There’s always a point in every person’s life where you have to ask yourself, do I really need all this stuff? The answer to that question may vary depending on what your situation is, but the point is even if you do need all the stuff you have (assuming it’s all around you from the moment you step in and crush something under the door to the closet monster which once opened leads to a barrage of clothes attacking your face), you need to organize it period.
Organizing just the variety of things you possess is just one side of the coin though, the other side defines whether you need to donate and get rid of some stuff or maybe get some crucial things you lack currently- in a way, inventory management on a personal scale gives you more insight on to what direction your next grocery shopping list will head in or how you will slay the closet monster.
In light of the recent global pandemic that’s ongoing, the COVID-19, taking inventory of essentials is more than just important, it is a need in itself. There’s a global lockdown in place and the travel ban extends to shipping from e-commerce websites in many places, this results in your options being limited to local retail that delivers or inevitably putting that mask on and getting stuff yourself; your life is on the line here (quite literally!). So in order to ensure your own safety and survival along with that of your loved ones it’s important to keep a keen eye on what resources are being depleted and which are plentiful at the moment. Start off by classifying them in broad domains.
The major sections of essentials are Food, Medical Supplies (such as prescription meds, sanitizers and personal protection equipment like a mask), Toiletries, Laundry, Clothes, Tools, etc. Making a list of individual items will simply lead to more confusion and disorder, grouping them into broad classes will result in a clear picture of what is lacking in the house’s inventory. The next thing you want to do is figure out what quantity of the materials you have in your house by going down the list of groups and writing the quantities down adjacently, ok, so now you must have a good grasp on what needs to be bought and what is surplus.
Prioritize the things based on quantity and needs, for instance, a few tools might be handy since getting help from outside is not practical right now, what if you need a spare screw driver but at the same time some cooking amenities and grocery needs to be bought? Well, given the time we are in right now, people will inevitably hoard things no matter how much awareness is spread and this inconsiderate nature towards others is a sad truth we have to live with, so time and efficiency when out buying essentials (if you have to go out) is key, just as much as it is while ordering online- stocks are on the low.
You might want to buy the groceries first, spending time and money on it instead of the tools as it holds higher priority, you need to be feed before you can start worrying about a creaking floor or a flickering bulb. On the flip side, it’s a very good possibility that the opposite may be true that without fixing some stuff (say you blew a fuse) other things can’t be done and that holds higher priority, then tools might come in handy. In a nutshell, it is completely up to you to determine and sort your priorities.
Finally, we’re living in the internet age! That’s a relief, isn’t it? The ability to not do all of the formerly mentioned gruesome tasks by hand. You can set reminders, keep track of changing quantities, regroup some things and remove some groups completely, manage your budget (because finances are another major aspect of inventory) and create automatic shopping lists along with ingrained e-commerce portals to directly shop at- all just at the expense of some space on your phone and a simple download on whatever app store you use iOS or Android.