A few years ago when Katrina hit New Orleans, my sister along with thousands other people, were not prepared for disaster in documenting their life. They lost everything, and there was no way of proving what they had in their homes. So, settlements were based on general allowances.

Twenty years before, my brother’s house was in a fire. His family ran out of the house in a middle of a January night with just shoes and clothes on their bodies. When the insurance company told them to fill out the possessions in their home, no one was able to remember much. Thus, they had to accept the general settlement.

Learning from these mistakes, I am now taking the time to document the things I have in our home.

Gather what you will need

• A 3-ring binder
• Dividers for your binder, depending on how many categories you want
• Clear plastic protectors for binder to keep receipts in
• A camera
• A flash-drive, or floppy disk, or CD

How to document

1. I use the dividers to label each room in our home for my binder, including the garage, shed, and patio or porch
2. Working on one room at a time, take picture of each item in that room, then write down on a piece of paper what it is, the date you purchased it, and how much it was
3. Put this information in the clear plastic protector to be place in the binder, under its name, such as Willy’s room
4. On the back of this paper, file your receipt for that item in the same pocket
5. If you purchase extra warranty for your item, make sure you put it in the same plastic pocket also
6. Work in “Willy’s” room until you are finished
7. As soon as a new item enters your home, document it right away
8. If you have a scanner, scan your work, and save it on your CD or flash-drive or floppy disk
9. Keep this hard copy in a safe-deposit box
10. Get your pictures printed and file them in their appropriate spot

Important things to document

• A description of the item
• Serial number
• Model number
• Warranty information
• Manufacture company
• Date of purchase
• Amount paid for item
• Replacement insurance information for the item

Advantage in keeping tag of your items

1. Everything is in one binder
2. You have evidence for what you will claimed in a disaster
3. If any appliances ever need repair, all your information is in one place for easy access
4. When buying home insurance, you have an idea what your house is worth

You also could choose to skip small items and just document the main things. Your garage, porch and patio need to be recorded as well if your possessions are valuable.

It is a daunting task, but once it is done, you will find its merit. Just tackle one room at a time until you are finished. If disaster hits, you are prepared to gain your life back without so much hassles.