A Case Study In Why You Need A Home Inventory

by Taylor
(Household Management 101)

The blog Unclutterer has been running a series on "Disaster Uncluttering."

This tells the true and sad story of Gary DuVall, an Unclutterer programmer, and his wife, who lost their apartment and all its contents to a fire.

The series runs in parts, and I think it is a great real life example of why you need to create a home inventory.

Being an attorney, I have lived some of these disaster situations with my clients, and get really mad at insurance companies sometimes, because they create so many barriers and hoops to jump through to get you compensated for your loss when you are already vulnerable.

I would encourage you to read this series from Unclutterer (links below), and I will update this page as more parts of the series come out so you can have all the links in one place.

Every time I read a story like this, or see it with one of my clients, I think, "there but for the grace of God go I."

It really can happen to anyone.

Here are the links:

Part 1: Disaster Uncluttering - How It Happened

Part 2: Disaster Uncluttering - The Aftermath

Part 3: Disaster Uncluttering - Rebuilding

Part 3 of the series discusses, among other things, the difference between an actual cash value policy and replacement cost policy which is a really important distinction, so check that section out to learn more.

Part 3 also really emphasizes why it is important to have a household inventory ahead of time, and you can see what Gary and his wife had to do since they didn't have one.

Also, remember that you can check out my article on why you should create a home inventory, and then also how to create a home inventory if these articles inspire you to create one.

You can also check out this review of free home inventory software that can help you create your inventory, if you want.

Photo by Paul Keleher