How to Organize Household Maintenance Documents

Organizing your household's records of maintenance, owner's manuals, etc. will not only benefit you as a home owner by having records at your fingertips, but if you sell it will also save you time and the headache of having to pull all the documentation together for the new owner.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• One or more three ring binders
• A hole punch
• Dividers for 3-ring binder
• Tabs and tab labels
• 8.5 x 11 Transparent sleeves with holes for a 3 ring binder

1. DECIDE ON SECTIONS FOR THE HOUSEHOLD MAINTENANCE BINDER.
   Decide on sections for your binder that correspond with the physical attributes or your home. Common sections would be: Kitchen Appliances, Bathroom Fixtures, Plumbing, Electrical, Yard and Garden, Carpet and Floors, Interior Paint, Exterior, Roof, Windows, Decks, Hot Tub, Pool.

2. INSERT LABELED SECTION DIVIDERS INTO BINDER.
   Each section should have a divider and a labeled tab, alphabetized if you wish.

3. FIND AND INSERT ALL MAINTENANCE RECEPITS, DOCUMENTS, AND OWNER'S MANUALS.
   Round up your past records, separate them by sections in the binder, put the documents in chronological order for each section. Punch holes in the documents so they fit in the binder, and insert the documents in order behind the section tabs. If any owner's manuals are too thick to hole punch, insert into a transparent sleeve that has holes to fit in the binder. Make sure the binder has plenty of room to add future documents as you accumulate them; you may need to create more than one binder to allow adequate space for additions.

[sunshine11219]

on 11/2/2008 great ideas

[vikki9]

on 8/30/2008 Good ideas. Thank you. 5*/digg