Preparing your home for wildfire evacuation

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Scott

Over 10,000 Colorado residents have had to evacuate their homes this year due to wildfires. Most of them only had minutes to evacuate. There are plenty of great online resources to help you figure out what to take with you when you evacuate, but a comment left on a Fox31 article “How to be ready in case disaster strikes“ raises a great question:

I am looking for instructions on what to do to our homes to prepare for evacuation. I am only finding info on what to pack and take with us but what I need is info on whether I leave doors and windows locked or unlocked, do I move flammable material to a particular spot, do I leave a note on the door with information, etc? Where do I find this type of fire evacuation instruction?

A search pointed me towards a Colorado State University fact sheet “Forest Home Fire Safety” which has some great simple things you can do to help firefighters defend your home after you evacuate.

  • Do not jeopardize your life. No material item is worth a life.
  • Remove combustible materials from around structures.
  • Close or cover outside vents and shutters.
  • Close all windows and doors. Do not lock them.
  • Close all inside doors.
  • Fill tubs, sinks and any other containers with water.
  • Remove lace, nylon or any other drapes and curtains made from light material. Close Venetian blinds, heavy drapes or fire-resistant window coverings.
  • Move overstuffed furniture into the center of the house, away from windows and sliding glass doors.

To see the rest of the tips on how to defend your home along with mitigation and preparation tips, go to http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/natres/06304.html

Another great resource for homeowners who want to prepare their property and their communities for wildfires is http://www.firewise.org/Information/Who-is-this-for/Homeowners.aspx

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25% of July home inventory sales will be donated to the Colorado Red Cross

Posted on July 7, 2012 by Scott
Waldo Canyon Fire

Waldo Canyon Fire – Credit: Denver Post

The High Park Fire, Waldo Canyon Fire and Woodland Heights Fire in Colorado have burned hundreds of thousands of acres and have destroyed over 600 homes. These fires have taken a large emotional and financial toll on their victims and on those who are fighting the fires. The 2 big questions everyone is asking now are:

  • What can I do to prepare in case I am the victim of a wildfire?
  • What can I do to help the victims and responders of the Colorado wildfires?

Blue Spruce Inventory wants to make it easy for you to help victims and responders AND prepare your home at the same time.

Throughout the month of July, Blue Spruce Inventory will donate 25% of every sale to the Colorado Chapters of the American Red Cross.

For more ways to help victims and responders statewide, visit www.helpcoloradonow.org.
For more ways to get wildfire ready, visit http://www.rmiia.org/wildfire/index.asp.

Help us reach our goal to raise $500 for the Red Cross by August 1st.

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The best way to inventory your home and help Colorado wildfire victims at the same time

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Scott

Blue Spruce Inventory makes purchasing a home inventory easy and stress free with Simplify. Simplify is launched with discounts as well as easy ways to help Colorado wildfire victims and yourself at the same time.

Simplify makes purchasing an inventory for your home, your business and your collections easy and stress free by matching your needs with the best resource available in a simple 3 step process.

No matter what you need counted, cataloged, documented or described, with Blue Spruce Inventory you only need to do 3 things: Schedule your inventory. Review your inventory. Store your inventory.

In light of the recent wildfires in Colorado, Blue Spruce Inventory will give 25% of every sale to the Colorado Chapters of the American Red Cross. A purchase of a complete Home Inventory will give $150 to the Red Cross! These donations will continue throughout the month of July. This is the easiest way for you to prepare your home or business and help wildfire victims at the same time.

Blue Spruce Inventory will also offer a 25% discount on ALL inventory services until July 15th.

The Blue Spruce Inventory website has been changed to make it easier for you to get the information you need to make an informed and educated decision.

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Blue Spruce Inventory provides inventory services for homes, businesses and collectors in Littleton, Colorado. Blue Spruce Inventory is owned and operated by Scott Pantall, a police/fire dispatcher, computer programmer, and father. It was created to give people the tools and knowledge needed to protect their investments in their property. For more information, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com or call 720-771-5660.

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Why should you be excited for Simplify?

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Scott

Tomorrow is the launch date for Simplify. Simplify is a way to make purchasing an inventory easy and stress free. The way it should be. All you will need to do to purchase an inventory is Schedule, Review and Store your inventory. So why should you be excited?

Help Yourself and Others at the Same Time
The recent wildfires in Colorado have us all asking 2 major questions:

  • How can I help the victims and workers of the wildfires?
  • How can I protect myself and my home from wildfires?

