Earlier this year, I crafted this list of monthly, seasonal and annual household tasks for a client new to home ownership.   She wanted to keep up on regular maintenance tasks because she is smart, and realizes that regular maintenance is the best way to avoid emergencies down the road.

For example, every Fall:

• Have your furnace and air conditioner looked at now, to avoid an emergency and costly repair or replacement in the dead of winter.
• Turn off outdoor water faucets completely, to keep pipes from freezing (and bursting).
• Take care of your lawnmower and snowblower at the change of seasons to keep them running well for many years to come.
• And the list goes on and on…

Of course we can’t avoid emergencies or accidents completely, but we can invest some time and resources in keeping them away as much as possible!

This list is a start, a jumping-off point.  Feel free to copy and paste it to your own document and edit it to make it more personal and specific to your situation, such as if you have pets or a swimming pool,  or more than one home or just a condo or apartment, obviously tasks can be added or subtracted to fit your needs.

Annual Tasks:

• HVAC system check
• Clean rugs
• License and license plate sticker renewal

Fall / Winter:

• Winterize your lawnmower
• Get your snowblower ready, turn it on and let it run a few minutes  (Get some gas, too)
• Flush hot water heater and remove sediment
• Turn off and flush outdoor water faucets
• Test sump pump /  sump pump valve replacement
• Outdoor greastrap
• Rout the shower drain
• Winterize air conditioning system
• Clean duct work
• Get heating system ready for winter
• Clean / check fire place, get chimney cleaned
• Check driveway/pavement for cracks
• Buy winter gear and sidewalk salt
• Bring deck furniture in
• Check window screens
• Wash mini blinds
• Wash out and de-clutter cabinets and closets
• De-grease top of cabinets if no soffit

Spring / Summer:

• Check and repair screens
• check and repair deck
• move deck furniture to deck
• clean and summer-ize snow blower

Twice a Year:

• Windows inside and out
• Clean curtains / draperies
• Wash or dry clean comforters
• Vacuum your fridge coils, pull fridge out and vacuum behind
• Swap out reverse osmosis unit water filter
• Check and clear dryer vents
• Reverse ceiling Fans
• Test smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, fire extinguishers, and all ground-fault circuit interrupters.
• Clean gutters and downspouts

Monthly:

• Inspect and possibly change furnace filter
• Vacuum heat registers and heat vents
• Clean range hood filters and garbage disposal (grind ice cubes, then flush with hot water and baking soda)
• Pour a tea pot full of boiling water down bathroom sink drains
• Clean coffee maker

Weekly / Daily:

• Clean dishwasher trap (weekly)
• Errands and grocery shopping
• Pet waste clean-up
• Restock pet supplies
• Rugs, towels and bedding
• Daily laundry
• Go through mail / shred stuff / pay bills

So, use a little time this week to take care of your home maintenance tasks, and get your home prepped for the next season!