Tab 5
My Home
Different energy from Tab 4. This tab is the physical mechanics of your house: where the water shutoff is, who to call when the furnace stops, what has been modified, what is in your emergency kit, and the routine rhythm of running the place.
This tab is for two audiences. Anyone else who might have to help run your house, and you. In most households one person handles some systems and the other handles others. If your spouse always dealt with the sump pump and you never learned, this is your chance to learn now. If you are doing this with a partner, filling it in together is one of the most useful hours a couple can spend, since each of you probably knows things the other does not.
The physical mechanics of your house. Where the water shutoff is, who to call when the furnace stops, what has been modified, and the routine rhythm of running the place.
Important
Water
This is the single most useful line on this whole page. A fast shutoff turns a burst pipe from a disaster into an inconvenience. If you are not sure where yours is, go and look before filling this in.
Outside faucets, individual bathrooms.
Gas
Electrical
If your box was never properly labeled, an hour with a flashlight saves someone hours of hunting during a real outage.
Heating and cooling
Write down the exact size, 16x25x1 or whatever it is, so someone else can buy the right one without guessing.
For example, “switch to heat when overnight lows drop below 45”.
Water heater
Sump pump
Battery backup?
How to test it: pour a bucket of water into the pit. If it does not kick on, call a plumber before the next big storm. Do this twice a year.
Water softener
Well and septic
Most tanks need pumping every three to five years.
Alarm system
Point to the Vault Map, not the code itself.
Garage
Appliances worth noting
For example, “dishwasher needs a firm push on the bottom-left corner to start”.
Home network and technology
The name is fine here. The password lives in your password manager, referenced on the Vault Map.
Alexa, Google Home, Ring, Nest, cameras. Where each one is and what account it is tied to.
Medical alert, security system, smart lock, thermostat. This one matters: if the internet goes out, someone helping needs to know what will and will not work.
Pets, daily care
“Otis gets a third of a cup of Purina Indoor twice a day” beats “feed the cat”.
Storage and spaces
Location and unit number. Put the access code location on your Vault Map, not here.
The drawer with the good scissors, the shelf with pre-bought birthday cards. Whatever your household's person-who-knows-where-things-are knows.