HOME INVENTORY


The home inventory format allows you to keep track of what you
own, where items are located and how much it would cost to
replace something that is lost.  Unfortunately, most of us do not
find out how much property insurance we  need until after we
suffer a major loss.  We then may learn that our insurance
coverage, although based on replacement value, is not sufficient
to cover the complete loss.  Or, worse yet, we are unable to
document the true value of our possessions and thus the insurance
will only pay to replace our lost possessions with lower quality
items.

This software helps provide you with protection in several ways. 
First, it provides a way for you to determine whether or not you
have adequate property insurance.  For example, insurance
policies generally limit the coverage for special items such as
jewelry, collectibles (coins, stamps, plates, dolls, etc...),
guns and furs.  By categorizing items by type, this home
inventory software can give you the total replacement value for
each type of item you own.  This allows you to compare what you
actually have versus the limits given in your insurance policy.

For those special items that need to be covered for more than a
minimal amount, you generally will need to "schedule" them.  What
this means is that you give your insurance agent a list (or
schedule) of the special items to be insured so that those items
are specifically identified and the appropriate insurance
supplied.  Some may already be covered by your existing
insurance.  For others, you may need to consider additional
insurance.  Your insurance agent will know the details of your
policy, so once your inventory is complete, discuss it with your
agent to determine if you need to schedule any items.  Policies
vary, and it will take someone familiar with your policy, such as
your agent, to provide you with specific recommendations.  Of
course, this software allows you to provide the list your agent
will need.
 
If you should suffer a loss from theft, fire, vandalism, any type
of loss, ORGANIZE! provides a record of what you had.  It will
allow you to put together a list of what was lost, providing you
with model numbers, serial numbers and descriptions.  If the loss
was due to theft, this gives the police the information they'll
need to identify and (hopefully) recover your things.  It also
gives the insurance company the documentation they need to
replace the lost items with items of the same or similar quality.

Insurance companies generally try to protect themselves from
people out to take advantage of them.  Thus, if you have not
documented the description, model number and serial number of the
items you lost, you may not be able to recover the full
replacement value.  You should keep the receipts for every major
purchase you make.  This is the best documentation.  But, what if
your shoe boxes of receipts also go up in a fire?  With your
complete inventory on one floppy disk, you can easily keep a copy
at home and another at work or in a safe deposit box, so that
your records will be safe.


Completing A Home Inventory

Depending on the size of your home and how much you've packed
into each closet, you can expect to spend several hours entering
the list of everything you own into your inventory for the first
time.  I suggest setting aside one day to do a complete
inventory.  Start in one room and list the complete contents of
that room (a clip board with a pad of paper will be helpful for
this).  Go from room to room until everything is listed.  If you
take a break, or have other people in your house (i.e. your
kids), be careful not to move items from room to room as this can
cause some confusion.

If you haven't had an appraisal done recently, you might use your
Sears, Penney's or other catalog to determine the current
replacement value for some items.  For others, you may need to do
a little window shopping to get a good idea of what it would cost
to replace them.  If you want to be accurate, don't guess.  If
you guess high, you will be paying for more insurance than you
need.  A low guess will result in inadequate coverage.  Valuable
items should be appraised by a professional appraiser to get a
realistic estimate of their value.  Talk with your insurance
agent to get his or her recommendation concerning what items you
should get appraised.

With the home inventory format, you can keep inventories for
several insurance policies on one disk, or you can keep each on a
separate disk.  Since you can specify virtually an unlimited 
number of locations and owners, each item can be pinpointed  as
to who owns it and where it is located.  Thus, you can include
items that are in your office or at a summer home.   With the
home inventory format, you can sort them out and provide a
print-out for each location and owner.

The catalog name for this format is: HI

Let's look at the kind of information that can be entered on each
line:

Description - This line is used to enter a descriptive phrase
that applies to the object.  Depending on  what the item is, you
could include information such as the brand name, color, material
it is made from, style, or shape.  Be consistent in the
information you enter, however.  If you include the color of an
item on the DESCRIPTION, always use the DESCRIPTION line for the
color.

When making entries, you should be consistent when using upper
and lower case letters.  During searches, the software will
differentiate between upper and lower case letters.  Thus,
entering the work "Computer" is not the same as "COMPUTER".  I
usually enter the description using all upper case letters.

