Home Inventory Spreadsheet

Who this is for

A home inventory that adds up. Every item gets a line with the room, the make and model, the serial number, when it was bought and what it is worth, and the value column totals per line and for the whole house.

Households who need a figure — for an insurance policy, a claim, a move or a will — rather than a rough list, and who want it in a spreadsheet they can sort and update.

What this helps you track

• The total value of the contents, worked out from the lines rather than guessed
• Make, model and serial number for anything a claim would ask about
• Which items have a receipt or a photograph to back them up
• Value by line, so the expensive items stand out and can be checked against a policy

How to use it

1. Write the address, the date and who compiled it at the top; add the policy number if there is one.
2. Work through the house one room at a time, one line per item or per group of similar items.
3. Record make, model and serial number from the label on the item, not from memory.
4. Enter a quantity and a value per item; the line total and the grand total are worked out in the browser and the workbook.
5. Tick whether you have a receipt or a photo, then store copies somewhere away from the house.
6. Update the sheet when something significant is bought, sold or thrown out.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Should I put the price I paid or what it would cost to replace?

That depends on what the inventory is for. Insurers usually ask for one or the other; check your policy wording and use the same basis for every line. There is a field at the top to record which basis you used.

Do I need a line for every single item?

No. Group ordinary things — 'kitchen crockery', 'paperbacks, two shelves' — and give their own line to anything valuable, anything with a serial number, and anything you would need to prove you owned.

How is this different from the printable contents inventory?

This is the detailed, calculating version: make, model, serial and a total. The printable is the quick room-walk with fewer columns, meant to be done in an afternoon with a phone camera.

Where should I keep it?

Not only in the house. Keep the workbook or a PDF somewhere online or with a relative, together with the photos, so it survives the event it is there for.