Photo by Annie Spratt | Unsplash.com

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When was the last time you really took a long, hard look at what’s inside your home? Let me tell you a story about why it is important that you do so — and do it as soon as possible.

You never know when something could destroy it all. After one of the many devastating wildfires that hit California, I was speaking with a client whose home burned to the ground. I’m not talking about having a shell of the home left. There was nothing left other than the concrete slab. I walked the space with him, and we were actually able to make out, melted into the concrete, remnants of a pool table that once was the center of attention in the basement. Everything was gone.

The monumental loss experienced by someone who in one day lost all of their worldly possessions truly cannot be expressed in a few sentences, so I won’t even try. Yet, even after the last of the ashes blew away, a new panic became all to clear: How could he ever know everything that was there so he could properly file his insurance claim and start rebuilding?

The physical house, whose construction required building permits (a tangible record of what was involved and what it cost), seemed doable. There was clear documentation on the bones of the place. Sure, they might have done some minor upgrades without getting permits, but they were nothing earth-shattering. The house could be rebuilt.

But what about all of his stuff?

He kept closing his eyes and telling me, “I had this, and I had that.” I told him, “Start your phone’s recorder and take notes. Lots of notes. Things will continue to come to you a little at a time.”

I told him to refer to photos and video clips taken in the house, anything he had that was, thankfully, backed up in the cloud.

What a job that would be, though, to study every photo or video clip to see what’s in the background. Ignore the people; look at the stuff.

So he embarked on the arduous process of looking at photos and videos and recording voice memos to describe what he used to have. The memories of his belongings came in waves, as did the fact that many items could not be replaced — such as the ring his grandmother had managed to hold on to while being held in a concentration camp during the Holocaust.

You can’t depend only on your memories

While we can do all we can to prevent losses from happening — for instance, undertaking a process called “home hardening” to help protect our valuables from wildfires — losses still happen. Just last year, Hurricane Helene caused massive damage across Florida and the Southeast. It is bad enough to lose it all, but what can be even worse is not being able to remember what it is you’ve lost.

When you’re done reading this article, pick up your phone and start the video recorder. Walk around your house and capture every room, every nook and cranny. Be sure you go everywhere, from the garage to the bathrooms to the basement. Open each cabinet and each drawer. Document it all.

If you are ever so unfortunate as to suffer a catastrophic loss, this video, or videos, will remind you what you had in your house. It will be one less thing to torment you while you’re recovering.

© 2024 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.