Home maintenance blog

Longer articles on looking after a home: how to build a schedule you will keep, what to do each season, which tasks are about safety, what it all costs, and which records are worth keeping. Every figure names its source.

Planning

Building a schedule, starting out in a new home, and knowing where you stand.

Planning · 11 min read

A home maintenance schedule by frequency, and how to keep it going

A home maintenance schedule by frequency: monthly, quarterly, twice a year, yearly and every few years, with the interval for each task. Start with twenty.

Planning · 12 min read

What a home maintenance score actually measures, and how to raise yours

How a home maintenance score is worked out: the exact penalties for overdue and safety tasks, a worked example, and the fastest ways to raise yours.

Planning · 13 min read

First-time homeowner maintenance: what to do in your first week, month and 90 days

A first-time homeowner maintenance plan for your first week, first month and first 90 days, with a timeline table. Set each job up as a reminder as you go.

Seasonal

What to do before the weather turns, by climate.

Seasonal · 13 min read

Fall home maintenance checklist: 14 jobs, ordered by what fails first in winter

A fall home maintenance checklist in priority order: why each job matters and how often it repeats. Start with heating and outdoor taps, then set reminders.

Seasonal · 12 min read

How to winterize your home by climate: steps for hard-freeze, occasional-freeze, mild and no-freeze winters

How to winterize your home by climate: what to drain, insulate and service in hard-freeze, occasional-freeze, mild and no-freeze areas. Find your list.

Safety

The small tasks that protect the people in the house.

Safety · 12 min read

Home safety maintenance checklist: the tasks that prevent fires, carbon monoxide and radon exposure, and how often to do each

A home safety maintenance checklist with intervals for smoke and CO alarms, dryer vents, gas servicing, chimneys and radon, each sourced. Set them as reminders.

Costs

What upkeep costs and what moves the number.

Costs · 12 min read

How much does home maintenance cost per year? The rules of thumb and the published figures behind them

Home maintenance cost per year is 1% to 4% of a home’s value by Fannie Mae’s rule. See sourced figures for four countries, then set your own budget.

Records

Keeping the paperwork that proves the work was done.

Records · 12 min read

Home maintenance records: what to keep for the day you sell your house, and what you can let go

Which home maintenance records to keep for a sale, a tax return or an insurance claim, with official sources for the US, UK, Australia and Canada. See the list.

Looking for a specific task?

The 66 free guides answer "how often should I..." for every task in the Maintainly library, with the interval, the accepted range and what differs by country.