HOME MAINTENANCE CHECKLIST
Free home maintenance checklist — every month, every season and once a year, on a printable checklist
The monthly checks, the spring, summer, fall and winter jobs, the once-a-year list, and a block for the jobs that go to a pro — check it off and date it. Free in Word and PDF, with the handyman to-do list that turns the rest into one visit.
Word and PDF · Free · No email, no sign-up
The short answer
A home maintenance checklist is the list of small jobs that keep a house from turning into big ones, in the order the year asks for them: test the alarms and look at the furnace filter every month; clear the gutters and book the air conditioning check-up in spring; clean the dryer vent and look in the attic in summer; drain the outside faucets and book the furnace check-up in fall; watch for ice dams and frozen pipes in winter; and once a year, new alarm batteries, the water heater and a walk around the outside. The sheet below has all of it, with a date line on every check mark.
If you're a homeowner, print it, write your filter size and where the water shut-off is at the top, and put it on the fridge. If you run a handyman business, put your name on the Word file and leave one at every job: the homeowner who works through it finds the loose step, the failing caulk and the dripping trap, writes them on the to-do list, and calls the name at the foot of the page.
Below: the printable checklist, the handyman to-do list, which jobs are DIY and which go to a pro, every block explained, the licensing lines a handyman should know before taking a job off the list, and how the same checklist goes on a handyman's website.
FREE CHECKLIST · WORD AND PDF
The home maintenance checklist, ready to print
The home, the year and the year it was built at the top, with the filter size, the water shut-off and the breaker panel; then six checkbox blocks — every month, spring, summer, fall, winter, once a year — and a jobs-for-a-pro block with who, booked and done. Letter size, portrait. Free, no email address, no sign-up.
Checklist · one per home per year
| [Your handyman business] | |
| Home Maintenance Checklist | |
| What to check every month, every season and once a year — check it off, date it, and pass the big jobs to a pro | |
| Home: ______________________________ Year: ________ Built in: ________ | |
| Filter size: __________ Water shut-off: __________________ Breaker panel: __________ | |
| Every month | |
| ☐ | Press the test button on every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm |
| ☐ | Look at the furnace or AC filter — change it when it's gray |
| ☐ | Run water in sinks and tubs nobody uses, and flush those toilets |
| ☐ | Look under every sink for drips and soft cabinet floors |
| ☐ | Clean the range hood filter and the garbage disposal |
| ☐ | Press test and reset on every GFCI outlet |
| Spring | |
| ☐ | Clear the gutters and point every downspout away from the house |
| ☐ | Book the air conditioning check-up before the first hot week |
| ☐ | Look at the roof from the ground: missing, curled or lifted shingles |
| ☐ | Turn on the outside faucets and check for leaks after the freeze |
| ☐ | Walk the deck and the steps for loose boards and raised nails |
| Summer | |
| ☐ | Clean the dryer vent duct, and check the hood outside flaps open |
| ☐ | Trim branches and shrubs back from the roof and the walls |
| ☐ | Look in the attic for daylight, damp patches and nests |
| ☐ | Check the caulk around tubs, showers, sinks and windows |
| Fall | |
| ☐ | Clear the gutters again once the leaves are down |
| ☐ | Book the furnace check-up before the first cold night |
| ☐ | Shut off and drain the outside faucets; bring the hoses in |
| ☐ | Check the weatherstripping and the door sweeps for daylight |
| ☐ | Have the chimney looked at before the first fire |
| ☐ | Seal the gaps where pipes and wires come through the walls |
| Winter | |
| ☐ | Keep snow off the dryer vent, the furnace vent and the meter |
| ☐ | Watch the roof edge for ice dams and long icicles |
| ☐ | Check pipes in the garage, crawl space and outside walls |
| ☐ | Look around the water heater for drips and rust |
| Once a year | |
| ☐ | Put new batteries in every 9-volt smoke alarm, and the backup battery in hardwired ones |
| ☐ | Read the date on the back of each smoke alarm — 10 years old means a new one |
| ☐ | Drain or flush the water heater as its manual says |
| ☐ | Vacuum the refrigerator coils |
| ☐ | Test the sump pump: pour in a bucket of water and watch it run |
| ☐ | Check the fire extinguisher gauge reads in the green |
| ☐ | Walk the outside: peeling paint, cracked siding, gaps in the foundation |
| ☐ | Test the garage door: it should stop and reverse when it meets something |
| Jobs for a pro | |
| Job: ________________________ Who: ________________ Booked: ______ Done: ______ | |
| Job: ________________________ Who: ________________ Booked: ______ Done: ______ | |
| Job: ________________________ Who: ________________ Booked: ______ Done: ______ | |
| Job: ________________________ Who: ________________ Booked: ______ Done: ______ | |
| Gas lines, the breaker panel and new circuits usually go to a licensed trade. The rest can wait for one handyman visit with the whole list. | |
| Write the date next to each check mark. A checklist with dates is the one that tells you the gutters were last cleared in May — and something a new handyman or a buyer's inspector may ask about. | |
| [Your handyman business] · [Your phone] · [Your website] | |
The Word file is a standard .docx — put your business name and phone in the brackets, add your logo, add a line for anything your area needs (a well pump, a septic tank, a pool, hurricane shutters), and save it as your master copy. Print at “Actual size”, not “Fit to page”.
