photo credit: londoncyclist

It’s sad but true but it seems that crimes, especially thefts, are on the rise. I see ads all the time on Craigslist from people trying to recover their bicycles, four-wheelers, boats, quads, snowmobiles or motorcycles that have been stolen. Most of the time the ads don’t have pictures, just descriptions, because people don’t take the time to maintain records of the fun stuff they buy. It’s pretty easy to buy and sell used off-road recreation vehicles because in many areas you don’t have to register these items with any government entity like you do a car so there is really no paper trail.

We have lots of snowmobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, a boat and a variety of other vehicles that we would have a hard time describing if someone stole them. Some of these toys are custom made, one of a kind, but in a criminals hands, they can be easily stripped and sold for parts or taken out of the area where no one would know they were stolen.

As hard as you try to keep your stuff secure, sometimes bad things happen and your items go missing. Filling out a Police report or putting an ad on Craigslist is a start but you have a better chance of getting your item back if you have a photo to show the Police so they know what was stolen. You never know if your item will show up during an arrest or maybe get posted on Craigslist for sale.

Your Daily 15 Minutes – Get out your camera and take a couple of pictures of every bicycle, quad, boat, trailer and any other vehicle you have. Make a word document with a note of the make, model, year and any distinguishing features each item has. Put all of these in a folder on your computer (you have a backup, right?). Make sure to update the pictures and note file whenever there is a change.

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Here is the video of our theater in our home. I talk about what is in there and where it came from if I know. I don’t talk about the cost since there are receipts to show that.

Once you make a video, put it someplace very safe like a safe deposit box. You want to be able to prove you had what you said you had. The video is the first step in getting a home inventory together. You also need to keep receipts for everything you purchase so there is no question about how much the items were worth when you purchased them. If you have antiques or jewelry you may also want to have appraisals done then updated every five to ten years so if something happens to them, you get reimbursed for the current value not the amount you purchased them for.

I used a Flip Video Camera to take this video and as you can see it is adequate for the job. It’s important that you document your stuff so you don’t add more stress to the situation when trying to remember everything that is damaged or missing. If you took just 15 minutes a day, you could document each room in your house, garage or business in no time.

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