Chapter 01Records · System
Home inventory: what you own, room by room, with a copy kept outside the house
Do it in two sittings. First, walk every room with your phone, film slowly with closets and drawers open, say what things are, and take a close photo of each serial label and receipt. Then type the list from the footage, one room at a time. The California Department of Insurance says to keep copies in at least two places, add big purchases soon after you buy them and look the list over three or four times a year.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026; California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide one-pager, checked October 11, 2026.
- Where copies should live, at least (California DOI)2 places California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide one-pager, October 11, 2026
- Times a year to look the list over, such as each season3 to 4 California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, October 11, 2026
- Ways Oklahoma's checklist says you can sort the list4 orders Oklahoma Insurance Department, Home Inventory Checklist, October 11, 2026
Do it, skip it or get help
Make the inventory yourself
You need a phone, an afternoon and somewhere to type. You know what is in your closets better than anyone, and the footage does most of the work. A second person to hold the camera while you talk makes it quicker.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026.
Skip the prices you can't find
No receipt and no idea what you paid? Leave the price blank and keep the row. The item, the count, the photo and the serial number still go on the list, and the sheet shows blank prices as gaps you can come back to.
Ask your insurer about coverage
This system keeps a record of what you own. What a policy covers, how much it pays and whether an item needs to be listed separately are questions for your insurance company or agent, not for this page.
The steps, in order
Pick how to sort the list
Oklahoma's checklist names four ways to order it: room by room, by category, newest to oldest, or most to least expensive. Room by room is the easiest to film and to check later, so the sheet and this system use it.
Have ready: The home inventory sheet, one page per room
Source: Oklahoma Insurance Department, Home Inventory Checklist, checked October 11, 2026.
Film every room in one afternoon
Walk each room slowly with the phone recording. Open every closet and drawer, and say what things are as you go. The California one-pager suggests this narrated walk-through, and the booklet says to date each recording.
Have ready: A charged phone and the closet doors open
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide one-pager, checked October 11, 2026; California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026.
Take close photos of labels and receipts
For anything with a serial number, take a photo close enough to read it. Hold any receipt you have next to the item in the same shot, as the California booklet suggests.
Have ready: A flashlight for labels on the back or underside
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026.
Go back for the rooms people skip
Extra closets, the pantry, the basement and the attic are the places the California booklet says not to forget. Add the garage and the patio. They have no sofa or TV to remind you, so lists tend to miss them.
Have ready: The list of skipped rooms from the guide
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026.
Type one room per sitting
Play a room's footage and give each thing a row: what it is, how many, brand and model, serial number, year bought, what you paid and where the receipt is. Anything with a serial number gets its own row; a shelf of paperbacks can be one row with a count.
Have ready: The footage and the label photos
Let the sheet add up each room
The home inventory sheet multiplies count by price for each row, adds up each room in whole cents and lists every row still missing a photo, a serial number or a receipt note.
Have ready: The typed rooms
Send copies out of the house the same day
The California one-pager says to keep a copy in at least two of these: a fire-resistant box at home, a locked cabinet at work, a family member or friend, an accountant or lawyer, or a safe deposit box. Email the files to yourself or a relative and put a drive in a second place.
Have ready: A flash drive or an email address you will keep
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide one-pager, checked October 11, 2026; Texas Department of Insurance, Home inventory activity, checked October 11, 2026.
Add big purchases when they arrive
The California booklet names TVs and refrigerators as the kind of purchase to add soon after buying. Photograph the label on delivery day, keep the receipt and add the row that week.
Have ready: The receipt and one label photo
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026.
Look it over each season
The booklet suggests reviewing three or four times a year, for example at the start of each season. Add what came in, move what left to the back, print the sheet and send fresh copies to both places.
Have ready: The review log page
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026.
Print the working copy
One page, black and white, US Letter. Tick the boxes and write the dates in.
- Phone charged, closets and drawers open
- Room name and date said on each clip
- Every room filmed slowly, with commentary
- Closets, pantry, basement, attic filmed
- Garage and patio filmed
What goes wrong
The only copy is in the house
A list kept in a desk drawer is gone with whatever happened to the desk. The Oklahoma checklist says to keep it outside the home, and the California one-pager says two places.
Source: Oklahoma Insurance Department, Home Inventory Checklist, checked October 11, 2026; California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide one-pager, checked October 11, 2026.
Silent footage with no date
A video of a room without a word said is hard to turn into rows a year later. Say what things are as you film, and date each recording, as the California booklet suggests.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026.
The serial number is a blur
A wide shot of the TV shows that you own one but not which one. Take a second photo right at the label and check it is readable before you move on.
