MAKING A HOME REFERENCE MANUAL

This simple project has saved us countless hours of hunting and pecking around mounds of files for important dates, customer service phone numbers, warranty info, serial / model numbers, service contracts, and the like.   You don't have to invest more than around $15 in office supplies, the rest is an investment of your time up front, gathering all the things you will want to have on hand to make this creation work for you when you need it to.

Here is how we did it.    First make a list of all the areas of your house, room by room, listing any equipment within each room that might be covered under warrantees.   Once you have noted each one, begin to assemble the paperwork behind each item, i.e., original sales reciepts, instruction manuals or prior repair claim forms.     If there are items not covered under warranty, but you still have reason to keep some info on them, perhaps if you acquired a special piece at an auction or antique shop, put this info in the pile as well.

Once we had all our piles of papers in order, and this was no easy task since we had tossed things in kitchen drawers, office desks, old file cabinets, even inside books in our library, we headed to the local office supply superstore, and picked up a four inch 3ring binder, a few sets of pocket folders (we chose assorted colors) and a package of dividers with tabs.  I like to keep certain papers safe, so I also invested in a box of 8 1/2" x 11" clear sheet protectors.   Inside these I placed vital items like warranties and original receipts to big ticket items like furniture, electronics, and appliances.

Finally we just assembled the book in no particular order by room, placing every thing in either a folder, or in a clear sheet protector.  It helped to have a three-hole puncher on hand to make filing in the binder easier.  In the front of the book I created an index sheet listing the contents which were color coded to match the sections, then behind each section I made sure to slip a few pages of blank looseleaf paper just for any hand written notes you might need to make as you reference the book from time to time.

A final touch, and one that absolutely should be included for convenience, was a master list of phone numbers to every necessary contractor, customer service department, etc. as it related to our home.   If there was a favorite color paint we used five years ago on our walls, I jotted down the shade and where we bought the can of paint.  If we had a good experience with a handyman, I kept his info there too.   When we needed a sewer/drain cleaner in a hurry, I was happy to find the company's number in this book to help bail us out of a swampy mess.   Hope we never need them again, but just in case, I know the info is all there.

Basically this guide will help you keep your cool when things come up around the home and you don't have the time or patience to start looking for important information.

Make it as lengthy or concise as you like, and put as much effort into it that you feel you need to in order for it to suit you and your family's personal and particular needs.