How to Create and Keep Track of Your Moving Inventory List?
Posted in How-to,Planning the Move on October 5, 2022
If you are currently in the middle of the relocation process or you’re preparing for one, you most likely already have an idea about how complicated things can get. If you want to make your relocation easier – consider creating a moving inventory list. This simple hack will ensure the entire process goes much more smoothly and is less stressful. And if you are not sure about what is a moving inventory and why it is important – keep reading this useful guide.
Creating a moving inventory list is quite simple. You just need a bit of time and patience to write down everything and organize it. Remember that the more details you put into them, the easier it will be to monitor the stuff you are shipping, so nothing gets lost or forgotten. To keep track of everything, get some colorful markers to tick off things you’ve packed already.
What Is a Moving Inventory List, and Why Is It So Important to Make It?
Relocating to a new state is quite a complex process and requires a lot of organization and planning. Just like with any other challenging process, relocating to a different home should not go without a relocation to-do list. When you have a relocation to another state checklist where you write down all the tasks you must finish, it’s much easier to track progress and avoid any possible relocation mistakes.
The same goes for the household inventory checklist and the process of organizing packing to move. This listicle should contain all the important valuables you have in your house, all the relocation essentials, and stuff you must not leave behind. You will have a precise overview of all the stuff you will be securing, packing, and moving across the country. This way, there are lesser chances of anything in this process going wrong. Your move will be as perfect as you can imagine!
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A Moving Inventory List Will Save You a Lot of Time and Nerves
You may think at first that preparing these listicles and keeping a record of all your stuff is too much work and that it isn’t that necessary – but that’s not quite the case. Every ultimate relocating guide will present this as one of the most important and useful relocation hacks which must be taken into account. This simple checklist will help you with numerous tasks regarding the complex process of relocating your house.
Not only that this checklist will assist you with recording stuff at your house, but it will also help you organize your boxes, prepare for cross-country movers and ease their job, ensure you do not forget anything important, provide you with a stress-free move, and also assist with the process of unpacking everything after the move.
Keeping this record will ensure you have an efficient and stress-free move
How to Prepare This Helpful Checklist for Keeping Track of Your Household Belongings?
Now that you have figured out the importance of having a checklist for documenting your household, you are probably wondering how to create one. If you think about how much stuff you actually have at your home, it may seem like you will never be able to finish this enormous task. However, there are certain relocation tips you should use in order to make this entire process more efficient, easier, and organized. So, how do you take moving inventory?
Organization and Dividing One Big Task Into Smaller Steps Is the Key to Success
Whether it’s relocation or any other complicated process you are dealing with, dividing one big task into smaller ones is the key to ensuring success. The same goes for this specific task of creating a checklist of household items that you are planning on relocating across the country.
Creating a unique strategy, modifying the list according to your needs, and picking out categories that you find the most useful will turn this challenging task into a fun game. Here are some main steps you should take in order to handle this entire task.
Create a useful structure
Creating a clear structure is essential if you decide to write it down on a piece of paper, on your computer, or phone. You should divide the checklist into columns where you will add specific characteristics and details about the items. Some of the things you should take into consideration are the condition, value, time of the purchase, and importance of the item.
Room-by-room strategy is the most useful
Rather than just randomly picking out stuff you have lying around your house, you might want to consider separating checklists by rooms. For example, create one checklist for the bathroom, the second for the kitchen, the third for the bedroom, the fourth for kids’ stuff (in case you are relocating with kids), and work your way through the entire house while noting the room on each page of the moving list items.
Declutter while writing the checklist
Instead of separately doing the listicles and decluttering the house, you can kill two birds with one stone. While documenting your stuff, figure out what to get rid of and what isn’t worth shipping cross country. Remember that this will help you save money and your relocation budget, ensure an easier relocation process, and downsize for a move. You can always donate those things and give them to the ones in need through organizations such as GoodWill.
Start with listing the large items first
When handling such an enormous task, it can be quite tricky to figure out where to start. Most people think it’s better to start with the largest pieces in your house and then work your way to the smallest ones. Once you get the bigger stuff out of the picture, everything else will go much smoother.
Have a separate checklist for essentials
If this is your first time relocating, then you may not be familiar with the fact that all your most precious and important stuff should be by your side the entire move. Things like organized documents, identification cards, prescribed medicine, electronic devices, money, credit cards, and other important stuff do not go into boxes but should be kept in one separate bag and should have a separate checklist as well.
Everything That Goes Into Shipping Boxes Should Also Be Documented
Once you have a clear checklist of all your stuff, it is time to pack up everything and get it ready for transportation. One of the most important packing tips for relocation that you should keep in mind is that you have to keep a clear track of all your inventory boxes and their contents. And how are you going to do that? By creating a special moving box inventory. If you are unsure about this checklist and how you will form it, keep reading the next few paragraphs.
Each Box in Each Room of Your Home Should Have Its Own List
When packing up all your stuff into similar boxes, it is easy to forget what is packed in each box. Especially if you have a great number of containers for shipment. This is why you should use some tips for creating a more comprehensible packing checklist where you will write down the exact number of boxes for each room and what their contents are.
Don’t forget to label each one of your boxes, and write the labels on your checklist in order to manage boxes easier and handle the unpacking process more efficiently. In case you need some tips and tricks regarding organizing your packing process, we highly recommend searching for some useful videos on YouTube, such as the one below.
Having a Home Inventory Listicle Comes With Plenty of Benefits
If you still feel that doing all this work is not completely necessary, you might want to think twice about it. There are numerous reasons why creating these records is quite beneficial. Even if you do not have a great number of belongings and containers for shipment, it is still important to keep everything organized and keep yourself safe from unexpected problems and unnecessary stress.
This simple checklist comes with plenty of useful benefits and advantages
This Checklist Will Help Not Only You but Also Your Movers or Insurance Company
These records are not only of great value to you but to some other people who are also included in your relocation through certain services, transportation, administration, or some other way.
This is exactly the reason why you should form a nice record of your belongings, create copies and save it on your computer or cloud. Some of the best reasons why it is so useful to prepare this documentation are as follows:
- For organizing relocation – so you can keep track of your stuff.
- For long-distance movers – so they can give you a more precise estimate.
- For relocation insurance – so you have clear documentation of the condition of your stuff.
- For homeowners insurance – in case some of these items get damaged or stolen in the future.
- For your next move – if you relocate again, you won’t have to do this task again.
There Are Certain Apps You Can Download in Order to Finish This Task Easier and Faster
Old school people may enjoy writing these records in notebooks or perhaps on a computer, but that doesn’t go for younger generations. Today, all the information can be stored on the phone easier and faster, rather than writing by hand or computer. You can easily use your notes to create tables, checklists, voice memos, and take pictures of each item.
However, there are also some interesting apps you may want to use for this specific task. Some of the most popular apps for relocating records are My Stuff, Magic Home, Sortly, and Nest Egg. You can scroll through the app store to find the one that fits your needs and preferences the best.
Installing some useful apps can help you with your relocation
If You Have the All the Detailed Lists and You Are Hiring Movers – Your Move Will Be a Walk in the Park
If you decide to use all of the advice we gave you and apply the tips and tricks mentioned above to prepare important lists, your relocation will go much smoother. Especially if you also decide to hire a long-distance moving company and give the checklist to their employees and professional movers.
Their packing services will be much easier and more efficient if you provide them with copies of your records and give them clear instructions about the work they have to finish. Plus, if you also decide to book some other cross-country moving services from them, such as relocation insurance, the listicles will be more than helpful. Be smart, write the checklist and enjoy your stress relocation.
