For homeowners
Home maintenance schedule
Every job the house needs, repeating on its own schedule, with a reminder before each one.
A home maintenance schedule lists every job the house needs and how often: filters, gutters, alarms, the water heater. In PrimeTask each job is a repeating task that comes back on its own, with a reminder before it's due, and the calendar shows the whole year. It takes about 20 minutes to set up.
Updated · Checked with PrimeTask 1.0.5 · PrimeTask Team
PrimeTask
How it fits together
Select a part, in the drawing or here, to see what it does and what it feeds.
What flows
Due dates
Repeating jobs to Calendar
To your iPhone
Repeating jobs to Apple Reminders
This season's jobs
Season tags to Season list
Every connection, in words
- Repeating jobs is part of Home.
- Reminders is part of Repeating jobs.
- Checklist is part of Repeating jobs.
- Season tags is part of Repeating jobs.
- Task comments is part of Repeating jobs.
- Season tags is linked to Season list.
- Repeating jobs is linked to Calendar.
- Repeating jobs is linked to Apple Reminders.
- Due dates: Repeating jobs to Calendar.
- To your iPhone: Repeating jobs to Apple Reminders.
- This season's jobs: Season tags to Season list.
How the parts of a home maintenance schedule connect, and where each job shows up
The problem
Most home maintenance happens when something breaks. The filter you meant to change in spring, the gutters before the first storm, the smoke alarm that chirps at 3am: each job is easy to do and easy to forget.
A printed checklist on the fridge works for a month. What works for years is a list that brings each job back on its own, when it's due, without you keeping track of it.
What it uses
Five parts, one connected system
Each card opens its docs article in a new tab, for the detail behind the steps.
Project Database
ProA record of each job and what it cost
Docs for Project Database (opens in a new tab)Step 1
Make a project for the house
Creating projects (opens in a new tab)Open Projects, choose New Project and name it after the house, such as Home. Every job goes in it, so the whole house is one list.
If you also run your work in PrimeTask, keep it in your personal Space, away from client work.
Step 2
Add each job as a repeating task
Recurring tasks (opens in a new tab)Press Cmd + Shift + A (Ctrl + Shift + A on Windows) and type the job, how often, and when it's next due, such as Replace furnace filter @home every 3 months oct 1.
When you tick it off, PrimeTask adds the next one with its new date, so the job keeps coming back.
Step 3
Add a reminder before each job
Task reminders (opens in a new tab)Add remind:2d to the line and the job warns you two days before it's due, in PrimeTask and as a notification on your computer. Tick the job off and the reminder comes back with the next one. Dismiss or snooze it instead, and the next job comes back without it.
For a job you have to book, such as a furnace service, use remind:7d for a week's notice.
Step 4
Put the jobs on your iPhone
Integrations settings (opens in a new tab)On a Mac, add !rem to a job and it also goes to Apple Reminders, so it reaches your iPhone. Turn on two-way sync in Settings, under Integrations, and ticking it off on the phone ticks it off here too.
Note. Apple Reminders is Mac only. On Windows, reminders arrive on your computer.
Step 5
Group the jobs by season
Filters and sorting (opens in a new tab)Tag each job with its season as you type it, such as #spring or #fall. At the start of each season, filter your tasks by that tag and you have the season's list.
Step 6
See the year on the calendar
Month view (opens in a new tab)Open Calendar and press 3 for the month. Every job sits on its due day, so a heavy month shows before it arrives.
Drag a job to another day to move it.
Step 7
Keep a record of each job
Project Database (opens in a new tab)Add a currency field called Cost for tasks in Settings, and fill it in when you tick a job off. On the project's Fields tab, choose Show As, then this project's tasks: every job, each time it was done, is a row with its cost, ready to export to a spreadsheet.
Needs Pro. On Standard, note what each job cost in its comments instead.
The checklist
The whole list
The jobs most homes need, and how often. Adjust them to your house, your climate and the makers' instructions.
| How often | Jobs | Type in Quick Add |
|---|---|---|
| Every month | Test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, check the furnace filter | every month |
| Every 3 months | Replace the furnace filter, clean the range hood filter, test the garage door's auto-reverse | every 3 months |
| Spring | Service the air conditioning, clean the gutters, check the roof and siding after winter | every year and a spring date |
| Fall | Service the furnace, clean the gutters again, drain the outdoor faucets before the first freeze | every year and a fall date |
| Every year | Flush the water heater, clean the dryer vent, check the fire extinguisher | every year |
Variations
Make it yours
Three ways to change the setup to fit how you work.
Checklists inside a job
More than one property
Shared with your household
ProReuse
Save it for next time
Set it up once, and start the next one from it.
Jobs you add for every home
save:alarms Test smoke alarms @home every month, and type /alarms to add it again.Questions
Common questions
The jobs that keep the house safe and working: alarms, filters, gutters, heating and cooling service, the water heater and the dryer vent. Add anything your house has that needs regular care, such as a septic system, a pool or a well.
It depends on the job: some monthly, some each season, some once a year. The checklist on this page is a starting point, and your house's age, your climate and the makers' instructions decide the rest.
On a Mac, yes: jobs you flag go to Apple Reminders, which reaches your iPhone. On Windows, reminders arrive on your computer.
With Pro, add a Cost field to your tasks and fill it in when a job is done. The project's database view then lists every job with its cost, and exports to a spreadsheet.
Related
More setups like this
Other jobs, set up the same way.
Set this up with your own work.
The free trial runs for 14 days and includes Pro.