Thread: How Do You Keep Track of You Halloween Collection?

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I find as my collection grows, I can't keep track of it all. I pick up things all the time throughout the year and they end up in boxes or containers. Then I spend the better part of late August/early September emptying out containers and boxes just to see what I have.
At the end of a season I put everything away all organized, but it just happens again the next year. I'm always forgeting what I have which can be pretty fun when I discover something, but it's fustrating at the same time. It makes planning my next set up ahead of time hard if I can't remember everything.
I was thinking about maybe making a spreadsheet to keep track of everything.

So how do you keep track of everything you own?

take pics and load them here!

I keep a spreadsheet of plans/wishlist items, but as far as inventory goes it's in my head. I do organize things at the end of each halloween so similar items are packed together and labeled either indoor or outdoor stuff. I start initial unpacking in late September when I might jot down a rough inventory including newly purchased/built items.

I've thought about writing a detailed list, but it doesn't seem worth it. I'm going to remember the large items anyway and the smaller items like candles/potion bottles that I might forget about would be hard to describe on paper without a photo.

I made a catalog in Publisher of all my props. For each prop it has:
A picture of the prop
Prop dimensions
Method used to secure it (stake, dowel, etc.)
Color light used to illuminate
What type of light used (flood, spot, mini spot, etc)
Power requirements (lights, motors, etc)
Tombstone (if any) and it's size.
Notes: Things I need to remember or idea's to work on later

As for storage, I mark everything (lights, stakes, etc) and then store it in boxes, separate boxes for each type of item.

I guess you could say I might have a little OCD. But I know that if I take the time to do it now, that is time saved then.

I thought I could keep track of all my stuff but I swear I have misplaced a huge 6 foot spider and a few years ago my husband picked up a talking reaper(lifesized) for only $5 clearanced and I haven't seen it since

While I liked discovering the items that had slipped my mind every year when unpacking everything (sort of like Christmas morning!) I finally did a photo inventory last year and it was worth the work. It took me a day and a half but now I can flip through the pictures and get new ideas and inspriration for items I had forgotten! I highly recommend it.

I've never been this under control of my stuff, but reading this makes me think that maybe I should try it. Every year I "lose" and then "find" something....maybe the following year. Very frustrating!!

"Clear" containers..

I use Really Useful Boxes because they're loads stronger than any other storage box. I have a few dozen of the 9L/"sweater box" sized ones but I was lucky enough to get the start of my collection on deep clearance and the rest of it on the very rare weeks when Office Depot would have Buy 1 Get 1 instead of Buy 2 Get 1 free. Staples sometimes puts them on sale for $5, which is the same thing. They're perfectly square on the edges and reinforced so you can stack a dozen of them without worrying about crushing things.

Downsides include hurting more when you try to kick them out of the way and they don't nest so they take up a huge amount of space when you're not currently using them.

Having a lot of storage boxes didn't help make me any more organized though.

It's all in my head mostly.

Storage is in clear rubbermaid-type boxes so it's easy to see what's there & anything I've bought new this year won't go into storage, it's in a spare room for now.