The One Afternoon Project That Protects Everything You Own

October always puts our team in a taking-stock frame of mind. The orchards and farm stands from Coldstream to Armstrong have wrapped up another season, Thanksgiving has just passed, and we find ourselves grateful for the simple things, starting with the homes we come back to every night. This year, we'd love for you to take that feeling one practical step further by taking stock of your home in the most literal sense.

Could you list what you own?

If you had to file an insurance claim tomorrow, most of us could name the big things and not much else. A home inventory fixes that. It's a simple record of what's in your home: photos, a short video, serial numbers, and receipts for the things that matter most. It feels unnecessary right up until the day you need it. After a fire, a flood, or a break-in, memory is not where you want to rebuild from.

Why it matters here in the North Okanagan

We love living here, and part of living here is knowing that wildfire season is real. Many of us remember the summer of 2021, when the White Rock Lake fire forced evacuations on the Westside and in Monte Lake and Falkland, and much of Vernon, Armstrong, and Spallumcheen spent days on evacuation alert. Neighbours who lost homes that year had to rebuild their claims from memory while everything else was upside down. A little preparation now is one of the kindest things you can do for your future self.

Start with a slow walk and your phone

The easiest way to begin is to walk through each room with your phone recording and talk as you go. Open closets, cupboards, and drawers, and say out loud what you're looking at, including brands and rough ages. Don't forget the garage, the shop, and the shed, where a lot of North Okanagan households keep their most valuable gear: tools, bikes, kayaks, skis, and the rest of what makes four-season living here so good. A slow twenty-minute video will capture far more than you'd ever remember to write down.

Then capture the details

For electronics, appliances, tools, and bikes, take a clear photo of the serial number or model sticker. If you still have receipts for larger purchases, photograph those too. Jewellery, art, and collectibles each deserve their own close-up.

Keep it somewhere the house can't touch

An inventory saved only on a laptop in your home can be lost in the very event it was meant to protect you from. When an evacuation alert comes, you want to be packing people, pets, and essentials, not hunting for paperwork. Keep a copy in cloud storage, or email it to yourself so it lives outside the house. Then update it once a year, or whenever you make a big purchase.

While you're at it, take two minutes to sign up for Alertable, the free emergency notification app used by the City of Vernon, Coldstream, Armstrong, Enderby, Lumby, Spallumcheen, the Okanagan Indian Band, and the RDNO's rural areas. You can sign up at rdno.ca/alertable.

Put your inventory to work

Once your inventory is done, pull out your home insurance policy and look at the replacement amounts for your belongings. Then book a quick chat with your trusted insurance professional about what your coverage really means, including any limits on jewellery, art, or collectibles. Some homeowners find they're overinsured and paying for more than they need. Others learn they wouldn't have enough to replace their belongings if something happened, and that's far better to discover now than after a claim.

Why this matters to us

Our team has seen how much of a person's life lives inside the walls of a home. Gratitude for what you have is a lovely feeling, and protecting it is how that feeling lasts.

To make it easier, we've put together a free Household Inventory Guide for North Okanagan homeowners. It walks you through it room by room, with a printable checklist to keep you on track. If you'd like a copy, text or call our team at 250.309.0039 and we'll send it your way. We'd love to hear how it goes, and we're always happy to chat about anything else on your mind about your home.