I don't have pictures of much. Certainly not of my kitchen stuff and my clothing. So how would you itemize all of the nonsense for a total loss? Like literally, all of my stuff is gone. From work supplies to my shoes and purses. And I don't think I have pictures of anything.
I realize I was stupid for not taking pictures. So everyone, go and do that immediately.
Post by thinkofthesoldiers on May 23, 2015 17:31:36 GMT -5
You know using a wedding registry guide might help you think of things you wouldn't normally. And then go room by room. Or even specific area of each room. Like: in this closet I kept xyz...
I'm so sorry. I don't have pics/receipts etc. and I'm sure most people don't. I guess you can write down an approximate list of all things you can remember? I'm not sure how it works for ins purposes. ((Hugs))
I'd go mentally room by room, drawer by drawer, and picture it all in my head. I'd start with cost of replacement as my estimate, rather than trying to estimate what I'd paid, and I'd err on the side of overestimating to start.
Post by polarbearfans on May 23, 2015 17:44:30 GMT -5
I would break it down by room first, then even smaller groups. Go back to your lists because you may remember more upon review.
My uncle is in insurance, and when I was setting up my renters insurance he had me increase the amount because of how much all the little items add up. A total home loss is going to a huge amount. So sorry you are in this position. Don't forget all your different types of socks, underwear, little kitchen items, etc.
Post by 1confused1 on May 23, 2015 17:53:39 GMT -5
I'm so sorry you have to do this.
During my divorce I had to itemize our assets, etc. Like others said, just mentally go room to room and try to remember what was there. Might also help to draw a picture.
Post by tripleshot on May 23, 2015 17:57:54 GMT -5
I'm sorry. Another idea is to check your order history on sites like Amazon or Target or wherever you order from. Check your email for order confirmations, etc. Other than that, I'd try to think of each drawer, cabinet, etc.
I would go room by room and try to visualize everything in each cabinet/drawer/closet. I think going through your order history on websites you shop frequently is a really good idea too. I
Nah. Just some stuff from my trip to Europe. Nice stuff, but not more than $500 a piece.
Still! That's substantial and irreplaceable!
Write down everything. Doesn't matter how small. Everything from toilet paper to light bulbs. They need to replace it all.
This. My parents had a camping trailer that was burned down by some neighborhood kids ~20 years ago. I remember thinking my mom was nuts for itemizing things like paper towels and dishcloths, but she estimates they got an additional $500 from the insurance company because she was so thorough about those little items.
I am so, so sorry you're having to go through this.
Did you have any sort of moving inventory to reference? I know the moving company has been less than helpful, but maybe they have something. I am so sorry you are dealing with this.
Post by underwaterrhymes on May 23, 2015 18:21:42 GMT -5
First I would go through each room in your mind (or any photos you might have) and write down all of the big furniture pieces.
Next I would visit the sites like Amazon where you might have an account and wrote down all of those items you've ordered.
Then I would go through your email and search for key words like shipped or order and see if you can come up with additional things you've gotten.
I would then look at your photos of yourself and write down the clothing you can remember.
I would also visually walk myself through the house and various processes and think of what you did from sun up to sun down to come up with things like beauty products and household goods that might have been lost.
Then I would think of things like jewelry, electronics, kitchen items, and memorabilia I might have forgotten, using - as someone else suggested - registries to try and spark my memory for things I might be leaving off.
Then I would double check what you have against the list they have to see what might be missing.
Post by coconutchips on May 23, 2015 18:30:36 GMT -5
I think I'd try the visualization ideas while on video chat or at my best friends house. We have such similar households I could easily look around her kitchen and say yup these small appliances plus the one she always borrows. She has 24 tshirts? I bet I had about that many, and so on...
When I was robbed over xmas break in college, I had to make an inventory of everything, which was so hard, and that was essentially just one room. One thing to think about is stuff you don't use all that often, or stuff from other seasons (so now, skis, winter coats, etc). For example, my rollerblades were stolen (which tells you how long ago I was in college), but I never noticed they were even gone because who needs rollerblades in January? Ugh-I'm so sorry you have to deal with this.
When i did it, I started in the kitchen and visualized every drawer and cabinet that i had. Then moved through my house un my mind. It took me about a month and half to get everything written down. And I still forgot little things. It heartbreaking, but our insurance adjuster really helped us out and talked us through it. Also since we didn't max out our coverage, I have to keep track of all of our purchases for two years because we got depreciates value for most of our things.
I am so sorry this happened to you. This happened in September and I still find shopping and stores a bit overwhelming at times. I just want my stuff back too, so I know how you feel.
We had a house fire a few years ago and lost everything. Most of it was still intact, but it was ruined by smoke and water damage, so we had a contents inventory team come in and go through everything. They created an incredibly detailed inventory to give to the insurance company. If you would like for me to send that to you, just to give you a place to start with your list, I would be happy to. Please let me know if you need any advice about this -- it's incredibly difficult to lose everything, and if I can help ease your burden, I would be glad to.
I guess I would picture each room and go from one side to the other. Example; if I were doing the kitchen, I would picture each cabinet and drawer separately and list everything that I could remember.
Post by Howards Mom on May 23, 2015 20:02:57 GMT -5
Can you start gift registries on WilliamsSonoma, BedBathBeyond, Macy's, etc.? Then you can go through each category and add what you remember and current cost is included. Auxiliary cables for DVD/TVs, add-ons to anything big like laptops.
For your specialty bakeware and supplies, maybe Broadway Panhandler or another online retailer. And your decorative supplies and tools too, those aren't inexpensive.
I'm so sorry; I can't imagine how overwhelming this is.
We had a house fire a few years ago and lost everything. Most of it was still intact, but it was ruined by smoke and water damage, so we had a contents inventory team come in and go through everything. They created an incredibly detailed inventory to give to the insurance company. If you would like for me to send that to you, just to give you a place to start with your list, I would be happy to. Please let me know if you need any advice about this -- it's incredibly difficult to lose everything, and if I can help ease your burden, I would be glad to.
Something like this isn't a bad idea.
Having a fairly comprehensive list of everything you could possibly have in a household can act as a trigger for you to remember what you had.
i can't begin to imagine how we'd inventory this house. Just trying to figure out where to start has to be paralyzing.
I think the others have given you good advice, the only other thing I can add is to be aware that it will probably take you a long time to complete your list. When our house was robbed last year it took me two full days + an hour or two over the next week + another couple of hours a few weeks later to get my entire list together, and I still am not convinced I got everything. And that was only cataloguing our electronics and my jewelry. If I had to go through everything in our entire house it would probably have taken me a full week or more.
Post by JayhawkGirl on May 23, 2015 21:35:22 GMT -5
I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. After you brainstorm your lists, I would walk through kohls, target, bed bath beyond etc. browsing might remind you of lesser used items you had.
Post by walterismydog on May 23, 2015 22:02:06 GMT -5
I'm just so sorry you're dealing with this.
When I lost everything in a flood, I didn't have insurance but FEMA had a list to go by. Maybe the insurance company has a list of some sort (or maybe google something like "household inventory checklist"?).
Good luck. Again, so sorry. It sucks to lose everything.
We had a house fire a few years ago and lost everything. Most of it was still intact, but it was ruined by smoke and water damage, so we had a contents inventory team come in and go through everything. They created an incredibly detailed inventory to give to the insurance company. If you would like for me to send that to you, just to give you a place to start with your list, I would be happy to. Please let me know if you need any advice about this -- it's incredibly difficult to lose everything, and if I can help ease your burden, I would be glad to.