Managing Items

Managing Items

This guide covers everything you need to know about managing items in Stowaway.

Creating Items

Basic Item

At minimum, an item needs a name:

Name: "Wireless Mouse"

Complete Item

For full tracking capabilities, include all details:

Field	Example Value
Name	Logitech MX Master 3
Description	Wireless ergonomic mouse with customizable buttons
Manufacturer	Logitech
Barcode	097855147479
Price	99.99
Buy Date	2024-01-15
Quantity	2
Min Quantity	1
Category	Electronics
Location	Office Desk Drawer

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Item Fields Explained

Name

The primary identifier for your item. Make it descriptive enough to recognize at a glance.

Tip: Naming Convention Consider a consistent naming pattern:

• [Brand] [Product] [Variant]
• Example: “Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M3”

Description

Additional details that don’t fit elsewhere:

• Specifications
• Notes about condition
• Where you bought it
• What it’s used for

Barcode

Product barcodes for scanning:

• UPC - 12 digits (common in USA)
• EAN - 13 digits (international)
• Custom - Your own identifier system

Quantity & Min Quantity

Track how many you have:

• Quantity - Current count
• Min Quantity - Alert threshold

When quantity ≤ min quantity, the item appears in low stock alerts.

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Working with Images

Adding Images

1. Open item in edit mode
2. Drag and drop images onto the upload area
3. Or click to browse for files

Multiple Images

Items can have multiple images:

• First image becomes the thumbnail
• All images viewable in detail view
• Reorder by drag and drop

Removing Images

1. Edit the item
2. Click the remove button on an image
3. Save changes

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Categories

Assigning Categories

When creating or editing an item:

1. Click the Category dropdown
2. Select an existing category
3. Or create a new one inline

Changing Categories

Reassigning is easy:

1. Edit the item
2. Select a different category
3. Save

Removing Category

To uncategorize an item:

1. Edit the item
2. Clear the category selection
3. Save

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Locations

Setting Location

Track where items are stored:

1. Edit the item
2. Select a location from the dropdown
3. Save

Moving Items

When you physically move an item:

1. Edit the item
2. Change the location
3. Save

This keeps your digital inventory matching physical reality.

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Bulk Operations

Search and Filter

Find multiple items efficiently:

Search: "mouse"
Filter: Category = "Electronics"

Export for Analysis

Export filtered results:

1. Apply your filters
2. Click Export
3. Choose JSON or CSV
4. Download file

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Item Lifecycle

Typical Workflow

graph LR
    A[Purchase Item] --> B[Add to Stowaway]
    B --> C[Assign Category & Location]
    C --> D[Use/Store Item]
    D --> E{Still Have?}
    E -->|Yes| D
    E -->|No| F[Delete from Stowaway]

Tracking Consumption

For consumable items:

1. Set initial quantity
2. Set min quantity threshold
3. Decrease quantity as used
4. Restock when alerted

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Best Practices

Organization

• Be consistent - Use the same naming conventions throughout
• Use categories - Group similar items together
• Track locations - Know where everything is physically

Data Quality

• Add images - Visual identification helps
• Include barcodes - Enable scanning features
• Set min quantities - Never run out unexpectedly

Maintenance

• Regular audits - Verify physical counts match
• Update locations - Keep track of moved items
• Clean up - Remove items you no longer have