes, which are registered with the state and the city, respectively.

Posted 11 months ago #
Sky
Member

I have an inventory/list of my furniture and possessions because I have inherited pieces and wanted to make sure my sons know where everything came from and also who I want to have what. Also, know the history of my art collection.

When I made made the list it was an eye opener as to how much stuff I have. I've seriously decluttered in the last few years but it is amazing just how much stuff you have when you see it written on paper.

I haven't counted how many items I have....it might be scary!

Posted 11 months ago #
susanintexas
Member

For me, making an inventory of everything -- especially clothes and electronics -- would be putting too much emphasis and effort into my "stuff." It comes, it goes. Not meant to last forever. I do staple the store receipt to the user manuals of things like washing machines and computers.

It does make sense to me, however, to make an inventory of our few valuable things that might not be apparent to someone else.

For example, we have a lot of "art" on the wall, but three of the pieces are somewhat valuable signed lithographs that should not end up in a yard sale if DH and I both fall off our perches.
Here's one: cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270744329483&hlp=false
Here's two: http://www.charlesklabundeartist.com/galleries/etchings/4.htm
Here's three: http://www.leroyneiman.com/proddetail.asp?prod=ln-0165&cat=1

Most of my jewelry is of modest value, but many years ago DH won his university alumni association's annual raffle, and I ended up with a $5,000 string of pearls, which at first blush don't look all that different from a $25 string of pearls.

But logging in a new pair of jeans? Nah.

Posted 11 months ago #
w88dm4n
Member

Yes. About a year ago, I wrote a list of everything I owned while on a very long flight. The list (residing in an email account) is only useful in the event of a total fire loss or some such.

Making this list began my second phase of decluttering, beyond the obvious stuff anyone should let go. The second phase required a little more thought and really made me a true believer in decluttering. While writing that list in a spreadsheet, it sure was easy to identify clutter and objects that were mostly redundant. The list itself has little value beyond insurance considerations, but the exercise itself was very valuable and the mindset change has stuck with me. There is also the marginal satisfaction of eliminating an item off my list.

Posted 11 months ago #
Sky
Member

I didn't list clothes, electronics or pots and pans. Just valuable things I want my sons to have one day.

Posted 11 months ago #
djk
Member

I keep thinking that itemizing our possessions in case of an insurance claim would be a good idea but I haven't done it yet, as it just seems like So Much WORK. However, I do have all my clothing recorded on my iPhone, in an app called "Stylish Girl", with which I plan my outfit daily. (I don't have many clothes, and this helps me vary them as much as possible). Maybe I should use other visual lists like this to record my things.

Posted 11 months ago #
Mimi
Member

the insurance argument reminds me of a strategy of a friend. he takes photos of the content of his suitcase before he packs it. he puts everything on a table and takes a few pictures, so he doesn´t need a list. in case the suitcase got lost, he knows what was in there and can easily create a list. this could be an easy way to document all the stuff in a house, too.

Posted 11 months ago #
pkilmain
Member

We videotaped our house a few years ago (okay, probably 10 years) so we'd have documentation of all the furniture, appliances, TV, computers, etc. We stored the tape in our safe deposit box. This was much easier than making a list. Looks like maybe we should do it again.

Posted 11 months ago #
ninakk
Member

For me this would be completely pointless unless it was for insurance purposes. I'd be so anal about having precisely everything go on the list that I could wave bye bye to my daily chores etc.

Posted 11 months ago #
Parsifal
Member

Strangely, I find myself about to do this very thing. I am going to be hiring movers and need to know how much stuff I need to move. I don't want to under-estimate and get gouged again when the movers actually start packing.

I'm going on a big cleaning spree then going room by room taking pictures on my phone. After that I can sit down and itemize the list. I think that will also make it easier to decide what isn't worth moving. Having pictures of everything will also make it easier to file a claim if something happens during the move.

Posted 11 months ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

Parsifal, that is a great idea.

Posted 11 months ago #
toberead
Member

I've moved 4 times over the past six years, and it's been a challenge fitting furniture into different apartments. So after the first move, I went through and measured all of my furniture and kept a list. It has been incredibly handy. I use an online site that lets you plan out your rooms (floorplanner.com) and if I want to rearrange my furniture or switch something out, I already have all the dimensions. For example, I'm thinking about replacing my desk and since I have the dimensions of the furniture in my office, it's easy to see how different sizes and shapes of desks might fit. And if I have to move again, I have a great head start.

Posted 11 months ago #
Parsifal
Member

I'm still fighting a standoff with DW about getting rid of large furniture and other junk. I understand that she has an emotional attachment to things that I just don't, but the fact is we're not fitting 1,150 square feet worth of stuff into an 850 square ft apartment.

I'm not sure she things I am serious about emptying out two of the three bedrooms before we start packing so we can really feel how all that stuff is going to fit into a 1-bedroom.

Good idea, toberead, I'll check out that site.

Posted 11 months ago #
JuliaJayne
Member

Parsifal, if it's possible to get the room dimensions of you new apartment, you might be able to get your wife to visualize the new space better and to be able to make better decisions on what stays and what goes. Don't do the entire thing and then show her. Letting her help will give her some control over the situation instead of you controlling everything.

Just some friendly advice -- be careful that when you do this that you are speaking girl to her. Meaning, be sensitive and understanding. Don't back her into a corner trying to make her see things your way even though you might be right. Sometimes you guys can seem insensitive even though you are simply being logical. :)

Posted 11 months ago #

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