Emily Living Focus DOTTIE BROMLE Somerset Co. County Extension Director What’s In Your Basement? If I asked you to tell me every thing in your kitchen, could you doit? What about the basement? I couldn’t even begin to tell you half of the things in my attic. You may think I am trying to get you started on fall house cleaning, but my motive is really to make you aware of something far more important than clean ing. Suppose you returned home tonight to find your house badly charred. Or consider this situa tion: you return from vacation to find your house has been broken into and robbed. Could you de cide what was missing? Although most homeowners and renters buy homeowners’ in surance to protect their posses sions, not many take that extra step and complete a household inventory. Morton Buildings Includes An Unequaled Warranty Package With Every Building Purchase • 50-year protection against snow load damage to structures with no weight limit. • 50-year protection against decay or insect attack on preservative-treated columns and lumber. • 20-year protection against red rust, fading, chalking, cracking and peeling on roof and sidewall panels, including damage from atmospheric pollutants 800-447-7436 MORTON W BUILDINGS PO Box 399, Morton, IL 61550 www mortonbuildings.com ©1999 Morton Buildings, Inc. WV Conti actor’s License #WVOO7B4B “It takes too much time.” “I’ll probably never need it.” “I really don’t have enough stuff to make it worthwhile.” Do these excuses sound famil iar? If you have heard yourself saying these very things, take a minute to rethink the idea of making a household inventory. A household and personal property inventory can be of great benefit to you no matter how many possessions you have. The inventory gives you a per manent record of the contents of your home and their value. It is useful as a verification of owner ship in case of a loss. The inven tory is also a quick way to de termine what is missing or destroyed in a robbery or fire, es pecially if you have taken pic tures. By listing the serial numbers of “theft-prone” items such as tele visions and VCRs, the items can • 10-year protection against windload damage to Morton Buildings' AlumaSteel sliding doors with no velocity limit. • 5-year protection against windload damage on the entire structure with no wind velocity limit. • 5-year protection against roof-leaks on Morton Buildings' hi-nb steel panels. Gettysburg, PA 717-624-3331 Mt. Pleasant, PA 724-542-7930 be identified more easily. For an added benefit, this inventory can be used to determine adequate insurance coverage and to assist in accurate estate planning. Now, where to begin? The first step and probably the hardest is just deciding that you are going to do this. After you have made up your mind, set aside a specific time or times to get started. You don’t have to do everything in one setting. Work on one room at a time. The inventory can be and should be a family project. Chil dren who enjoy working with numbers can record serial num bers. Have children look through ads and catalogues to help de termine replacement values of items. Older children may enjoy taking pictures of special items you want to record. They may es pecially enjoy being the photo-re corder for their room and posses sions. Many insurance agents pro vide special forms or booklets to record the information. You can check into computer programs that provide a similar format. In volve the computer savvy teen in your home to help set up a household inventory on your computer. Let me share some guidelines to get you started. • Do your inventory room by room. • Separate personal property Meadville, PA 814-336-5083 Phillipsburg, NJ 908-454-7900 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, September 23, 2000-811 in categories: for example, appli ances, wooden furniture, and dishes. • Don’t forget the garage and basement. • Indicate how many of each item you own. • Record the serial number of each article if it is appropriate. Determine the year you pur chased the item. Record how much you paid for the item when it was new. You may need to estimate on some things, especially less valu able items. Determine a replace ment cost. • Take photographs of rooms as evidence. The best camera angle to capture the room’s con tents is usually from opposite comers of the room. • Take close-up pictures of valuable items such as jewelry and antiques. A video camera is a quick and easy way to make an inventory. If you don’t own one, you might want to borrow or rent one to complete your project. Before you begin to videotape, write down the item’s cost, year pur chased, replacement value, and serial number. Then when you film, you can give this informa tion verbally. Hopefully, I have given you enough information to get started on your household and personal property inventory. Now it is up to you. Bakers, Decorators Wanted DELTA (York Co.) Bake the best apple or pumpkin pie? Decorate the scariest or funniest pumpkin? Then Mason-Dixon Fair needs you. The first annual Mason-Dixon Fall Harvest Festival is Septem ber 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to help raise funds for the 2001 Fair, there will be an apple pie and pumpkin pie baking contest as well as a pumpkin-decorating contest. The Festival will be lo cated at the Mason-Dixon Fair grounds on Route 74 and Route 165 on the Mason-Dixon Line in Delta. AH pies should be made from scratch (no canned fillings). Bring the entries to the “Peco Bara” on the fairgrounds by 11 a.m. on Saturday the 30. Judging will take place at 1 p.m. Prizes will be $2O for first place, $lO for second place, and $5 for third place. Pies will be auction ed off after judging is complete. Proceeds will benefit the 2001 Mason-Dixon Fair. Bring your decorated pump kins to the “Peco Bam” on the fairgrounds by 11 a.m. on Satur day the 30. Judging will take place at 2 p.m. There will be an adult (ages 13 and older) and child (up to age 12) category with prizes awarded in both cat egories. First place will receive $l2, second place will receive $9, and third place will receive $6. Pumpkin entries should be pick ed up at 5 p.m. Any questions regarding these events, contact Sharon Kahl at (717) 456-7783. WEAVERLAND VALLEY <OAL Formerly H.M. Horst 717/355-9358 Clean Quality Coal Bags or Bulk All Call Washed Delivery Available And Screened (Weather Permitting)
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