Model # - Enter the model number of this item, if there is one.

ID (Identifying) Mark - This line is for any identifying marks on
the item.  This could be a social security number engraved on the
back; a specific pattern of scratches, dents, or other damage; or
anything else that would uniquely identify this item. 

Serial Number - Enter the serial number, if there is one.

Note - This line is provided for miscellaneous information.  You
can enter an abbreviation for the type of item, or describe the
condition of the item, or enter any other information you feel is
valuable.

Value - Enter the current value of the item.  This should be a
realistic replacement value, which may be less than what you
think the item is worth.  If you overestimate the replacement
value of an item, you could end up paying for insurance you don't
need, since your insurance will only pay the minimum amount
needed to replace an item.

Always use the same number of digits when entering values.  If
the value of items in your collection ranges from $1 to $1000,
then the $1 items should have their values entered as 0001, which
uses the same number of digits as 1000.  If you need to include
cents in some entries (such as in $1.50) but not in others, you
do not need to type ".00".  Digits to the right of the decimal
point, while significant in determining the value of an item, do
not affect how a computer sorts values. 

Owner(s) - Enter the name(s) of the people who own this item. 
You can use people's full names or, to save space, just their
initials.  (If you use initials you can shorten this line to
three characters.)  Be sure that you use different initials to
identify each owner.  For example:

 SCH - Steven C. Hudgik

 SFZ - Stephen Frank Zabrowski

NOTE: If you want to indicate join ownership, you will want to
set up an OWNER(s) line that is at least seven characters long. 
This will give you room to enter the initials for both people.

Location - Enter a description of the location of the item.  The
description can be a single word such as "Bedroom" or a complete
address.

Other - As you did on the NOTE line, you can enter whatever
information you feel is useful.  You may enter more information
about the owner(s) or location, or use this line to expand on the
description of the type of item.

Type - Use this line to classify items by type.  The
classifications you use will depend on your requirements.  You
can classify items by style, use, function, or by any other
classification.  Some examples of types might be: furniture,
clothes, books, computer, stereo, auto parts, collectibles, art,
coins, furs, guns, and dishes.  Entering a type classification is
very important in that some items (guns, furs, collectibles,
etc...) may require separate insurance.  This is called
scheduling and you should talk to your insurance agent about this
as soon as your inventory is complete.

Purchase Date - The purchase date can be important for
establishing the value of an item.  In most cases, the specific
day is not critical, so you can enter just the month and year. 
For things you've owned for awhile, you may only be able to
remember the year they were purchased -- that's OK; enter just
the year.  However, for some items, such as stock certificates,
you need to enter the exact date.

Updated - Use this line to keep track of when you last
checked/updated the information about this item, especially the
price.  Typically, you'll update your inventory once a year.  I
suggest setting up a macro with the current date.  You then can
enter the date on this line with a single ALT-key combination.

Notes-1/2/3 - The next three lines provide space for you to enter
additional information about each item. You can enter anything on
these lines and the software can search to find any information
you might enter.  I do urge you to be consistent in what you
enter on each line.  For example, if Note-1 is used to describe
the color of an item, always use Note-1 for color and nothing
else.


The next set of six lines are intended to identify where you
purchased (obtained) the item.  This could be a dealer,
wholesaler, radio station contest, gift from a neighbor, etc.... 
This information allows you to go back to the original dealer if
you need to replace the item.  It may also help substantiate the
value and quality of the item for an insurance claim.
  
Purchased From - Enter the name of the dealer or person you got
this item from.

Address - Enter the street address for the above.

City/State - Enter the city and state in which the above address
is located.

Original Cost - Enter the amount you paid for this item.  If it
was a gift, you can enter the value of the item at the time you
received it.  This is particularly important for items such as
stocks or collectibles since you will need to be able to
determine your gain or loss on the item should you sell it in the
future.

Note - This line provides additional space for information about
either the place where you purchased the item or it's original
cost.  I've made the line long enough so that you can enter the
dealer's phone number, if you wish.

Miscellaneous - Use this line to show any other additional
information.  For example, you could enter an abbreviation for
the type of dealer or use this line for the dealer's phone
number.