Build the document everyone wishes they had after the fire, flood, or break-in: a room-by-room inventory with values and proof. Input: a folder of photos (room shots, close-ups, serial-number shots) and receipts (PDF, email exports, images). Output: a structured inventory file plus a gap list of what still needs documenting.
Workflow
- Process the photos. Identify items in each image: what it is, brand/model when visible, condition, and the room (from filename, folder structure, or visual context). Read serial numbers and model plates from close-ups. Group multiple angles of the same item.
- Process the receipts. Extract item, vendor, date, and price from every receipt. Match receipts to photographed items where possible -- a matched receipt upgrades an item from "estimated" to "documented."
- Value the inventory. For receipt-matched items: purchase price and date. For unmatched items: estimated replacement cost (current retail for an equivalent, via web search for significant items), clearly labeled
ESTIMATE. Never present an estimate as a documented value. - Build the inventory. Output
home-inventory.csv(or .xlsx via the xlsx skill) -- room, item, brand/model, serial, purchase date, purchase price, replacement estimate, documentation status, photo filename(s), receipt filename -- plushome-inventory-summary.md: totals by room and category, the high-value items list, and overall documented vs. estimated ratio. - Gap list. What insurance will ask for that is missing: high-value items with no receipt (jewelry, electronics, instruments -- may need appraisals or serial-number photos), rooms with no coverage, items where only a wide shot exists. Rank by value at risk. Suggest the 20-minute photo walk that closes the worst gaps.
Rules
- Documented and estimated values never blend: every line is labeled, and the summary reports both totals separately.
- Never inflate. Replacement estimates use realistic current retail for equivalent items, not premium substitutes.
- Serial numbers are gold: capture every legible one, and put items that should have one but don't on the gap list.
- Do not catalog people, documents with financial account numbers, or anything in photos beyond the possessions themselves.
- Note policy-relevant thresholds generically ("many policies sub-limit jewelry; confirm your rider") without interpreting the user's actual policy -- unless the policy document is in the folder, in which case cite its stated limits next to the relevant categories.
- Keep the inventory file local and note in the summary that a copy belongs somewhere that survives the house (cloud drive, safe deposit).
Update Mode
Re-run on the same folder after adding new photos/receipts: append new items, update matched ones, preserve manual edits to the CSV, and report what changed. As a quarterly Cowork scheduled task, sweep the receipts/email-export folder and deliver the diff.
Quick Commands
- "Inventory [folder]" -- full workflow
- "What's undocumented?" -- step 5, the gap list
- "Value check [item]" -- one replacement-cost lookup
- "Update from new photos" -- update mode