Note: Any money examples here are hypothetical. We're not promising anyone will earn anything.
An idea for a service: photograph and inventory household items for downsizing families, with AI-drafted descriptions.
The idea
Help families who are downsizing or settling an estate photograph, list, and organize household items, with AI helping draft item descriptions and inventory lists.
Who it's for
Families downsizing a parent's home, people moving into smaller homes, and estate sale companies who need help with listings.
The problem you solve
A full house has hundreds of items. Families don't have time to photograph, describe, and sort them, and it's an emotional job.
How you help
You photograph items room by room, then use an AI assistant to draft short descriptions and a sortable inventory list: keep, give to family, donate, or sell. For example, OpenAI lists ChatGPT Business for teams, and Google lists Gemini in Sheets. The family makes every decision about what happens to each item.
Tools you'd use
ChatGPT Business (ChatGPT Work and Dots)Gemini in Google Workspace
How it works, step by step
Here's how it could work, step by step (it's an outline, not a case study):
- A walk-through with the family about goals and timing.
- Photograph items room by room.
- Draft descriptions and an inventory sheet with AI, then check them.
- The family marks each item: keep, family, donate, or sell.
- Hand over the sheet and photos, or coordinate with an estate sale company.
Ways to get paid
Ways you could price it: a flat fee per room, or a package per home with a set number of visits. Test pricing with your first few families, and treat any number as a starting guess.
What you need to get started
You'll want a good phone camera, a simple spreadsheet, patience, and a kind manner. Insurance and references help families trust you.
Keeping it running
Don't guess values. Suggest a qualified appraiser for anything that may be valuable. Keep family photos and documents private.
Things to watch out for
Watch out for emotional decisions, family disagreements, and tight deadlines. Let the family lead. A first client, for example: three siblings are clearing their late mother's two-bedroom house before it goes on the market. Over two visits, you photograph about 300 items, draft short descriptions with AI, and build a shared sheet. Each sibling marks what they'd like. The sheet shows a few items to have appraised, and the rest is sorted for donation or a sale. (Our illustration.) Questions to settle before you start: - Who has the final say when family members disagree? - What's the deadline, like a closing or move-out date? - Which items need an appraiser rather than a guess? Your first week: 1. Inventory one room of your own home as a sample. 2. Build a reusable inventory sheet template. 3. Introduce yourself to local estate sale companies and real estate agents. 4. Write a simple agreement covering photos, privacy, and deadlines.
Sources
Heads-up: some links here may become affiliate links down the road. Here's how that works. Right now, no affiliate programs are connected.