8 weeks

I was looking at a moving checklist that said that eight weeks out you should take pictures of your valuables and contact your insurance company. I have decided that I am going to use this time to make a household inventory. You know, because I am an idiot with nothing better to do.

A household inventory is something I have been meaning to do for a while and have never gotten around to it. I have of course thought really hard about doing it, and picked the brain of my insurance agent. This is what he said:

• Count everything - the socks in your sock drawer, the jeans hanging in your closet, Aunt Bertha's good china - everything. My insurance agent said that people only think of the big things when worried about insurance, but your policy will replace everything right down to your undies. You just need to know how many pairs you had. If you forget something, don't sweat it. Most policies allow for claims for one year after the incident. Not many people think about Christmas decorations when their house burns down in April.
  
• The easiest way to do it is to walk around the house with a camcorder, opening each drawer and saying things like "Here are 10 pairs of black socks" and "Here is Aunt Bertha's china, pattern Balmoral by Royal Stafford. There are 12 dinner plates, 10 dessert plates..."
  
• If you can't use a video camera, just write everything down. Try to take a picture of the bigger ticket items.
  
• Don't forget household items like bath towels and curtains.
  
• Make sure you keep a copy of your inventory somewhere else. If your house burns down, the inventory stored in your computer desk won't do you any good.
  
• Any inventory is better than no inventory.