Whole rooms are missing
Garage tools, patio furniture, the attic bins and the linen closet are the usual gaps. Walk the skipped-rooms list from the guide before you call the list done.
The list stops at move-in day
Every purchase that never made it onto the sheet is a gap in the list, and after a couple of years the gaps add up. A short look each season keeps it current.
When the steps change
Renting
List only what you own. The landlord's appliances and fixtures belong on the move-in condition record, not here. A small apartment often fits on three or four room pages.
Just moved in
Do the film walk before you unpack everything, while each box is still labeled by room. Type the rooms over the first month alongside the move-in checklist.
Sharing a home
Give each person's own things a column for whose they are, or a separate page. Shared items such as the sofa and the TV go on the room page with no owner marked.
A teenager doing the walk
Texas's kids' page walks through the same steps: list each room, note the cost and any serial number, photograph the room and keep the files away from the house. It makes a good first job for someone else in the family.
Source: Texas Department of Insurance, Home inventory activity, checked October 11, 2026.
Tips and tricks
- Tip 01
Say the room and the date first
Start every recording with the room name and today's date. Typing later is much faster when each clip says where it was shot and when.
- Tip 02
Name the files by room
Rename each video and photo with the room and the item, such as kitchen-toaster. A photo that turns up loose can go straight back to its row.
- Tip 03
Group the small stuff
A shelf of paperbacks can share one row with a count and one photo of the shelf. Save single rows for things with a serial number or a receipt.
- Tip 04
Pair it with the appliance log
If you already keep the appliance log, the model and serial numbers are done. Copy those rows across rather than shooting the labels twice.
- Tip 05
Put the review on the calendar
Pick the first weekend of each season and write it down now. A short look each quarter is easier than starting the whole thing over.
What we would do
Film this weekend, type over the next few evenings
Spend one afternoon filming every room, the skipped ones included, and email the footage to yourself before dinner. Over the next week, type one room an evening into the inventory sheet. When the last room is in, print it, send a copy to a second place and put the first seasonal review on the calendar.
The tools and guides in this system
Chapter 01Home inventory sheetList what you own room by room, with what you paid, serial numbers and which items have a photo. See each room's total and print a one-page sheet.Open the tool
Chapter 01Appliance and warranty logRecord each appliance's model number, serial number and purchase date, see which warranty ends next, and print a one-page log for the drawer.Open the tool
Practical noteHow to do a photo home inventory in one afternoonFilm every room with the drawers open, then shoot the labels. Type the list later from the photos and keep copies in two places away from home.Read the guide
Practical noteThe rooms and things people leave off a home inventoryThe garage, attic, linen closet and patio hold more than people think. Here's what usually gets missed, room by room, and how to group the small stuff.Read the guide- Chapter 01All records toolsPrintable home records with a calculator behind each one: appliance and warranty log, HVAC filter sizes and change dates.Open the chapter
Questions
How do I make a home inventory?
Walk each room filming slowly with closets and drawers open, saying what things are. Take close photos of serial labels and receipts. Then type the list from the footage, one room at a time, with the item, count, model, serial number, year and price paid. The California Department of Insurance lists the same walk-through.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide one-pager, checked October 11, 2026.
Where should I keep my home inventory?
Somewhere outside the house, and in more than one place. The California one-pager says at least two of: a fire-resistant box at home, a locked cabinet at work, a family member or friend, an accountant or lawyer, or a safe deposit box.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide one-pager, checked October 11, 2026.
How often should I update a home inventory?
Add big purchases soon after you buy them, and look the whole list over three or four times a year. The California booklet suggests the start of each season.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Home Inventory Guide, checked October 11, 2026.
What if I don't know what I paid?
Leave the price blank and keep the row. The item, the photo and the serial number still belong on the list. The sheet counts the row and lists it as a gap, so you can fill it in if a receipt or order email turns up.
Do I need a separate row for every single thing?
No. Give a row of its own to anything with a serial number or a receipt. Groups of small things, such as books, linens or kitchen utensils, can share one row with a count and a photo.
The primary source
Home Inventory Guide (booklet, Rev. 03/14/19), California Department of Insurance. Checked October 11, 2026.
The steps on this page follow this source. Other figures cite their own source where they appear.
Other sources on this page
- Home Inventory Guide (one-page summary, Form 923, June 2023), California Department of Insurance. Checked October 11, 2026.
- Home Inventory Checklist, Oklahoma Insurance Department. Checked October 11, 2026.
- Home inventory activity for kids, Texas Department of Insurance. Checked October 11, 2026.
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