You just bought your home, and you are excited to move in and start your new life. It was a major investment, perhaps the largest one you will ever make! As a homeowner, caring for your home is a big responsibility and one that can add value to your investment!

While maintaining your home is a significant responsibility, having the right repair tools and making an annual home maintenance to-do list can make the job easier! In this post, we will look at the steps to take to create a home maintenance to-do list and include some tips for sticking to your plan!

The Importance of Home Maintenance

Most of us visit our doctor for regular health check-ups to help prevent serious illnesses. A home maintenance schedule is much the same thing. Continuing to check on your home systems including the exterior, appliances, heating and cooling, plumbing, security, and electrical system can help you prevent breakdowns, save money, and keep your home's curb appeal up!

Creating a home maintenance checklist can help you schedule seasonal updates, cleaning, and repairs. Revisit your to-do list monthly and at the beginning of each season to keep your home in perfect working condition.

If any jobs or repairs are above your skill level or might lead to more extensive repairs, consider hiring a professional to help. Some jobs require an experienced professional, for example, HVAC, plumbing, or electrical work beyond simple maintenance or repairs.

A good practice is to create a maintenance schedule that consists of a monthly list and a more extensive seasonal list of projects.

Steps For Creating Your To-Do List

No matter what type of property you own, creating your maintenance plan consists of first creating a master list of tasks. While many maintenance tasks are universal, and you can find plenty of info on the web, every home is unique and requires specific maintenance depending on several factors. These include your home's building materials, the age of your property, and features like pools, skylights, or your unfinished basement.

You will also want to customize a home maintenance plan based on your region and weather. For example, homeowners living in New Hampshire might need to think about winterizing their pipes, while those living in the south might want to incorporate hurricane preparations into their maintenance plan.

STEP 1:

Start with a walkthrough of your home. Look at every living space, the bedrooms, floors, and all of the nooks and crannies. This can help you to remember easy-to-forget maintenance items. Carry a notebook or use your phone to take notes to prepare. Here are some tasks to consider:

• Bleed your radiators
• Check the crawlspace for mold or vermin
• Test your well annually for contaminants
• Sweep the patio
• Test the sump pump
• Make sure your gutter downspouts are directed away from the house
• Inspect your chimney

STEP 2

Now that you have your list, it might seem a bit daunting! The next step is to break out Excel and set up a spreadsheet with all of the items on your list in one place. Organize your list by frequency – weekly, monthly, seasonally, and annually. The frequency of your tasks is the key. For example, checking and replacing batteries in your home's smoke and carbon monoxide detectors annually can save your life. Failure to do so can be a disaster!

STEP 3

To get organized, putting your tasks into a spreadsheet app like Excel is a good option. However, there are plenty of apps and planners specific to home maintenance. A few options include:

Centriq – for appliance maintenance. Just input all of the info for your appliances. The app has a database of user manuals, how-to videos, and other options specific to your appliances.

Wunderlist – is essentially a massive to-do list you can create with deadlines and reminders. You can also share your list with others and delegate tasks to get the family involved.

The Black and Decker Home Planner Logbook – an analog option, the B&D logbook provides space for all of your records and maintenance tasks and features extensive information on home features and the importance of regular maintenance.

Sticking With Your Plan!

You know the saying... the best-laid plans. No matter how thoughtful and thorough your home maintenance checklist is, forgetting or failing to do a task is not an option! The solution? Set reminders!

Many app-based options allow you to set push notifications that will pop up on your smartphone to remind you to do a task on your list. When working with an Excel spreadsheet consider adding important maintenance dates to your Google calendar. Schedule reminders a couple of weeks before your deadline. That way, if you need to hire a professional, you'll have some time to do it, so you won't be calling at the last minute.

Store Your Home Maintenance Records!

This is important for both you, and should you ever sell, for potential buyers. Keep meticulous records of the work you've done on your house, when the work was done, and how much it cost. Hang on to:

• Home improvement receipts
• Contractor invoices and receipts
• Warranties
• Manuals
• Any estimates for pending work to be done

These records are important when you sell. It's easy to do. Once you've completed and checked off an item on your list, store the paperwork in a file. Whether it's an analog file or digital is up to you but do it immediately upon completion. Don't check off a task until it's completed.

You'll be glad you did when it's time to sell. Following a comprehensive maintenance plan and keeping your home repaired and updated will eliminate the hassle of repair requests and extra costs when negotiating a sale. Depending on the work done, you might even be able to get more money than you expected. Plus, you'll be able to show any potential buyers just how much you cared for your home!