Homeowner’s Insurance:
How to Document Your Possessions
Completing an inventory of your home will help you gauge the coverage of your policy and also make sure that you are protecting yourself now rather than trying to do it after something has happened. There are obvious things that come to mind like large ticket items, but the things you use everyday are just as important and sometimes easily forgotten when thinking about how much your tangible life may be worth.
- Video Inventory: Work across or vertically through your home. Opening drawers, cabinets and closets, speak to the camera while you video, explaining each thing you look at.
- Photo Inventory: This works well for items with serial numbers and important details.
- Financial Inventory: Make a list of items and the cost to replace that item if you need to buy it new.
Your inventory documentation doesn’t do you any good if it is in your house and ends up getting stolen, burned, or damaged. Consider keeping a copy in a safe deposit box, with a relative or close friend, with your insurance agent, or uploaded to an online file storage service. 
Controlling Indoor Moisture & Humidity
Humid air and damp surfaces in your home can lead to bad odours, mold and mildew, or even damage to paint, wallpaper or furniture. Your best bet for controlling moisture buildup is minimizing cool surfaces and reducing humidity.
Storm doors and windows minimize cool surfaces in the winter by separating the interior from the cold, outside air. Double and triple-pane windows also insulate interior glass from the cold. Opening drapes and blinds in the winter allows warmth to reach the interior glass. Some condensation may occur, but the improved circulation makes it less likely to accumulate.Gas and electric furnaces reduce humidity with dry heat. Keep registers open and unblocked to allow for good airflow, and have the systems inspected and serviced regularly to make sure they’re functioning properly. Caulking and weatherstripping prevent humid air from entering a home and also reduce the air exchange that allows moisture to move out of the house. Bathroom exhaust fans, dryer exhausts and ducted kitchen exhaust hoods that vent to the outside will remove moisture created by showering, bathing, drying clothes, washing dishes and cooking.
