The Ultimate Home Maintenance Checklist

Your home is likely your biggest asset.  Maintaining it not only protects your investment, but avoids major issues down the road.  Issues that could lead to costly repairs.    But what does maintenance on a house consist of?  How often should you do it?  What are the costs?  And is home maintenance important?  Let’s take a look at what you should be doing to maintain your home.  Jot down some notes.  Or grab your free printable copy of the ultimate Home Maintenance Checklist, broken down for you by season, below.

What Is Considered Home Maintenance?

Regular cleaning, inspections, and repairs to all parts of your home are essential to keep it in top shape.  The key is to keep up with these chores on a routine basis to avoid larger issues later.

How Often Should You Do Home Maintenance?

There are many tasks that you should perform monthly, like cleaning your bathroom exhaust fan.  Some tasks are twice per year, like cleaning your refrigerator coils.   Then there are the annual tasks, like draining your water heater.  Additionally, there are a few tasks for homeowners who live in cooler climates. Like getting your snow shovels and ice melt ready ahead of time before the winter weather hits.

To ensure you get everything done when needed, grab your free printable copy of the Complete Home Maintenance Checklist below.

What Are The Costs?

When calculating routine home maintenance costs, there are many factors to consider. For instance, the size, age, condition, and location of the home.  According to Rule Of Thumb: How Much To Budget For Home Maintenance, you should set aside at least 1% of your home’s value each year.  As an example, if you buy a home for $300,000, you should expect to budget $3,000 per year for routine maintenance.  Keep in mind this amount is for routine home maintenance only.  Set aside extra funds for emergency repairs.

How Important Is It To Perform Routine Maintenance?

You change the oil in your car every few months. You visit your doctor for annual checkups.  Give the same level of care to your home.  There are several reasons why this is so important.  It saves you money, increases the value of your home, and extends the life of your systems and appliances.

Saves You Money

Your Money: The Missing Manual explains that every dollar you spend on preventative maintenance will save you $100 on future repairs.  As an illustration, filling in cracks in your driveway  now may save you from having to replace a slab or two of concrete later.

Increases Your Home’s Value

Treat your home like that asset it is.  Keeping up with routine maintenance ensures your appliances, systems and all parts of your home stay in good shape.  When the time comes to sell your home,  don’t get caught off guard with an inspection full of issues and problems due to lack of maintenance.  Furthermore, you’ll increase your chances of getting top dollar for a home that has been well maintained.  Give your buyers a move in ready home with little for them to do, and you’ll see more cash in your pocket at closing time.

Extends the Life Of Your Systems

Regular maintenance not only extends the life of your systems, it keeps them from having to work so hard.  Which reduces your energy bills.

For an example, change your furnace filter every 1-3 months.  This not only keeps the air in your home cleaner, but keeps your unit from having to work harder.  Air can’t pass through a dirty filter.  Changing it often reduces your energy bills and extends the life of the unit.   Not to mention improving your indoor air quality.

In conclusion, aim to make your home better than what it was when you first moved in.   Don’t get overwhelmed, break down your chores in to manageable chunks.  Completing a few tasks each season will reduce the stress of home ownership.  Doing so will keep it looking it’s best and save you money in the long run.  While many, if not all, of the chores can be done yourself, some are best left to the professional.  When in doubt, or if you don’t feel safe doing something yourself, call in the pros.

If you want to know if any of the maintenance, repairs or improvements that you do to your home are tax deductible, check out What Home Improvement Projects Are Tax Deductible?

Grab your free printable copy of the Ultimate Home Maintenance Checklist which has a complete list, broken down for you by season below.  

Get Your Free Home Maintenance Checklist

By clicking here you are agreeing to receive emails from The Daily DIY. You can unsubscribe at any time. We don’t spam. Read our privacy policy for more info.