Categorization

Before you begin using HomeStuff, it is very important to plan the scheme you are going to use to categorize your personal inventory. HomeStuff is flexible, so much so that you might find yourself wanting to re-organize your categorization at one point in time during your data gathering process. Views are the key to a good strategy.

HomeStuff uses four criterion for any view. They are category, item type, room and location. These criterion are set by selecting any combination of selections that you can make by using the four pull downs just above the Item List. They are shown below with a yellow background as "Filtering Selectors".

Views are different cuts of the same data. When you set the Location filter, HomeStuff will refresh the Item List to show you only the items associated with the "Location" you selected. If you set a second filter like "Item Type", HomeStuff will display all items found in your location of your choice and the item type you selected. Filters have a CUMULATIVE effect on the selection criteria. The Item List will will always display items that satisfy the selection criteria.

Adding categorization items to HomeStuff is quite easy. Each time you add an item, you type in the value you would like to see in one of the pull downs and HomeStuff will do the rest by validating your intention and setting up the database for future item additions. You do not need to add categorization items ahead of time. The process of adding Categorization items is simply part of the process of adding a new personal inventory item.

It is advisable to picture your categorization items ahead of time by jotting down a list of possible categorization items by answering the following questions:

1. Will I be tracking more than one dwelling or place where my personal inventory items are located? If so, write it down
2. Will I be tracking where these items are inside the dwelling or place? If yes, write down a list of rooms to track
3. Do I want to estimate the value of certain groups of items like: coin collections, music collections, collectibles etc. If yes, write down a list of these item types.

When you are done try this:

Using the lists you have made, will the contents of these lists enable you to answer the questions:

1. What <music> of any format do I have at <location>? How many of them are <item type>?
   What <item type> do I have at the <location> and, how much are they worth? How many of them are in that <room>?
2. Get the idea? When you are satisfied that you have some sort of a map of all your locations, rooms, item types etc, you can begin entering your items with a reasonable reassurance that it will work the way you intended it to work. BUT what if you don't want to go through this exercise?
3. No problem. Go ahead and just enter your personal inventory items just the way you think you would like them. After a time, when you feel the time is right, you can use the Selection Editor to rearrange your categorizations the way that you think is best.