Whether you rent or own your home, there are regular maintenance tasks that need to be performed — either as part of your rental agreement or to protect your investment. Some of these tasks are obvious, such as mowing the lawn and replacing light bulbs, but others are easily forgotten. Creating an annual home maintenance calendar can help you stay up to date.

Identify All Tasks — The first step is to compile a list of all maintenance needs your home requires throughout the year. Write them down as they come to mind, and don’t forget to include required tasks listed in your rental agreement or home warranty.

Schedule by Frequency — Organize the jobs by how often they should occur — monthly, seasonally, annually — and put them on the calendar. For example, aerating your lawn and inspecting the air conditioning system are both best performed in the spring so schedule them accordingly.

Group by Room or Category — Make maintenance as efficient as possible by organizing similar tasks in ways that work for you. For example, spring cleaning may be easier to accomplish if you take a room-by-room approach, or you may prefer to tackle all the windows at once.

Designate a Day and Time — Be specific when creating the calendar. Select a specific day and time to handle necessary upkeep, and don’t be stingy with the amount of time you set aside. Remember, you’d rather be thorough and safe than quick and careless.

Set Up Reminders — Add scheduled home maintenance tasks to whatever system you use to manage appointments and to-dos. If you rarely look at your wall calendar, don’t fool yourself into thinking that little note saying “sweep chimney” will be noticed.