THE HANDYMAN TO-DO LIST
The handyman to-do list — the honey-do list, written before the visit
Name and phone, address, the best days and times, and the parking, gate code and pets line at the top; then seven lines with the room, the job, the part, size or color, whether a photo was sent, and done. Letter size, portrait, one page.
To-do list · one per visit
| [Your handyman business] | |
| Handyman To-Do List | |
| Every small job in the house, one line each — written before the visit, so one trip clears the list | |
| Name and phone | ______________________ |
| Address | ______________________ |
| Best days and times | ______________________ |
| Parking, gate code, pets | ______________________ |
| One line per job. Measure it, photograph it and buy nothing yet — the handyman will say which part. Send the photos with the list, and the visit can be priced before anyone drives over. | |
| [Your handyman business] · [Your phone] · [Your website] | |
| # | Room | The job | Part, size or color | Photo sent | Done |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The part, size or color column is the one that saves the second trip: the bulb base, the faucet brand, the paint can's code, the door's width. A photo of each job does the rest.
Build the website
Start your handyman business website now
Add your business name and your town to the sentence, and Zarla builds the site, with a page for each service and town you list. You edit it in chat and publish when you're ready.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.
DIY OR A PRO
Which jobs on the checklist a homeowner does, and which go to someone else
Most of the sheet is ten minutes with a step ladder. A few lines are a handyman visit, and a few are a licensed trade.
| Job | Homeowner | Handyman | Licensed trade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alarm tests, batteries, filters | Yes — monthly and yearly | On the visit, if asked | — |
| Gutters and downspouts | Single-story, from a ladder | Two stories, or gutter guards | — |
| Caulk, weatherstripping, door sweeps | Yes | When it's every window at once | — |
| Dryer vent duct | Short, straight runs | Long runs and roof vents | — |
| Loose deck boards, sticking doors, drips | Sometimes | Yes — the classic list | — |
| Furnace and AC check-up | Change the filter | — | The yearly service |
| Water heater | Look for drips | Drain or flush, if the manual allows | Gas, venting or replacement |
| Chimney | — | — | A chimney sweep |
| Breaker panel, new circuits, gas | — | — | An electrician or plumber |
STEP BY STEP
How to turn the checklist into handyman work
For the handyman: the sheet is the reason a homeowner calls twice a year instead of once in an emergency.
Make it yours
Open the Word file, put your name, phone and website in the brackets, add your logo and any line your area needs. Print a stack.
Leave one at every job
Hand it over with the invoice, or tape it inside the panel door. The homeowner who keeps it has your number on the fridge for a year.
Send the to-do list before the visit
Ask for the list and a photo of each job. You price the visit from the list and arrive with the right parts.
Offer a spring and a fall visit
The gutters, the outside faucets, the weatherstripping, the roof and the gaps where pipes come in: the two seasons where the checklist is longest are the two visits to sell.
One line per job on the invoice
Each job from the list gets its own line, with the materials beside it. The customer checks it against their list in a minute.
Put the checklist online
A seasonal-maintenance page with the list is what a homeowner searching for one finds — with your name and your quote form on it.
Every block on the checklist, explained
The top lines are the ones you look for in a hurry. The filter size, so the right one is bought the first time; where the water shut-off is, for the night a pipe lets go; where the breaker panel is. The year the house was built matters too — it decides which rules apply to some of the jobs, as the rules section below explains.
Every month is six checks, about ten minutes. Press the test button on each alarm — the US Fire Administration says to test smoke alarms monthly; look at the furnace or AC filter, which ENERGY STAR says to inspect, clean or change once a month; run the taps nobody uses so the traps don't dry out; look under the sinks; clean the hood filter and the disposal; and press test and reset on every GFCI outlet.
Spring and fall are the long lists, because the weather turns. Gutters twice, once in spring for what winter left and again when the leaves are down. The air conditioning check-up before the first hot week, the furnace check-up before the first cold night — ENERGY STAR's own advice is a pre-season check-up each year. The outside faucets go on in spring with a check for a split pipe, and off and drained in fall.
Summer is for the jobs that need a dry day. The dryer vent duct is the one that matters most: the US Fire Administration counts failure to clean as the leading factor in home clothes dryer fires. Then the branches touching the roof, a look in the attic for daylight and damp, and the caulk around every tub and window.
