The Once-a-Year Home Maintenance Checklist (That Actually Matters)

Let’s be honest. Most of us only think about home maintenance when something starts dripping, buzzing, or making a noise that sounds expensive.

This is not that list.

This is the once-a-year checklist that actually saves you money, stress, and surprise water features in your basement. You can do this in one afternoon. Maybe two, if you keep stopping for coffee and “just one more YouTube video.”

Here we go.

1. Change your furnace filter (yes… really). If you can’t remember the last time you changed it, that’s your answer.

A dirty filter:

• makes your furnace work harder

• lowers air quality

• and quietly increases your heating bill

Pro tip: write the date on the new filter. Your future self will thank you.

2. Test your sump pump (before it becomes a personality test). Pour a bucket of water into the pit and make sure it:

• turns on

• pumps out

• and turns off again

If it doesn’t, your basement may soon become a very exclusive indoor pool — especially with our spring melt and heavy rain around Kingston and the rural areas.

3. Check your smoke alarms and CO detectors. Push the button.

• If it screams, good.

• If it whispers… or does nothing… replace the batteries or the unit.

This is the single most important 30 seconds you’ll spend all year.

4. Walk your house and check exterior caulking

Look around:

• windows

• doors

• siding joints

• vents

If the caulking looks cracked, missing, or like it gave up emotionally… re-caulk it.

This stops:

• water

• cold air

• and insects who absolutely did not pay rent.

5. Clean your gutters (or at least confirm they exist after winter). Clogged gutters cause:

• foundation leaks

• basement moisture

• ice dam problems

• and mysterious stains that show up at the worst possible time

If a small tree is growing out of them, you waited too long.

6. Check your grading and downspouts

Your downspouts should send water away from your house, not politely return it to the foundation. Look for:

• settled soil

• dips near the wall

• splash zones right at the foundation

Five minutes of checking here can prevent five figures of repair later.

7. Test your main water shut-off valve. Find it.
 

• Turn it off.

• Turn it back on.

If you can’t turn it… or you don’t know where it is… this is your annual reminder that panic is not a plumbing strategy.

8. Look under sinks and behind toilets. We’re not hunting for drama. We’re hunting for:

• slow drips

• soft cabinet bottoms

• rusty shut-off valves

Tiny leaks are sneaky. They don’t explode. They quietly destroy things while you sleep. Rude, honestly.

9. Peek at your electrical panel (no touching required). Open the door and look for:

• rust

• moisture

• burn marks

• strange wiring additions from “a guy I know”

If anything looks sketchy, this is a call-a-pro moment.

10. Check your bathroom and kitchen fans. Turn them on. Hold a piece of toilet paper up to the fan grill.

• If it sticks = airflow exists.

• If it falls dramatically to the floor = moisture is winning.

Humidity is one of the biggest long-term issues in older homes around our area.

11. Look at your roof… from the ground

You’re not climbing it. This is not a hero story. Just look for:

• missing shingles

• lifted edges

• obvious sagging

• damaged flashing

If something looks off, catch it early — before water finds a creative route into your attic.

12. Check your foundation for new cracks. Walk the outside and inside basement walls.

• Small hairline cracks are common.

• Growing cracks, stair-step cracks, or fresh water marks are not.

Take photos once a year so you can compare.

Your phone already has 9,000 photos of your dog — it can handle a few of your foundation.

The real secret?

You do not need a massive renovation budget. You just need:

• one walk around the house

• one short checklist

• and one honest look at the boring stuff

This is the unglamorous side of home ownership — but it’s also the side that keeps your money in your bank account instead of your contractor’s.

If you live in Kingston or the surrounding rural areas, doing this once a year—especially before spring and again before winter—can prevent most of the “how did this get so bad?” repairs.

And that’s a much better feeling than discovering your sump pump’s retirement plan… during a storm.