Inventory

It might sound ambitious, but keeping track of your stuff is an easy way to improve and automate your home maintenance. At Minicastle, we refer to your stuff as "Inventory".

Types

Minicastle supports these types of goods:

• Appliances: Refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, laundry machines
• Equipment: Computers, monitors, gaming systems, fitness equipment
• Fixtures: Lights, sconces, water hookups, cabinets, art
• Furniture: Couches, chairs, desks, beds, rugs, tables
• Paint: Indoor paint, outdoor paint, finishes, treatments
• Smart Devices: Nests, security systems, doorbells, cameras
• Supplies: Lightbulbs, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning supplies
• Systems: HVAC, heating, ventilation, hot water
• Tools: Power tools, hand tools, shop vacs, workstations

Use Cases

Here are just a few examples of how you might specifically track Inventory:

• Shopping: What do I need to buy? What do I currently have?
• Paints: What paint did I use in each room?
• Appliance Troubleshooting: Where's the manual for this appliance?
• Insurance: What do I own? What was I storing in my attic/basement?
• Project Management: I need to make a return — where's my receipt? How much did this cost?
• Gear: What do I use? What would I recommend to a friend?

Benefits

Whether it's a specific use case or tracking Inventory in general, you can enjoy all of the following benefits:

• Improved Organization: Know exactly what you have and where it is, reducing clutter in your house and in your brain
• Cost Savings: Avoid unnecessary purchases by remembering what you already own
• Enhanced Home Maintenance: Keep your appliances and equipment in optimal condition by tracking and scheduling regular maintenance
• Insurance Preparedness: Have all necessary information at your fingertips for insurance claims in case of losses or damage
• Informed Budgeting: Plan your budget better by anticipating when you'll need to replace or repair items
• Streamlined Moving Process: Make moving a little less stressful by packing and unpacking with a detailed inventory

Tracking Inventory

Effective Inventory tracking requires just a few key pieces of information. When you create or update a piece of inventory in Minicastle, take advantage of the following data points:

• Serial Numbers
• Warranty Information — including a warranty expiration date, which will automatically appear on your Calendar so you never miss a deadline
• Purchase Date and Price
• Brand and Quantity
• Links — upload files like receipts, manuals, and warranties to your favorite storage service, then link directly inside of your Inventory
• Images — upload photos directly to any inventory item from its detail page

Areas: "Used In" and "Stored In"

Every inventory item can be linked to Areas in two ways:

• Used In: Where the item is actively used (e.g., a refrigerator is "Used In" the Kitchen)
• Stored In: Where the item is kept when not in use (e.g., spare paint is "Stored In" the Garage)

This distinction helps you answer two different questions: "What's in this room?" and "Where did I put that thing?"

Inventory on the Calendar

If you add a Warranty Expiration Date to an inventory item, it will appear on the Calendar alongside your scheduled Issues. This gives you a single view of both upcoming work and upcoming warranty deadlines — so you can take action before coverage expires.

What else would you like to see when it comes to Inventory? How do you think about your different types of "stuff"? Leave feedback on our roadmap or email us: help@minicastle.app