What to Include in Your Next Home Maintenance Checklist

By Staff WriterUpdated onNov 06, 2025
home maintenance

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Discover how to check the exterior and interior systems of your house
  • Learn about safety measures 
  • Understand how to create your customized checklist

Would you believe me if I told you that there is a way you can keep your house in top shape even after living there for years and years? Well, it is possible through a magic called ‘Effective Home Maintenance’. 

Also, you might have heard a Japanese legend that says, “Whether it’s a machine, a house, or a relationship, maintenance is always cheaper than repairing.”

As a doctor makes a checklist of important tests for a regular healthcare inspection, you have to make a checklist for your home’s maintenance so that no important task gets missed.

Now, if you want to improve your home’s safety and efficiency, and want to increase its lifespan, read this blog carefully, and by the end of it, you will get a perfect list for the next home maintenance. 

Assessing the Exterior

No one wants to live in a place that looks like a haunted house from the outside. Paint peeling, damaged roofs, and windows clouded with dust, I don’t like the sound of it, and I am sure you wouldn’t, either. 

So, how to save your home from turning into that nightmare? Well, the simple answer is to pay attention to it on time and take care of it. 

Regularly inspect for roof damage, peeling paint, cracking doors, squeaking doors, and other such signs. If you find any major issue, do not hesitate to call a  trusted roofing contractors near you, after all, it is a matter of your sweet home. 

Interior Systems Maintenance

How comfortably any person could live in their place depends on how good and well-maintained the interior system of the house is. If I talk about myself, I regularly inspect the essential sections of my house.  But here’s the thing, sometimes just checking all the stuff yourself is not enough. 

That is why, for important units like the HVAC system, plumbing connections and electrical systems, I stay vigilant, look for even the smallest of trouble spots myself. On top of that, to ensure proper functioning and safety, I also call professionals time to time (at least once a year) to do the job. 

Safety Precautions

Putting your and your family’s safety at risk is a NO NO! Even a small failure can take away precious lives. Including the following precautions in your maintenance checklist will not only help you protect your family but also give you peace of mind. 

  • Smoke Detector: Fortunately, most smoke detectors come with a testing button. Don’t wait for a mishap to confirm their functionality. Press that testing button and check it now. 
  • Fire Extinguisher: Keep them at an easily accessible place and teach everyone in your family how to use them. 
  • Emergency Exits: Emergencies are not considerate enough to leave enough space for you to exit your building easily. Therefore, make sure to prepare an emergency route. If possible, try to keep that area easily noticeable. 

Seasonal Tasks

Every season brings something new, and hence a new set of maintenance tasks. The major ones that I include in my list are:

Mowing of lawns in summer, adding more greenery and new flowering and vegetative plants in my garden. While in winter, I start by preparing the fireplace, trimming overgrown branches that might pose a threat in storms.   

Additionally, Spring cleaning is very important. Usually, I take a weekend to deep clean my whole house. From cleaning carpets, curtains, quilts, and all that stuff that usually go unnoticed on regular washing days. 

All this might sound hectic to some, but trust me, these simple seasonal tasks can beautifully brighten up any house. 

deep clean your home

Creating Your Customized Checklist

The above tasks are some chores that every homeowner can do in their house, but every house is different from each other, and so are their needs. Why? Newer houses need less care than the older ones. Different weather can change the maintenance routine. Shape, size, and other things also matter.

So, try to make a checklist that includes the above things while thinking about the specifications of your house and environment, to help keep the house as new as possible. 

Frequently Asked Questions
What are the 3 basic maintenance skills?

The 3 basic maintenance skills include simple plumbing, minor electrical tasks, and general upkeep (like changing HVAC filters and basic cleaning). 

What is the 12-12-12 rule for decluttering?

Decluttering your home can be confusing, frustrating and whatnot, this is where the 12-12-12 rules comes to the rescue. It states that you should ‘throw away 12 items, donate 12, and put back in place 12. 

What are the 4 main types of maintenance?

The 4 main types of maintenance are corrective (or reactive), preventive, predictive, and reliability-centered. 

What is the 1% rule for house maintenance?

This rule simply asks to set aside 1% of the home purchase price each year for annual maintenance costs.