When it's time to move, understanding what you own is rather helpful. Knowing what you have and what will be moving to your new location with you will help you choose the right size truck, get an accurate quote from a Chicago residential moving company, and ensure all your belongings make it to your new location.
There are so many things to do when moving; taking a full inventory often becomes overlooked. Don't allow this to happen to you as there are too many good reasons to take an inventory of your possessions.
Top 3 Reasons to Inventory Your Belongings When Moving
Before you start packing, you want to take an inventory of all your possessions. Here are three reasons why taking a full inventory is important when moving.
Understand What you Have and What You Need
Moving into a new place often means getting new things to fill the space. An inventory of your possessions will show you what you have and what you need.
More Efficient Packing and Unpacking
With an inventory of everything you own, you'll be able to more efficiently pack your items in the right categories. As long as you label everything properly, unpacking will also become much easier.
For Insurance Purposes
If something happens to your items during the move, you will likely need a moving inventory for the moving company and the insurance company. You want to make sure you check with both companies before moving to find out what they require for your inventory list.
While these three reasons make it easy to see why you should have a moving inventory of your possessions, you'll also be able to get a more accurate moving quote when you can tell the movers exactly what will be going.
A Few Easy Ways to Create Your Moving Inventory
There are several ways to go about creating an inventory and you want to make sure you understand what your moving company and the insurance company will require. Here are three easy ways to create your inventory.
Pen and Paper
The old-fashioned way might work best for you. Simply get a clipboard or notebook and start writing down what you own. You can create categories for different items and include a simple description.
Excel Sheet or Other Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet makes it easy to organize your inventory and save it to your computer. It works much like pen and paper, but you can likely use a program on your phone, tablet, or computer instead of writing it by hand.
Inventory Apps
There are several apps you can add to your smartphone or tablet for inventory creation. One of the best apps is the Home Inventory app, which is available for iOS. This app will help you catalog your belongings from one room to another. It can even help to estimate the weight and cubic footages of your items for movers.
A few alternative apps to choose include:
Sortly (iOS and Android)
Nest Egg (iOS)
Magic Home Inventory (Android)
Momento Database (iOS, Android, and Desktop)
Any of these apps will make taking a home inventory before you move very easy.
Video/Picture Inventory
Another method, which may be required by your moving company and insurance company, is to take a video or picture inventory. Instead of or in addition to documenting the things you own, you can record video proof or take a picture of everything you own.
No matter the way you go about creating your inventory before you move, this is a vital step you want to take. There are many good reasons listed above for creating a home inventory and your inventory list will provide plenty of benefits.