When house fires happen, your mind is reeling with what you need to do, who you need to call and how will your life ever get back to normal! The insurance we had was such an answer to prayer for my family when I was in high school and our family experienced this. A heater in our basement caught fire, which happened to be where my bedroom was. There was a lot of smoke damage and what surprised me- a lot of water and chemical damage from putting out the fire. Everything I owned was pretty much destroyed. I did have some pictures that made it through with some cleanup. I had records albums that melted on the player, a stuffed animal collection from all the states I had gone to burned up and all my clothes were ruined. And YES, Mr Teacher, my homework was burned up. We were put up in a hotel until the house was ready for us to be moved back in. I still remember the wonderful Cinnamon rolls at the Viking Restaurant in the mornings which was a plus! It was not easy remembering what was lost in the report for the insurance company and what a wonderful tool I found on this site for your Home Inventory. I am going home tonight to take pictures of all the rooms and that way as new things are purchased, I can take the picture and put in purchase amount and all of this is kept in the cloud where it won't be touched by fire or water or storms. Maybe this would be helpful for you. There are a few other helpful apps that this page shows that you might like also that are free having to do with safety and helping you to figure out how much insurance you need and what kind of insurance you need. I hope you find these apps helpful!
Kathy
Additional advice for furniture- list brand, material, age, dimensions and condition (Insurance Journal Article "insureds Rarely Have Home Inventories Despite Benefits, Say Claims Pros, by Denise Johnson)
Home Inventory Mobile App
For Computer Access Home Inventory