Winter is mostly watching. Snow off the vents and the meter, ice dams at the roof edge, the pipes in the garage and the crawl space on the coldest nights, and a look around the water heater. (The GFCI outlets get their test-and-reset every month.)
Once a year is the batteries and the dates. New batteries in every 9-volt smoke alarm and the backup battery in hardwired ones, and the date on the back of each one read — the US Fire Administration says to replace the entire smoke alarm every 10 years. The water heater drained or flushed as its own manual says, the refrigerator coils vacuumed, the sump pump tested with a bucket of water, the extinguisher gauge, a slow walk around the outside, and the garage door's reverse test.
Jobs for a pro is the block that turns into a phone call. Who, when it's booked and when it's done. In most US states, gas, the breaker panel and new circuits go to a licensed trade; the rest waits for one handyman visit with the whole list. Licensing differs by state, city and country, so check yours.
The to-do list is the other half. One numbered line per job, the room, the part, size or color, and whether a photo was sent. It's the honey-do list with the details a handyman needs to price the visit before driving over — and nothing on it asks anyone to agree to anything; it's a list of jobs, not a quote.
For handymen: the lines to know before a job comes off the list
No US state issues a handyman license. What most draw instead is a dollar line on unlicensed work, and some — Washington, for one — ask for registration from the first dollar; and there's a list of trades you can't touch without a license. In California, for example, no contractor's license is needed where the price for labor, materials and everything else is less than $1,000, the work is minor and it needs no building permit, and a job can't be split into smaller ones to stay under it — but that exemption doesn't cover anyone who advertises as a contractor or hires a helper, and an unlicensed handyman may advertise under-$1,000 work only if the ad says they're not licensed. Our guide to how to become a handyman lists the line for the big states from their own statutes.
The year on the top line matters for the painting and caulking jobs. In the US, the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule says that, in general, anyone paid to do work that disturbs paint in a home built before 1978 must be certified — every firm, even a one-person business. Small jobs are exempt: the EPA's contractor page excludes minor repair and maintenance that disturbs six square feet or less of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet or less outside — though window replacement and demolishing painted surfaces are always covered, whatever the size. A homeowner working on their own home generally isn't covered — unless they rent part of it out, run a childcare in it, or renovate homes to sell. In most US states, gas lines, electrical panels and new circuits need the licensed trade at any price. Licensing rules differ by state, by city and by country, so check yours before a job comes off the list.
Put the checklist on your website, and quote the visit from the same place
A homeowner searching for a home maintenance checklist in October is about to find the drafty door and the full gutter. Most handyman websites list “repairs, installs, odd jobs” and stop there; the one that gets the call shows the homeowner the list for the season, with a name and a quote form on the same page. The checklist on this page is that page, already written.
If you build your handyman website with Zarla, add your business name and your town to the sentence above, and Zarla builds the site, with a page for each service and town you list. Then tell the editor “add a seasonal-maintenance section with the lines on my home maintenance checklist” and the list goes on the site, in a section you can edit any time.
The quote and the invoice come from the same dashboard. Zarla sends a quote as one link: your customer picks an option, checks off any extras and accepts it online, and Zarla drafts the invoice for exactly what they chose, with any deposit you asked for. Wix and Squarespace also send quotes customers accept online, and job software such as Jobber and Housecall Pro does too. The handyman estimate template prices the visit on paper, and the handyman invoice template shows what the invoice should carry — one line per task, flat or hourly, materials, a trip charge and a job minimum.
Want to see a finished site first? Browse handyman website templates, see how Zarla builds handyman websites, or look at handyman website designs and what agencies charge for them.
Starting or pricing the handyman business?
How to start a handyman business covers the license question, the tools, insurance and getting found; how to become a handyman has each big state's dollar line and the trades to stay out of; handyman rates for 2026 has the hourly and per-job prices with a calculator; the handyman business plan puts the numbers together; and the handyman invoice template bills the visit.
Home maintenance checklists: common questions
Yes. The checklist and the handyman to-do list on this page download free as a Word document and a PDF, with no email address and no sign-up. Edit the Word files for your house or your business, or print the PDFs and fill them in by hand.
Every month: test the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, look at the furnace or AC filter, run unused taps, check under the sinks, test the GFCI outlets. Spring: gutters, the AC check-up, the roof from the ground, the outside faucets, the deck. Summer: the dryer vent duct, branches, the attic, caulk. Fall: gutters again, the furnace check-up, drain the outside faucets, weatherstripping, the chimney, gaps where pipes come in. Winter: vents clear of snow, ice dams, cold pipes, the water heater. Once a year: alarm batteries and dates, the water heater, the refrigerator coils, the sump pump, the extinguisher, a walk outside, the garage door's reverse. That's the sheet on this page.
