Household · Reference · HourLife Premium
Every job the house needs, before it is late.
Track the things you own and the upkeep they need, see what is due or overdue, and keep a service history with costs and receipts.
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One list of what is dueThe Due tab counts what is overdue and what falls due in the next 30 days, with “Mark done” on every job and your on-time rate beside it.
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By the calendar or the meterA filter repeats every month, an escrow review falls on November 14, and an oil change comes due every 5,000 miles of the Civic’s reading.
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What it cost, and whenEvery completion keeps its date, cost, provider and receipts, so each thing’s page shows its history and what it cost this year.
Your first schedule
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Add a thing
Tap “+”, answer “What kind of item?”, and name it, such as “2019 Honda Civic”. Turn on “Track usage meter” for anything you service by the mile.
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Give it a schedule
Choose “Add Schedule” from the thing’s ⋯ menu, say what needs doing and “HOW OFTEN?”, and when it was last done if you know.
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Mark it done
Leave “Send a reminder” on and Today speaks up as the date nears. When the job is done, tap “Mark done” on the Due tab.
Every step, in detail
- 1 Tap "+" ("New Item"), answer "What kind of item?" with "Property", "Vehicle", "Appliance", "Device", "Furniture", "Tool" or "Something else", give it a name, and tap "Add Item".
- 2 Open the thing from the "Things" tab and choose "Add Schedule" from its "..." menu.
- 3 Under "HOW OFTEN?", choose "Weekly", "Monthly", "Every N", "Yearly", "By mileage", "One time" or "Set up later", and turn on "I know the last date" if you do.
- 4 Under "REMINDER (OPTIONAL)", leave "Send a reminder" on and pick how many days before due, then tap "Add schedule".
- 5 When a job is done, tap "Mark done" on the "Due" tab (a mileage job asks for its reading), or "Mark as done" on the item for the full sheet.
What is due, day by day
The Due tab counts what is overdue, what falls due in the next 30 days, and how often you finished on time. Below it, each dated job sits on a line across the year: what was done, when it falls due now, and the reminder window before it. Let the days pass, filter by category, and tap “Mark done”.
Sample · three things and five jobs, on Sunday, October 18, with the Civic at 41,450 mi
A year of upkeep · Aug 2026 to Aug 2027
“DUE THIS MONTH” means the next 30 days, not the calendar month. A one-time job leaves the tab once it is done. The header’s count is the dated jobs whose day has come, so it reads “1 due” beside 2 overdue: the oil change goes by the meter, and the header never counts it. A job with no reminder still shows here; the reminder only decides when Today speaks up.
A late filter moves every filter after it
For a job that repeats by the week, the month or every N, Household counts the next date from the day you mark it done, not from the day it was due. A yearly date is the exception: it keeps its day. Change the filter a few days late and the next one moves too, and the one after that. Slide how late you are, and see what the DUE card and Insights make of it, with and without “Postpone due date”.
Sample · “Replace HVAC filter”, every month, first due September 30
WHAT HOUSEHOLD SAYS
WHAT HAPPENED
Postpone moves the date a completion is scored against, so a filter postponed to the day you change it counts as on time, however late it was. Reliability’s “average slip” is taken over every completion, the on-time ones counted as 0 days, so it reads lower than the slip on the late ones. The sample’s DUE card says 1 day of average lateness; its one late filter was 2 days late.
The oil change goes by the miles
A thing with “Track usage meter” carries a reading, and a job “By mileage” falls due when the reading reaches the last service plus the interval. Drive the Civic on, then log the oil change. Every way in takes a reading: “Mark as done” on the item, “Log Service” on the car, and the Due tab’s “Mark done”, which on a mileage job opens the same full sheet with the meter’s reading filled in.
Sample · “Oil change” on the 2019 Honda Civic, every 5,000 mi, last at 36,000
THIS PAGE’S LOG
“Update Reading”, in the car’s ⋯ menu, moves the meter alone; it logs no work. The reading on a completion is what sets the next service. So “Mark done” on the Due tab skips its quick sheet for a mileage job and opens “Mark Done” with “Current reading”, filled in from the meter. It won’t save without one.
Each thing, its jobs and what it cost
The Things tab groups what you own by type. Each card names the next job and what it costs this year, and opens on the thing’s page: details, schedules, notes and history. Every completion with a cost adds to both.
