Spotted on Ask Metafilter: this incredibly useful list of regular maintenance-type tasks that grown-ups should know about. We just discovered that our new air conditioner’s manual recommends cleaning out the filters inside every two weeks. Whaaa? Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.
But we are getting pretty good at this grown-up stuff. We have a shared Todoist project of recurring tasks. I’m reviewing them now alongside the Metafilter list, as well as this Art of Manliness checklist too. Anything else I should have on there?
Daily:
- Squeegee the new shower. BECAUSE I LOVE IT.
Every 6 days:
- Get coffee beans. (Yes, we’ve actually worked out we go through a 250g bag every 6 days on the dot.)
Weekly:
- Review my To Do list. (Of course.)
- Water the garden. (Depends a lot on the weather.)
- “Fight entropy” (aka clean up) on Saturday
- Grocery shopping on Saturday
- Update YNAB with latest accounts and pay bills every weekend
Fortnightly:
- Fertilise the garden. (We skip this one far too often.)
- Clean the A/C filters. (Yeah, right.)
Monthly:
- Flush the coffee machine
- Clean the dryer heat exchanger
- Clean the rangehood exhaust filters
- Bike maintenance – check tires and brakes, clean and oil chain
- Update YNAB budget; enter monthly totals into our tracking spreadsheet
- Pay off the credit card
- Flea/worm treatment for the cats
Every 3 months:
- Clean the oven
- Descale the coffee machine
- Vacuum under the couch cushions
Every 6 months:
- Wash all the curtains and clean all the windows
- Dentist checkups for the both of us
Annually:
- Clean the pantry – throw out old stuff, wipe everything down
- Shred old files. (I really need to do this.)
- Clean the fridge – take everything out, wipe everything down
- Full bicycle service
- Check-ups and vaccinations for the cats
- Lady stuff check-ups. (When Dr. Chin says it’s time, it’s time.)
- Get new underpants. (New Year’s tradition!)
- Take old clothes to the Op Shop. (But not underpants.)
Things we’re missing:
- Filing. (We pile things up and then periodically file them when it threatens to get overwhelming.)
- Dusting. (We recently got rid of our house cleaner, and we haven’t really made a plan for this yet. Hm.)
- Checking smoke detectors and replacing batteries. (Whoops.)
- Vacuum refrigerator coils. (Never heard of that before!)
- Check grout/caulk and repair as needed. (Huh. That’s new.)
- Cleaning the dishwasher filter. (We do it only when we notice it’s needed.)
- Cleaning the washing machine. (We do it only when we notice it’s needed.)
- Dermatologist check-ups for the Snook. (He had it done a couple years ago; needs to make it regular.)
- Rotate the mattress. (We only do it when we think of it.)
- Replacing the kitchen sponge. (We just do it when it looks gross.)