Tips for Tracking Household Maintenance Tasks

We love our planners for day to day notes, to-dos, lists, event tracking, and meal planning. But one of our favorite, often overlooked uses of our planners is to track monthly, quarterly, and annual maintenance tasks. These are often the boring but important tasks that keep our lives moving. As you brainstorm what might be on your maintenance task list, we are giving you a jumpstart with a list of possible tasks to add to your planner. We will also share some tricks and tips for tracking!


General Household 

  • Check batteries in smoke detectors & carbon monoxide detectors (every 6 months or as needed)

  • Have fireplace inspected annually and cleaned (recommended cleaning every 50 fires or annually)

  • Change HVAC air filter (every 6 months)

  • Check plumbing annually (especially for older homes)

  • Deep clean inside of washing machine (quarterly)

  • Deep clean inside dryer vent (annually) 


Kitchen 

  • Clean stove exhaust filters (every 3 months)

  • Clean refrigerator coils (annually)

  • Change water filter in refrigerator (every 6 months)

  • Change water filters in coffee/espresso makers (every 2-3 months)

  • Descale coffee maker (every 100 cups of coffee)

  • Deep clean dishwasher filter and inside of dishwasher (every month) 

  • Deep clean pantry, refrigerator, and freezer (quarterly) 


Outdoor 

  • Clean and care for outdoor furniture (beginning and end of season) 

  • Deep clean grill; soak and scrub grates, clean exterior (annually) 

  • Seasonal yard clean up; trim plants back, rake leaves, mulch, attach/remove hoses  (quarterly) 

  • Clean gutters (every 6 months)

  • Clean windows inside and out (every 6 months)


Garage & Auto 

  • Stay on top of auto maintenance such as oil change, air filter, refill washer fluid/check wiper blades, and tire rotation

  • Deep clean car (quarterly)

  • Replenish emergency supplies for car (annually or as needed)

  • Deep clean garage (annually) 

  • Tune up bicycles 

  • Service lawn mower, snow blower, and other equipment (annually)


Family 

  • Keep track of birthdays, anniversaries, milestones (purchase cards in advance to send)

  • Jot down important teacher and school dates for each child 

  • Make and keep track of health appointments for each family member such as medical, eye, and dental

  • Clean medicine cabinet or bin and dispose of expired medicine and stock supplies for upcoming season (quarterly)

  • Deep clean mattresses and pillows (every 6 months)

  • Check subscriptions and renewal dates 


Pets 

  • Administer monthly medications 

  • Make and keep track of vet appointments 

  • Deep clean bedding and blankets (monthly or as needed) 


Tips & Tricks 

  • Create a color coded system for tasks such as one color for each monthly, quarterly, and annual task. 

  • When you get a new planner, designate a day every 2-3 months to tackle your quarterly tasks. Jot these down on your monthly layouts, as well as any annual tasks you want to include too. 

  • Utilize some open pages such as our lined, grid, or blank pages to create lists for quarterly and annual tasks. We like the consistency of spring and fall cleaning, setting aside a week at the beginning of both seasons to complete our deep cleaning lists. 

  • Get into the routine of setting up family health appointments around each person’s birthday. 

We’d love to hear what’s on your household maintenance list! Are we forgetting anything? How do you track your monthly, quarterly, and annual tasks?

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