Keeping Track of stuff, how do you do it?

[FastStache]

I'm looking for ideas on how to keep track of what I own.

A few reasons for why I'm looking to do this.
1. Know where everything is for ease of use, etc.
2. Declutter
3. Insurance purposes
4. Get some organization to what I own

Does everyone just use an Excel spreadsheet or this some free/cheap software to do this. Do you store pictures of valuables for insurance purposes? Any other ides?

[Bruised_Pepper]

I started doing this once to catalog everything I own, but I never finished.  I think it's a good idea for all the reasons you've mentioned.  If you're looking to become more minimalistic, there're plenty of "Only Own X Things" challenges out there. 

When I was interested in this, I used Excel and gave each item a brief description, and a tag for its function/category (e.g. "electronics") and the room that it was in.  For insurance purposes, I would include an approximate value of the things that are worth anything.

EDIT: Oh, and keeping track of the value of things would help if you itemize your deductions and donate stuff to charity. 

[eljay]

First thing I'd do while you're considering your plan is take your camera and walk round your house videoing everything, opening all cpds/draws. Then copy the video to a location that isn't your house (e.g. upload to cloud or physical copy at work). 15 mins work. Several short videos may be easier to upload!  The video can be used to jog your memory about what you own if you end up with a total loss e.g. house fire and the insurance company expects you to list everything you owned.

As far as cataloging possessions I use Evernote. I have top folder House, Sub-folders by Room, then a Note for each item. I like I can stick the name of the item, a photo, the manual, the receipt (email or a photo), and value information all in the same place.  It's automatically is backed up online. Takes a while though - mine is still a work in progress. I'd start with the valuable stuff/stuff most likely to get stolen (electronics/tools/bikes).  I can move the Note between folders if e.g. it goes up the loft. There's generally little point in cataloging low value or transient items.

I don't track overall contents value as not needed in the UK.

Eljay

[stashing_it]

For anything on the computer, I use OneNote  (I'm told EverNote is Similar)

I have a ton of work related OneNotes on my work computer,    on my home computer I kept notes about selling my house, trips I am taking,  webpages I am working on, etc