Home Maintenance Binders
Do you keep a home maintenance binder?
First, do you know what a home maintenance binder is? When I was interviewing people for case studies for my book, The Complete Guide to Building Your Own Home and Saving Thousands on Your New House, I was surprised how many homeowners did not use these binders (and, for the most part, did not know what they were).
A home maintenance binder consists of all of your maintenance schedules, manuals for things like your furnace, air conditioning units, smoke detectors, and so on. Typically, these manuals are thrown into a drawer somewhere and soon forgotten. Did you know there are home improvement tips within these manuals? Did you know that by, simply sifting through them, you can create a home maintenance schedule based on published suggestions?
To get yourself started, purchase a binder that is two or inches thick and purchase a package of pocket dividers. Gather all of your various manuals for this, that, and the other thing. Yes, the manuals for your home entertainment units and ceiling fans count. This is the beginning of your home maintenance binder. When broken down task by task, completing this is not as daunting as it may seem.
Labels: maintenance
2 Comments:
Great idea-
I have a file box, with warranties, user manuals etc and a small book that I write down when we did certain projects, the estimated cost, and I jot down things like paint color numbers. If we ever have to sell, we can say "new roof in '05" and then pass this book on to the new homeowners in case they need to touch up some paint (or perhaps wish to avoid a certain color at all cost)!
Isn't it interesting how people will immediately keep all recorder pertaining to the repairs and oil changes on their car in a book or folder . . . but it's rarely thought of as a "necessity" for a home? I've always thought that was interesting.
Anyway, you bring up an excellent point. In addition to that, the book will also prevent disagreements down the road. "I thought it was '04 when we did the roof." "No, it was '05." "Prove it!" "M'kay." ::smiles::
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