It's nearing time for the annual spring cleaning. I know not everyone does a spring cleaning, but it doesn't hurt to do an annual home inventory. The first time you do it, it is time consuming, and alarming as you find out exactly how much stuff you actually have accumulated.
In times of economic depression or recession, it's especially important to know what all you have as that helps you know what you can sell, barter away, recycle, repair, or pass on.
Doing a full home inventory gives you a chance to know exactly all you own. In today’s society, we accumulate a lot of stuff. So much is available for free or nearly free that if you dumpster dive, do roadside rescues, recycle, freecycle, and so on; that stuff adds up much quicker than you expect. It’s also too easy to acquire duplicates if you “stash” things for later or “just in case”.
Once you know what all you have, you can sort through it and pare it down to what you need. You can resell it, freecycle it, or set it aside for bartering purposes.
It gives you a chance to stock up on the things you actually do use because you’ll see what things you’re running low on, what you use the most of, and where your bare spots are. You can fill the gaps in the things you need and want, from a better TV to a stash of toilet paper.
You don’t have to live spartan and deprived just because society is in a depression/recession. Remember, this depression will be a weird one – people won’t be lacking in Stuff, they’ll be lacking in confidence, in cash, in pay raises, in mobility. We’ll have Stuff out the wazoo, we’ll have communications abilities far exceeding any previous generation, we’ll have internet capabilities, and we’ll be able to acquire an amazing amount of skills and access to people who will barter their skills for ours, or our stuff for theirs.
You’ll be able to document all the major household maintenance you’ll need to do, and maybe even get a good start on them. You can use the time to do minor remodeling and redecorating. Sometimes, just moving things around, and displaying things you forgot you had can make a difference in how your home looks. The Annual Home Inventory can improve not just the look of your home, but how you feel about it.
Document room by room, then any storage buildings on your property (or if you rent a storage unit, inventory that), then inventory the outside of your house in each direction. Don't forget to photograph important things like windows and doors - if they are damaged by storms, you want proof that they were not damaged (at least not in that way) before the storm/break-in/fire/other disaster.
If you have books (I'm not talking a few magazines and Harlequin romances here, I'm talking books like I have books - books in the hundreds or thousands), scan them into Library Thing.
Check out Delicious Library 2 for documenting your possessions. If you lend items, this program will also track to whom you lent it so don't think you lost it and buy a replacement.
Or you can just have a spreadsheet.
It doesn't matter how hi-tech or lo-tech you choose to go. It's the inventory and documentation that matters, not the format.
Completing the inventory will be good for insurance purposes, in case you need it. Document your possessions not just as a list on paper, consider photographing each item, listing the date you acquired it, and if you still have the receipt, a photo of that beside it can make insurance claims much easier. If you have the warranty cards and manuals, it helps to have them kept either near the item or in an easily accessed (fireproof) file cabinet or safe box. A lot of people don't think of warranty cards and manuals as important papers, but they are. A friend just sent me her old embroidery machine, as she doesn't care to have it any more, and I had to scour the internet to find a manual on how to use it because she didn't keep the manual for it. She also lost the power cord.
That reminds me that you need to label all your many cords for various items, even if they are currently attached. Once you unplug it and store it somewhere, the cord is bound to get lost and then you'll be left wondering what happened to the power cord - or when you give it away, the new owner will have to hunt for a new power cord or cable or charging cord. Labeling these things during your Annual Home Inventory will help you next year when you are confronted with a box or drawer full of discarded chargers and cords in figuring out where they go.
Keep your inventory in a spreadsheet on the computer, and print a hard copy out (or several) and stash them in the fireproof lock box or other safe place. Your insurance agent may be willing to store a copy for you, either hard copies or flash drive - it makes their job easier.
And while you’re at the home inventory, consider inventorying the contents of your car. Many people don’t realize how much accumulates inside the car, especially if you have children. Tools, mail, school supplies, food containers, music, DVDs, clothes – it should all be sorted, inventoried, cleaned, and put back where it belongs. Keep only the barest essentials in the car. If you need to evacuate, you should have it clean enough to pack quickly with your complete bug out kit. In fact, practice packing your car for an evacuation so you know exactly how long it will take you and how much you realistically can take with you.
When you’re cleaning and inventorying your home, you should tag those items you want to take in an evacuation so you can grab them quickly. Most of the time, you’ll have hours to evacuate, but sometimes, you may have only minutes. If things are labeled, you (and your children/friends/visiting relatives) can grab the essentials quickly, and you won't feel as panicked as you would if you weren't prepared. It also makes others feel useful (and therefore less panicked) if they have specific jobs to do (Randy, get the photo albums, Betty, look for things with the purple tags and stack them by the door, Jill, take the tagged items to the car, John, move the food in the purple bins to the door, when all y'all are done, help Jill pack the car, let's move!)
Use the clean up and inventory time to practice your survival skills.