Do you have a "butler's book," and what's in it?

[crocheted_stache]

This article popped up lately:
https://www.artofmanliness.com/lifestyle/homeownership/butler-s-book/

In case anyone can't see the article, the butler's book used to contain the fine details of managing the household for the staff. In a modern context, it's stuff like inventories and repair records. Who replaced the furnace and when?

I was already established in my home before DH married me, and I've continued to pay all the bills besides his phone and the credit card he holds separately. (He contributes his share, but I'm the one keeping track.) Somewhere between this article and the latest insurance premium coming due, it occurred to me to create a list of the regular bills, what's on auto-pay, how often they happen, and where to look for them, so he has a chance of finding everything if I can't help. I'll take the opportunity to make sure the needed passwords are shared in our password safe, too.

We've long been collecting our recipes, because he cooks pretty well, but he doesn't read my mind when it comes to the modifications I usually do. At this point, some of the recipes are "his," and I'd have to follow closely to get a similar result. When someone asks for a recipe, it's easy to send it along.

We have a partial home inventory, partly in case we ever need to tell the insurance company what we're trying to replace, and partly to have appliance model numbers handy for service calls and ordering replacement parts.

We've started to write down who's who in the garden, too.

How do you document household information, and what do you record?

[curious_george]

Most of this sort of information I have documented in Google docs, this way I can share it with my wife, older kids, etc.

Maintenance and repair history for the house, appliances, vehicles, lawn equipment, finances, recipes, etc, etc.

Some examples: When I last mowed the lawn, changed the furnace air filter, changed the oil for the car, changed the oil for the lawn mower, recipe for vegetarian chili, cleaned the pump filter for the washer, etc, etc.

Our family calendar is also in Google calendar so, basically we use Google docs for all of this sort of information.

This also suddenly makes me realize my whole family depends on Google to function. That's a scary thought, lol.

[former player]

I ought to do an inventory of household goods for insurance purposes, but it's a chore I keep putting off.  As a stopgap I've taken photos of each room in the house, showing all of the walls and contents and emailed them to myself, so I at least have something to show if a claim has to be made.

[TheFrenchCat]

Glad to know I'm not the only one so reliant on Google Docs!

I have a few spreadsheets tracking bills, budget, cleaning/house maintenance, address book, ect.  I also have a doc with recipes I've modified or made up.  Now that I'm thinking of it, I should probably scan my family recipe book, just in case. 

We also have a physical notebook tracking passwords and account information. 

That's a good idea to document household goods.  None of our stuff is particularly valuable, but together it would add up to quite a lot if we had to replace it all at once. 

[neo von retorch]

I started something like this for my new house. Recipes are in a separate binder.

A few thin manuals (large ones are collected in a cabinet), order sheets and invoices, a log of activity like replacing filters.

[GilesMM]

I build this out for myself at each house with both an Excel sheet and a PowerPoint deck. Sharing it as part of the disclosures for a sale last month allowed the Buyer to waive inspection, to my vast relief.

[crocheted_stache]

I build this out for myself at each house with both an Excel sheet and a PowerPoint deck. Sharing it as part of the disclosures for a sale last month allowed the Buyer to waive inspection, to my vast relief.

I guess that's up to them, but I think I'd do an inspection, regardless. No amount of detail on how old and well-permitted the furnace/fridge/last repair is would catch cracks in the foundation.

Most of this sort of information I have documented in Google docs, this way I can share it with my wife, older kids, etc.

Maintenance and repair history for the house, appliances, vehicles, lawn equipment, finances, recipes, etc, etc.

Some examples: When I last mowed the lawn, changed the furnace air filter, changed the oil for the car, changed the oil for the lawn mower, recipe for vegetarian chili, cleaned the pump filter for the washer, etc, etc.

Our family calendar is also in Google calendar so, basically we use Google docs for all of this sort of information.

This also suddenly makes me realize my whole family depends on Google to function. That's a scary thought, lol.

The article suggests operating with a hard copy. Maybe not the lawn mowing schedule, but you could certainly print out any parts that won't change frequently and that would mess things up the most if they ever vanished in a "cloud" of smoke. The chili recipe, the make and model for the appliances and any consumables, your favorite plumber, and so forth.

[Dicey]

We have these in our rental properties. The tenants like to see them because they see it as a sign we take care of stuff, which we do. At home, we keep this info in file drawers, not a notebook.

[Loren Ver]

The product determines the means.  But mostly physical. 

Recipes are hard copies.  I like to write on them.  I made changes, do math, make comments etc.  If someone wants the recipe: if they are old school/formal I will hand write it like my mom does for people on an index card, if they are random person I will send them the website if applicable, if they are a friend they get a photo of my scrappy looking hard copy with my scribbles and notes. 

Passwords- hard copies with ebackup for financial.  The rest have an ecopy with ebackup. 

Relevant purchasing information is written on the appliance, or if not possible, on the setup/repair manual that comes with the appliance that is then filed. Major repairs recorded the same way.  We are currently doing some trouble shooting on the dishwasher so we have a sheet of paper magnet-ed to the unit that is filled out after each run.  Relevant information will then be filed with it's paper documentation.  We don't document that much stuff.  We don't own that much stuff and not that much information matters.

Things like furnace filter, we just buy a bunch, then label each with the month they are suppose to go in, then put it on the calendar when they go in.  Then with that month rolls around, stick in the filter with that month labeled.   

Bills, epayments, investments.  These are actually done electronically.  I have an excel with the information in easy to find locations.  That way if I go, DH can take over without issue.  There is also a guide of "what do I do if I have to take over the finances."  It is the easy version of keeping the financial house afloat.   

Dates/Calendars etc.  We do "paper" calendars.  We have current plus three years hanging in our adventure room.  Something relevant happening, add it to the Future Map.  We then have a monthly calendar with greater granularity.  That way cars can be coordinated, people coordinated etc.  DH and I run on difference schedules and we are not dominated by email and phones so we need to communicate in a way that is consistent and visual. 

Loren

[FLBiker]

I try to strike a balance when it comes to filing / archiving / storing information.  It's easy for me to go down a rabbit hole of perfecting my system, when the reality is I'm not really adding value.

We keep our manuals in a milk crate.  I virtually never look at them, though, as it's often faster to just find the PDF on my phone.  For big ticket install dates, they're typically on the unit (like the water heater) and written on the manual.  The one exception is the roof, which we have on a piece of paper (in the manual milk crate) from the previous home owner.

I keep service records in Trello, but I only typically keep the last one and the next one (for things like our pellet stove, minisplit, etc.).  I don't need the long-term service history, but in reality, I could get it, though, because we always use the same provider.  I also use Trello to prompt me to do regular maintenance activities (like cleaning filters, etc.).  Again, these prompts only keep the last time I cleaned it and when it's due.