Inventory...

Have you ever taken the time to actually inventory your house? I've come across a few different articles/comments about this recently, and then J asked me the other day if I had ever inventoried our house.

One of the articles I read recently pointed out the value in taking inventory... when you are in a state of shock (due to something happening to your house), you will have a lot better luck remembering what you had in your house (and convincing the insurance company that you actually had it) if you have an inventory list (preferably with pictures - especially of the larger value items) in a safe location.

Another reason I've recently come across for having an inventory of your house is to understand what you are worth... stay with me on this one. By taking an inventory of all that you own and putting a price tag on it, you know what you have that could be turned into "cash" in case of an emergency. You also have a fairly accurate estimate of what your "hourly salary" is actually worth. (I think you'd have to read the book I read to understand this better, though. It took me a few times of reading it to comprehend what that actually meant.) And thus, you have a better appreciation for things and your time.

My current desire for an inventory is to rid myself of unwanted items that are sitting around in storage. I know I have a lot of STUFF that I never use, never see, and probably won't have a use/need for in the next 5 years. By taking inventory of my house, I can easily identify these items and relocate them to the garage sale pile. (By the way, in case you're interested and live in the greater Warsaw, IN area, we're having a garage sale Memorial Day weekend - lots of baby stuff, books, and random household stuff - send me an email if you want more details/directions/etc.) My rules of thumb for putting stuff in the garage sale is as follows: 1. It's a seasonal item that I didn't use the last season it was appropriate to have used it; 2. It's not seasonal and I haven't used it in 6 months; 3. I have a duplicate (or multiples) of the item; 4. I don't want to move it - I'm hoping to move in the next 5 years; and 5. I have no need for the item and I am tired of staring at it.

I've already started weeding through the kids' clothes (I still have a ways to go there - this is probably the hardest part), and I finished weeding through the books in the den (with Jason's help). I'm hoping to get to the front closet/storage closet this week and our bedroom. I'm probably going to be trying to sell a few larger ticket items on Craigslist and/or prior to the sale to see if I can make a better profit.

Once I'm done garage sale weeding, I'll probably take the camera out and start working on that inventory list for insurance and self-value purposes. It's always good to know you're covered, even if things don't really hold a huge value in your life.

Have you ever inventoried your house? What are your rules of thumb for garage sales? Do you have yearly, bi-yearly, occasional garage sales? How often do you weed your closets and book shelves?