A home inventory is a list of what you own, room by room. People make one so they have a record if they ever need to make a claim, and it helps with a move too. The hard part is starting. This guide walks through how to go through a house and what to note for each thing, then how to keep the list with Inventory Cat, our inventory app for iPhone and iPad.
Go room by room
- Finish one room before the next. Start at the door and work your way around, so nothing gets counted twice or missed.
- Don't skip the places you rarely look: the garage, a shed, the loft or attic, the basement, cupboards and under the beds.
- Open drawers and boxes. Small things like jewellery, tools and kitchen gear add up.
- Group the everyday things. "Kitchen: pots and pans" is enough for most of them. Give anything worth a lot its own line.
- Start with what would cost most to replace, then fill in the rest over a few evenings.
What to record for each item
For each thing on the list, note what you can:
- A photo, of the whole thing and of any label with its model or serial number.
- A short description: what it is, its size or colour, its condition.
- Brand, model and serial number, for electronics, appliances, bikes and tools.
- When and where you bought it.
- What you paid.
- Receipts, plus manuals, valuations or certificates if you have them.
Ask your insurer what they want on the list before you start. This guide isn't insurance advice.
Keep a copy somewhere other than the house
A list that's only in the house can be lost with the house. Keep a copy somewhere else as well: send the file to yourself, save it to an online storage account, or leave a printout or a USB stick with family or at work. Update it once a year and after anything big you buy.
Make the list in Inventory Cat
First, plainly: Inventory Cat is built for counting stock, in a shop or at home. Each item holds a name, an optional barcode, how many you have, where it is and an optional low-stock number. That makes it a good room-by-room list of what you own and how many. It doesn't hold photos, prices, purchase dates or receipts, so keep those next to it (more below).
- Tap Add item.
- Type a name. It's the only thing you have to fill in. The name is plain text and the search box looks inside it, so add the brand and model, like "Television, 55-inch, wall-mounted".
- Leave Barcode (optional) empty for most things at home.
- Set the number under How many now: 1 for a sofa, 6 for dining chairs.
- Type the room under Location. Use › or / for places inside places, like Bedroom › Wardrobe or Garage › Shelf 2. Once you have a few, Pick a place in use saves typing the room again.
- Tap Save.
Your list is grouped by place, so each room (and each place inside one) is its own section, and anything without a place is under No location. The search box finds an item by name, place or barcode. The first screen shows how many items are on your list. There's no total value: Inventory Cat counts things, it doesn't add up prices.
Keep photos and receipts alongside
Since the app doesn't hold pictures, take your photos with the camera as you go, and keep them, with scanned receipts, in one folder or album per room. Use the same names you typed in Inventory Cat so a photo and a line are easy to match. For the paper side, see how to scan receipts on iPhone.
Already keep a pantry or garage count? See how to keep track of inventory on iPhone for scanning, counting and low stock.
Export it and keep a copy away from home
Tap More (•••, top left), then Export and backup:
- Export CSV gives you every item and every field, one row each: name, barcode, quantity, location, low-stock number, whether it's low and when it last changed. It's a file your spreadsheet app can open.
- Make a backup file is the whole list with each item's history, as one file to save to Files or AirDrop.
- Restore from a backup file puts that list back, on this iPhone or a new one, after asking before it replaces what's there.
The files go only where you save or send them, so sending one to yourself is how a copy ends up away from the house. There's no iCloud sync, so make a new file after each update. Deleting an item asks first and can't be undone.
Your items are kept on your device and in your own backups unless you share, save or print them, and there's no account.
What it costs
Adding items, places, search, counting, CSV export and backup files are free, with no item limit, no ads and no account. Inventory Cat Pro is an optional one-time purchase, with no subscription. It adds Stocktake, Import a spreadsheet, Barcode labels and Low-stock reminders. If you've already started your list in a spreadsheet, Import a spreadsheet (Pro) brings it in from CSV and shows every change before anything is saved. More on the Inventory Cat page.
Quick answers
How do I make a home inventory list for insurance purposes?
Go room by room and record each item with a photo, a description, the brand, model and serial number, when you bought it and what you paid, and keep the receipts. Keep a copy away from home. Ask your insurer what they need to see.
How do I make one for renters insurance?
The same way: a list of what you own, room by room. Ask your insurer what they want on it.
How do I do a house inventory without it taking forever?
One room at a time, most valuable things first, and group the everyday things into one line each.
Can Inventory Cat keep photos or prices?
No. Each item has a name, an optional barcode, a count, a place and an optional low-stock number. Keep photos and receipts in a folder by room, under the same names.
Try Inventory Cat
Try Inventory Cat: free, no watermark, no sign-up → iyio.com/apps/inventory-cat