Here's a number that stings: most stolen laptops, bikes, and phones are never returned — not because police can't find them, but because the owner can't prove which one is theirs.

Police recover piles of stolen goods. Pawn shops log serial numbers. But if your claim says "a silver laptop," you get nothing. If it says "MacBook Pro, serial C02XL1ABCD, bought March 2023," you have a shot.

Most people learn this the day after a break-in. Too late.

Why serial numbers beat photos

A photo proves you owned a thing. A serial number proves you owned that exact thing. Insurers want the second one. So do police databases and online marketplaces where thieves resell.

The problem: serial numbers live in places you'll never check in a panic. On the bottom of the device. On a box you threw out. In an email buried three years deep.

Collect them once, calmly, now.

Why self-host instead of a spreadsheet in the cloud

Think about what this list contains: every valuable you own, where you keep it, and what it cost. That's a shopping list for a burglar who gets into your Google Drive.

Keeping it on a server you control means it never sits on a company's machine waiting to leak. You decide who sees it.

The simplest setup

You don't need anything fancy. Two solid options:

Grocy — a self-hosted household manager with an inventory module. Runs in one Docker container.

HomeBox — built exactly for home inventory, with fields for serial numbers, purchase dates, warranties, and photos. Also one container.

Spin up HomeBox:

docker run -d \
  --name homebox \
  -p 7745:7745 \
  -v /home/you/homebox:/data \
  ghcr.io/sysadminsmedia/homebox:latest

Open http://your-server-ip:7745, make an account, start adding items.

What to record per item

  • Make and model
  • Serial number (check the device itself, not the box)
  • Purchase date and price
  • A photo of the item and a close-up of the serial sticker
  • Where you keep it

For bikes, record the frame number stamped under the bottom bracket. For phones, the IMEI — dial *#06# to see it.

One habit that makes it work

Add items as they arrive. New TV? Scan the serial before you recycle the box. It takes two minutes at unboxing versus zero chance of finding it after a theft.

Set a quarterly reminder to catch anything you missed.

Keep a copy off the server

Your inventory is useless if the server gets stolen too. Export it monthly and stash an encrypted copy somewhere physically separate — a USB drive at a relative's house, or an encrypted file in your password manager.

Do this today: Grab the three most valuable things within arm's reach, flip them over, and write down their serial numbers. You just made them recoverable.