Blue Spruce Inventory has found a way to help victims and works AND protect your home AT THE SAME TIME! Want to know how? Visit BlueSpruceInventory.com tomorrow to find out.

Discounts
What launch date wouldn’t be complete without discounts? If you have been curious about our services, but worried about the cost visit BlueSpruceInventory.com tomorrow.

Options
Simplify is going to make things simple, but there are still plenty of options to get the inventory service you need. Schedule your inventory on your time with the level of detail you need. We have also found 11 different tools to store your inventory information. Visit BlueSpruceInventory.com tomorrow to see all your options.

Simplify will be launched on July 6, 2012. For more information on how Blue Spruce Inventory is making inventories easier, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com/simplify

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Blue Spruce Inventory provides inventory services for homes, businesses and collectors in Littleton, Colorado. Blue Spruce Inventory is owned and operated by Scott Pantall, a police/fire dispatcher, computer programmer, and father. It was created to give people the tools and knowledge needed to protect their investments in their property. For more information, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com or call 720-771-5660.

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Only 4 more days until we Simplify the home inventory

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Scott

In 4 days, Blue Spruce Inventory will make inventorying your home, business or collection in Colorado as simple and easy as possible.

When you schedule your home inventory, tell us what pieces of personal property are most important to you so that we may tailor your inventory. Are you an avid mountain biker? Do you love to go camping? Is your grandmother’s china collection special to you? Your property is more than just financial assets. It shows who you are and Blue Spruce Inventory is honored to help you protect it.

Simplify will be launched on July 6, 2012. For more information on how Blue Spruce Inventory is making inventories easier, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com/simplify

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Blue Spruce Inventory provides inventory services for homes, businesses and collectors in Littleton, Colorado. Blue Spruce Inventory is owned and operated by Scott Pantall, a police/fire dispatcher, computer programmer, and father. It was created to give people the tools and knowledge needed to protect their investments in their property. For more information, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com or call 720-771-5660.

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Purchasing an inventory service can be as easy as 1-2-3

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Scott

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

http://www.prlog.org/11906628-purchasing-an-inventory-service-can-be-as-easy-as-12-3.html

Simplify will make purchasing an inventory easy and stress free by matching your needs with the best resource available in a simple 3 step process. It doesn’t matter what you need counted, cataloged, documented or described, with Blue Spruce Inventory you only need to do 3 things.

1. Schedule: Set up a date, time and location for your inventory and call 720-771-5660. Tell us what you want inventoried and before you hang up you will know how much it will cost and how long it will take.

2. Review: Approximately 7-10 days after your inventory service call, you will be provided with a basic copy of your inventory. You know your stuff better than anyone. This is your chance to make sure we’ve gathered the correct information.

3. Store: There are many ways to store and manage your inventory. Blue Spruce Inventory is committed to making sure that your storage option fits your needs. We can store your information in custom reports, online storage, digital copies, safe deposit boxes, etc. When you schedule your inventory we will work to find the right storage solution for you.

Simplify will be launched on July 6, 2012. For more information on how Blue Spruce Inventory is making inventories easier, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com/simplify

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Blue Spruce Inventory provides inventory services for homes, businesses and collectors in Littleton, Colorado. Blue Spruce Inventory is owned and operated by Scott Pantall, a police/fire dispatcher, computer programmer, and father. It was created to give people the tools and knowledge needed to protect their investments in their property. For more information, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com or call 720-771-5660.

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Sometimes preparing your home for wildfire means preparing to start over

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Scott

Living in Colorado means I can’t escape hearing about wildfires. Right now the biggest wildfire in the state is the High Park Fire just west of Ft. Collins. As of this posting, the fire has burned 43,433 acres. Approximately 2,600 notifications have been sent out and 10 different neighborhoods have had structures either destroyed or damaged.

CBSDenver.com’s Wildfire Ready website gives 3 basic steps to prepare their homes for a wildfire:

  1. Create a Home Inventory
  2. Create a Defensible Space Around Your Home
  3. Review Your Insurance Coverage

2 out of 3 of those tips will not help your home survive a wildfire. Instead they are intended to help you recover after a wildfire. When your home is on 2 acres in the middle of 40,000 acres of raging wildfire, there isn’t much you can do to keep your home from burning down. It’s important to realize that successfully evacuating a wildfire is not the end of your story. It will be chapter of your life.