Six checks, about ten minutes: press the test button on every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, look at the furnace or AC filter and change it when it's dirty, run water in sinks and tubs nobody uses, look under every sink for drips, and clean the range hood filter and the disposal, and press test and reset on every GFCI outlet. The US Fire Administration says to test smoke alarms monthly, and ENERGY STAR says to inspect, clean or change the HVAC filter once a month.
Clear the gutters once the leaves are down, book the furnace check-up before the first cold night, shut off and drain the outside faucets and bring the hoses in, check the weatherstripping and door sweeps, have the chimney looked at before the first fire, and seal the gaps where pipes and wires come through the walls. Fall is the longest of the seasons on the sheet, and the best time to book a handyman visit for the rest.
Put new batteries in every 9-volt smoke alarm and the backup battery in hardwired ones, and read the date on the back of each one — the US Fire Administration says to replace the whole alarm every 10 years. Drain or flush the water heater as its manual says, check the extinguisher gauge, walk the outside for peeling paint, cracked siding and gaps in the foundation, and test that the garage door stops and reverses when it meets something.
The lint screen every load, and the duct to the outside once a year — more often for a big family or a long run. The US Fire Administration counts failure to clean as the leading factor in home clothes dryer fires. A short, straight duct is a homeowner job with a brush kit; a long run or a roof vent is a handyman job.
In most US states, gas lines, the breaker panel and new circuits go to a licensed trade, and work that needs a building permit often does too. The yearly furnace and air conditioning service is a heating and cooling company's job, and the chimney is a chimney sweep's. Most of the rest — gutters, caulk, weatherstripping, loose boards, sticking doors, drips — is a handyman visit. Licensing lines differ by state, by city and by country, so check yours.
The list of small jobs around the house that pile up until someone gets to them — the sticking door, the dripping tap, the loose railing. The handyman to-do list on this page is a honey-do list with the details that matter: the room, the job, the part, size or color, and a photo of each, so one visit clears it.
Yes — that's what the Word file is for. Put your business name, phone and website in the brackets, add your logo and any line your area needs, and leave one at every job. The homeowner keeps it on the fridge and calls the name at the foot of the page when the list gets long.
It should — as a seasonal-maintenance page. A homeowner searching for the list in spring or fall is about to find the jobs on it, and the page answers them with your name and your quote form beside it. If you build your site with Zarla, tell the editor to add a seasonal-maintenance section with those lines — it's a section you can edit any time — and quote and invoice the visit from the same place.
Sources
Read November 5, 2026.
- US Fire Administration — Smoke alarms, page last reviewed October 13, 2026 — test the alarm monthly; replace the batteries at least once every year (9-volt alarms; the backup battery in hardwired ones); replace the entire smoke alarm every 10 years; 10-year sealed alarms are replaced as the maker's instructions say
- US Fire Administration — Appliance and electrical fire safety, page last reviewed May 4, 2023 — failure to clean was the leading factor contributing to the ignition of clothes dryer fires in homes, 2018–2020 (National Fire Incident Reporting System)
- ENERGY STAR — Maintenance checklist (heating and cooling), no date shown — inspect, clean or change the air filters in the central air conditioner, furnace and heat pump once a month; annual pre-season check-ups by a contractor — the cooling system in the spring and the heating system in the fall
- California Business and Professions Code §7048, updated January 1, 2026 — no contractor's license is needed where the aggregate price for labor, materials and all other items is less than $1,000, the work is casual, minor or inconsequential, and it needs no building permit; jobs can't be split up to stay under the line; (c) the section does not apply to a person who advertises, or puts out a card or other device that might indicate they are a contractor, or who employs another person to perform or help with the work
- California Business and Professions Code §7027.2, updated January 1, 2025 — a person who is not licensed may advertise construction work under the $1,000 line only if the advertisement states that they are not licensed
- US EPA — Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, last updated June 17, 2026 — in general, anyone paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified — all firms, even sole proprietorships; in general the rule does not apply to homeowners working on their own pre-1978 homes, but it does if they rent all or part of the home, operate a childcare center in it, or buy, renovate and sell homes for profit
- US EPA — Renovation, Repair and Painting Program: contractors, last updated March 31, 2026 — minor repair and maintenance activities that disturb six square feet or less of paint per room inside, or 20 square feet or less on the exterior of a home or building, are exempt
Put the seasonal checklist on the website that books the visit
Add your business name and your town, and Zarla builds the site from that one line — with a page for each service you list and a quote form for photos of the job, ready to edit in chat.
Already have a website? Bring it across →Zarla keeps your old page addresses where it can and redirects the ones that change, helping you keep the Google standing you've built.