Room-by-room inventory spreadsheet that adjusters accept

The adjuster is not going to walk your memory of every drawer. A spreadsheet is boring and it works.

Room. Item. Brand if you know it. About how old. What you paid or a honest guess. Condition before the flood. A photo name or link.

You won’t finish it tonight. Start the expensive rooms first.

Do this now

1. Make one sheet with columns: room, item, brand, age, cost, condition, photo.
2. Start with appliances, furniture, and the closet that held the good stuff.
3. Use the walkthrough photos. Don’t invent brands you can’t support.
4. Share the file with whoever else is on the claim so it doesn’t live on one laptop.
5. Export a copy the day you send it. Don’t keep editing the only version.

What “good enough” looks like

“Master closet, blue suitcase, 2019, about $80, good, photo 14” is useful. “Clothes” is not. You don’t need a receipt for every sock. You do need a pattern that looks like a household, not a wish list. If you guess a price, keep it in the neighborhood of what that thing cost, not what a new designer version costs.

Houston contents claims get messy

People here store a lot in garages that flood first. Tools, holiday bins, the extra fridge. Put those on the list. If a vehicle flooded, that’s often a different claim. Don’t mix the car into the sofa row. If you’re a renter, inventory is still yours even when the walls are the landlord’s.

Don’t pad it

Adjusters and later investigators have seen the five TVs in a one-bedroom. If you had it, list it. If you didn’t, skip it. A clean list plus photos will carry more than a bloated one that makes the whole file look slippery. You’re tired. Tired people over-click. Have a second person scan for duplicates.

Do this next

1. Photo and video walkthrough before cleanup erases proof
2. Water lines on walls: measure and shoot
3. Commercial providers hub

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