THE MIRACLE OF AN INVENTORY

Recently, I was working with a client and saw she had created an inventory of everything she owned. That way she wouldn’t have to go out and purchase those things again. The list included clothes, linens, shoes, and other materialistic objects. She found that before she created the inventory lists, she didn’t know what she had. The inventory of all of her household objects helped her to discover what she had too much of and what she had that she didn’t need to buy. By the time she was finished completing her inventory lists, she realized she didn’t need to buy anything except the bare necessities for at least ten years! Can you imagine not having to go shopping for anything for 10 years? Another client I was working with loved to purchase presents for friends and family. As we organized the numerous gifts she had bought in advance of events, we sorted them into piles by occasion: Chanukah, Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, bar mitzvahs, baptisms, and first communions. We also sorted them by gift receiver: friend, coworker, or family member. After sorting and organizing the gifts we determined that she never had to purchase another gift for her grandchildren again!. She didn’t have as many for her friends and coworkers, but I made a deal with her to hold off from buying anyone a gift for at least one year. She said she would try not to. Consider making an inventory list for one of the following:
• Files
• Wardrobes
• Book collections
• CD collections
• Packed boxes
• Antiques
• Groceries that are stored in kitchen (you can also use this list as a guideline for your next shopping trip!)
• Wine – a friend of mine (well, more than one) has an amazing wine cellar. Each wine lover will have a different way of inventorying their wine. The most impressive one I saw was wine that had tags on it with a number.
The number on the inventory list was attributed to that wine. On the list, he provided additional information about the wine.
• Food – this will save you time when you go to write up your grocery list. You can use your inventory not only as a guideline of what you have, but what you need. It should also have the brand names on the inventory.
That way when it does need replacing you know whether it is Betty Crocker, or Sara Lee.
• Wood – some woodworkers like my husband have a TON of lumber. This is a great tool to use to keep track of what you have, especially if you are making a new wood project. You can also use the list as a guideline when thinking of what pieces to sell to other wood lovers.
• Art – a recent client of mine recently lost her father. She had to have her father’s art shipped across country. When she received it, she sensed some of it was missing, but didn’t have the inventory to check the contents in the box with.
• Packing boxes – so you know what is in each box and where it is. It may take a bit of time to get the inventory, but I guarantee it will save you time and money. There’s one final great reason to inventory. If something terrible should happen and some of your things are lost, the only way to get them properly replaced by the insurance company is to have a good inventory! For this reason, consider keeping a copy of your inventory lists out of the house, for example at the office.