Here are some great tips to help you prepare to recover:

  • Create a home inventory and review your insurance coverage. - The CBSDenver.com site has this right. Your insurance agent wants to help you recover after a disaster. It’s important to make sure you and your insurance agent are on the same page before something bad happens. I recommend using the Insurance Information Institute’s KnowYourStuff.org site.
  • Keep important documents and valuables in a safe deposit box. – A fire-proof safe isn’t completely fire proof. The best way to make sure your important documents and valuables are safe when your house burns down is to make sure they aren’t in the house. I recommend the Colorado Vault and Safe Deposit Box Company in Centennial, Colorado.
  • Organize your home to make evacuating easier. – Imagine you’re given 15 minutes to get everything important and meaningful out of your house before it’s likely burned to the ground. Having an organized home will make evacuations easier. If you need help organizing your home, I recommend professional organizers, Major Mom.
  • Back up important information online. – In order to get help after a disaster, you may need tax records, account numbers, policy numbers, etc. The best way to keep this information secure and safe is online. I use Dropbox for my online storage.

For more information about the High Park Fire, visit http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2904/.

To help victims of the High Park Fire, please consider donating to the Colorado Chapter of the American Red Cross here.

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An easier way to inventory your home, business or collection

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Scott

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://www.prlog.org/11895271-an-easier-way-to-inventory-your-home-or-business.html

When Scott Pantall started Blue Spruce Inventory in Littleton, Colorado in 2010, he did so to help people recover financially from a theft or disaster by preparing before it happened. In the past 2 years, Pantall has talked to many different people who need inventories for many different reasons.

“I’ve talked with homeowners, business owners and vacation rental owners who want to protect their stuff. I’ve talked with collectors who want to keep track of their collections’ values.”, said Pantall, “And it seems like regardless of the reason for your inventory, there is a website, software, app, or service that will help you. The amount of choices can be kind of intimidating.”

Simplify will make purchasing an inventory easy and stress free by matching your needs with the best resource available in a simple 3 step process. Simplify will be launched on July 6, 2012. For more information on how Blue Spruce Inventory is making inventories easier, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com/simplify

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Blue Spruce Inventory provides inventory services for homes, businesses and collectors in Littleton, Colorado. Blue Spruce Inventory is owned and operated by Scott Pantall, a police/fire dispatcher, computer programmer, and father. It was created to give people the tools and knowledge needed to protect their investments in their property. For more information, visit http://bluespruceinventory.com or call 720-771-5660.

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CYA Shred Day – April 28th, 9a.m.-Noon!

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Scott

On Saturday, April 28th from 9a.m.-noon, Blue Spruce Inventory and the CYA (Cover Your Assets) Group are hosting a Shred Day at Colorado Vault and Safe Deposit Box Co. at County Line Road and Holly.

This time we will be raising money for the Tennyson Center for Children with $10 donations and electronics recycling so bring your old cell phones, computer monitors, TVs, etc. and de-clutter your home or office AND help a good cause at the same time. (Some electronics do have a mandatory fee.)

For more information about the CYA (Cover Your Assets) Group Shred Day check out our Meetup page: http://www.meetup.com/CYA-Cover-Your-Assets/

or call Frank or Stewart at Colorado Vault and Safe Deposit Box: 720-879-7134.

Be prepared with a Home Inventory from Blue Spruce Inventory!
Manage your CDs, DVDs, Books, Comics, Video Games with a Media Inventory from Blue Spruce Inventory!

 

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Snapshot Inventory Testimonial

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Scott

Blue Spruce Inventory’s Snapshot Inventory service is already getting rave reviews! After getting the opportunity to inventory a beautiful home in Greenwood Village I was treated with this inspiring email from Nicki.

Scott – thank you so very much for the excellent job that you did in our home! Your coverage of our belongings was thorough and very detailed. My husband and I were particularly impressed with your professionalism and the manner in which you conduct yourself and your business. You turned what might have otherwise felt like an invasive process into an experience that we deemed quite pleasant and extremely necessary. In light of the recent stories in the news regarding all of the homes that were lost in the fires, we realize the importance of your services and would encourage everyone to take the time to meet with you. We believe that your company ultimately provided us with much more than a folder documenting all of our personal belongings, but rather, you gave us something that is truly invaluable – peace of mind!!

Sincerely,
Nicki

The recent willdfires here in Colorado emphasize the importance of completing, or at least starting, a home inventory. Contact us today to schedule your inventory!

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