Posted in Triplett & Carothers on September 3, 2025
Taking a home inventory means that you are documenting the valuables in your residence, usually by taking photos of them and saving any receipts that prove how much you spent on them.
The goal is to make sure that you receive the maximum payout from your homeowners’ insurance policy if a fire, lightning strike or other covered disaster destroys these valuables. An inventory can also help you receive a fair payout if someone steals expensive jewelry, artwork or electronics from your home.
Having photos of your valuable items can also help speed the claims process. Providing visual evidence of your home’s valuables to your insurance company can reduce the time it takes to receive your property insurance benefits.
How to take a home inventory
The easiest way to take an inventory is to take pictures of each room in your home, making sure to capture shots of every item in that room.
Say you are taking photos of your living room. Take several shots so that you can include your flat-screen TV, couch, end tables, TV stand, lamps and even that costly rug. You want to get a photo of everything that you might need to replace in case of a disaster.
Once you are done with one room, move to the next. And don’t be shy about taking pictures. You might think that your dining room table is old and not worth much. But think about how much you’d have to spend to replace it with a new version.
Once you’ve finished taking photos of every room in your home, download them to a cloud-based service. That way, you’ll always be able to access them. Having your photos stored in one location will also make it easier to send them to your insurance company if you must file a claim.
Save your receipts, too
Receipts are a key tool that you can use to document the value of items. It’s best to take photos of these receipts with your phone and store them in the same cloud-based server that now holds your home photos. Again, this makes it easier to send these receipts to your insurance provider.
Whenever you buy a new item, such as a laptop or TV, immediately scan and save the receipt to the cloud. That’s easier than trying to take photos of a mountain of receipts that you earlier crammed in your home’s junk drawer.
Creating a home inventory might seem overwhelming. But taking it room by room will lessen any stress. And you’ll be thankful should you need to file a claim. That home inventory could make all the difference when you’re ready to replace your valuable possessions.