Guide
How to Make a Home Inventory
Last updated: October 2026
A home inventory is a list of what you own and where it is. For the things that matter, it also holds what you paid and the proof: a receipt, a serial number, a photo. Your phone is the easiest place to keep it, because it's already in your hand when you buy something or open a closet.
What a home inventory should include
Rooms, the places inside them, the name of each item and a photo. For valuables, add the purchase price, the date, the serial or model number and the receipt.
- Rooms: kitchen, bedroom, garage, and so on.
- Places inside rooms: a cabinet, a shelf, a drawer, a bin.
- Item names, short and searchable: "cordless drill", not "tool".
- A photo, so you recognize it later.
- For valuables: price, purchase date, serial or model number, receipt.
Do it room by room
Finish one room before you start the next, and open every drawer and cabinet as you go. The things people forget are the ones out of sight: the back of closets, tools, cables and small electronics.
Kitchen
- Small appliances: kettle, toaster, blender, coffee maker
- Every drawer, including the one with the takeout menus
- Cabinets above the fridge and under the sink
- Good knives, pans and anything you'd hate to replace
Living room
- TV, speakers, game consoles and their controllers
- Cables, chargers and remotes behind the TV unit
- Books, records and anything on high shelves
- Rugs, lamps and art
Bedrooms
- The back of every closet and the top shelf
- Under the bed and in storage boxes
- Jewelry, watches and bags
- Tablets, laptops and headphones on nightstands
Bathroom
- Hair dryers, straighteners and electric toothbrushes
- The cabinet under the sink
- Anything stored in the linen closet
Garage and storage
- Power tools, hand tools and the toolbox itself
- Bikes, sports gear and camping kit
- Garden tools and the lawn mower
- Every labeled bin and box on the shelves
Home office
- Computer, monitor, printer and docks
- Cables, hard drives and small electronics in drawers
- Desk chair and any equipment you use for work
Take photos, not notes
A photo records more in a second than you'd type in a minute. Take one of each shelf or cabinet front, and a close-up of any serial-number label.
Store receipts and manuals as photos or PDFs next to the item they belong to. Paper receipts fade, so photograph them the day you get them.
Where to keep it
Keep it on your phone, with a backup you control. Then keep a second copy somewhere that isn't the house, so one bad day doesn't take the list with it.
A spreadsheet works. A dedicated home inventory app is quicker to search and fill in. BoxSmartly Home keeps rooms, places inside places and what's in them on your iPhone or iPad. Setting it up is free for up to 15 items.
Insurance and your inventory
Many insurers suggest keeping a home inventory; ask yours what it needs. BoxSmartly keeps a record; it doesn't value belongings.
Keep it up to date
Add things when you buy them, and review the whole list once a year. An inventory that's two years old misses the things you bought most recently.
- Add new purchases the day they arrive, receipt and all.
- Remove what you sell, give away or throw out.
- Set a yearly reminder on your phone to walk each room.
Frequently asked
How long does a home inventory take?+
Most homes take an afternoon for a first pass if you go room by room and photograph shelves instead of single items. Start with the rooms that hold the most valuable things, then fill in the rest over a few short sessions. A rough list you finish beats a perfect one you abandon halfway.
Do I need to photograph everything?+
No. One photo of each shelf, drawer or cabinet front covers most everyday things. Take separate photos only of valuables, plus a close-up of any serial-number or model label. The aim is to show what you own and where it is, not to build a catalog of every fork.
What do I do with receipts?+
Photograph paper receipts as soon as you get home, because thermal paper fades. Save emailed receipts and manuals as PDFs. Keep each one next to the item it belongs to in your inventory, so the price, date and proof are all in one place when you need them.
How often should I update it?+
Add new things when you buy them, while the receipt is still in your hand. Then do a quick review once a year: walk each room, add what's missing and remove what you've sold or given away. Set a yearly reminder on your phone so the review actually happens.
Start with one room.
BoxSmartly Home keeps your rooms, shelves and what's on them on your iPhone or iPad. Free to set up, up to 15 items.
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