Hiring a moving service can be a great help when moving, especially if you’re moving a long distance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything will go smoothly.

In an effort to save both time and money, moving companies will often combine the contents of several customers’ homes at one time so they can drop things off as they travel from one location to the next.

This means there’s a chance that your belongings could end up in someone else’s home by accident.

A reputable moving company should tag and take note of all of your items before they leave your home. Then, once they arrive at your new location they should give you a list of the items they moved.

While this can help, the list won’t detail the items that you’ve packed inside of each bag or box. That’s why it’s smart to create a home inventory when moving.

Doing so will help you avoid the hassle and the potential loss of household items before calling the moving company to pick up your stuff.

Here are some other reasons why a home inventory for moving is a good idea:

• ⬥ You can get a more accurate quote from the moving company.
• ⬥ You’ll know how much homeowner’s insurance you need.
• ⬥ You’ll immediately know when something is missing (making it easier to track where it might be).
• ⬥ It can speed up the claims filing process.
• ⬥ You can prove any losses to the IRS

How to easily do a home inventory before you move:

• ⬥ Make copies of all important documents such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, wills, etc. Keep the originals with you when you move, and keep the copies with the rest of your household things.
• ⬥ Make a record of what you own. Either use a video camera or your phone’s camera as you walk through your home and create an audio diary of your things.
  • ◇ Note: Open cabinets and drawers to help you get a complete record.
• ⬥ Or, take still shots and add a detailed description to them including information such as:
  • ◇ When it was purchased
  • ◇ How much you paid for it
  • ◇ Serial numbers, manufacturer and model number
  • ◇ An estimate of its current approximate value

Note: if your insurance company took a detailed list of your belongings before insuring your things this is a good place to start.

Now that you have a list of your things make one or more copies and place them in separate locations such as on your person, in your vehicle, with a friend or family member, or even upload into the cloud.

go smoothly.

In an effort to save both time and money, moving companies will often combine the contents of several customers’ homes at one time so they can drop things off as they travel from one location to the next.