Maintain Your Home for Optimal Performance

It is amazing how quickly time flies, and this is even more apparent when you consider routine maintenance of your car, home appliances and electronics. Can you remember the last time you pulled your refrigerator out and cleaned the coils behind it? While some people can, most have not looked behind their refrigerator for several months. The coils at the back of the refrigerator need to be kept free from dust to help the refrigerator run at its peak capacity. This actually saves you money in the long run.

Make a Master Maintenance List

Look around your house and make a list of all of the items that need routine maintenance. This includes pulling the TV out enough so that you can dust behind it, thus keeping it cooler. Make a list of each item in the room, what type of maintenance it needs, and how often it should be done. Do not forget to schedule things such as changing your car's oil, or running anti-virus on your computer. Use this master list to selectively schedule your routine maintenance.

Break the Master Maintenance List into Time Frames

Now, sit down at your desk with your master list of maintenance items. You should see patterns in how often things need to be done. You should be able to also identify how long it will take to get the thing done. You know it will only take 15 minutes to change the oil, but gathering the materials or going to the garage to do it will take a bit more time. On a fresh sheet of paper, re-write your master list by separating it into how often these things need to be done.

Schedule Your Maintenance List on Your Calendar

Once you have things broken down into how often they need to be done and have a general idea of how long it will take to do it, begin populating a calendar with the items. One thing you can use is a computer program such as Microsoft Outlook. Here, you can set up appointments with yourself and by using the recurring feature, you can schedule when something needs to be done and how much time to do it. You can also send reminders to yourself to set up an appointment with the mechanic or other professional ahead of time. This way, your maintenance schedule will be on auto-pilot and you will be able to maintain your things without wondering what needs to be done next.

Schedule Maintenance on You While You are at it.

You can also add maintenance on yourself this same way. While you are setting up your maintenance program, consider adding in things such as your annual physical or routine dentist appointment.

By scheduling your maintenance program, you will have a record of when it was last done and will know when something will be needing attention in the near future. By taking care of the minor maintenance items, your things will last longer and should save you money as the electronics will not have to work as hard or use as much power as they do when they are covered in dust.