Sample · the same three things, on October 18
Household
Keep the house running · 1 due
VEHICLE
2019 Honda CivicVehicle
NEXTOil change450 mi over
0 Due1 OverdueAug 7 Last service
YTD cost: $92.00
APPLIANCE
Home HVACHome · Appliance
NEXTReplace HVAC filter18 days late
1 Due1 OverdueAug 31 Last service
YTD cost: $18.00
DEVICE
MacBook ProHome · Device
NEXTVerify laptop backupIn 6 days
1 Due0 OverdueOct 10 Last service
Home HVAC
Home · Appliance · 1 late
DETAILS
- Where
- Not set
- Maker
- Carrier
- Model
- Infinity 18VS
- Year
- 2021
- Purchased
- Oct 18, 2023
- Warranty
- Runs to Oct 18, 2033
SCHEDULES · 2
- Replace HVAC filter
Every month - 18 days late
- Review property tax escrow
Every year - Due Nov 14
NOTES · 1
Main floor heat pump and air handler. Oct 18
HISTORY $18.00 this year · See All
SERVICE HISTORY · 2026
History, in the ⋯ menu · every completion
- Oct 10 Verify laptop backupMacBook Pro $0.00
- Aug 31 Replace HVAC filterHome HVAC · Replaced with MERV 11 filter. $18.00
- Aug 7 Tire rotation2019 Honda Civic · 39,800 mi $92.00
YTD SPEND$110.00
A thing’s cost is the sum of its completions this year, in the currency set in Finances. “Export service history CSV”, in a thing’s ⋯ menu once it has any history, shares the log as a spreadsheet. “Log Service” on a thing records a one-off job with no schedule behind it, such as new wiper blades.
What Insights counts
Insights, in the ⋯ menu, is “Reliability, workload, and what the house costs to keep.” Here it is for the sample.
Sample · the five jobs and three completions above
Insights
2 items are overdue right now.
2 overdue, 2 due in the next 30 days.
Workload · Coming up
2 overdue, plus 2 due in the next month.
3 items are in the attention window.
- 2
- 2
- 3
Reliability
Room to tighten up — on time 50% of the time.
When late, the average slip is 1 day.
Cost · This year
You’ve spent $110 on maintenance this year.
3 completions logged this year.
- Unspecified
- $110
Providers, by what they cost. None of the sample’s work names one.
Things
3 things, 5 maintenance items.
The overdue share is taken over every item, the finished tire rotation included. Workload counts the oil change as overdue, though the Due tab’s header does not.
What “Add schedule” writes
“Add Schedule” on a thing opens New Maintenance Item. “HOW OFTEN?” decides what the job is measured against: a calendar, a date each year, a month, a meter, or nothing yet. Choose one and read the first due date it sets.
Sample · today is October 18, 2026
New Maintenance Item
Nothing here is saved.
HOW OFTEN?
WHEN WAS IT LAST DONE?
REMINDER (OPTIONAL)
ON THE CALENDAR
WHAT SAVE WRITES
A schedule with no last date counts from today. A yearly date already past this year starts next year; a month window falls due on the month’s last day. A mileage job reads the thing’s meter when you save, so on a thing with no reading it says “No reading yet” until you update one. “Set up later” saves the job with no date, and it stays off the Due tab until you edit it.
Where Household reaches
The jobs come to you in four other places, each looking its own distance ahead.
Today
Once a job reaches its reminder window, Today can show it: two a day at most, overdue first. A dated job reads “N days overdue” or “Due in N days”, counted from the moment you look, so a job six days off can read “Due in 5 days”. A mileage job reads “Overdue” or “Needs attention”.
Weekly review
HOUSEHOLD · next 30 days
- Verify laptop backupDue Oct 24 · 6 days
- Review property tax escrowDue Nov 14 · 27 days
- Oil changeNeeds attention based on usage
The top three, with “+ N more items in Household” past them. It lists what falls due from today on, so the overdue filter is not in it.
Countdowns
- Verify laptop backup6 days
- Review property tax escrow27 days
A job with a due date in the next 90 days is a countdown too, and opening one shows the job.
Yearly review
MAINTENANCE REGISTRY
You completed 3 scheduled maintenance tasks this year.
Under “ITEMS TO ADD?” it names the categories with nothing in them yet, such as Health, Family and Pets.
Finances and places
Costs are shown in the currency set in Finances. “Where”, on a thing’s page, puts it in one of the app’s shared places, such as “Home → Basement”, the same list Vault and Tasks use.
Settings and Archived
Household’s Settings hold one choice. Archived, in the same ⋯ menu, keeps what you have put away.
Default tab Due or Things
The tab shown when you open Household.
Archived
Archive a job from its ⋯ menu and it leaves the Due tab, Today and the reviews, history and all. “Restore” brings it back as it was.
Delete
“This item and all its history will be permanently removed.” Deleted items can still be restored from Recently Deleted for 30 days.
Tips
- "History" in the "..." menu shows every completed job in one list, grouped by month.
- Turn on "Track usage meter" for a car or other metered thing to schedule work by reading instead of by date. Marking the job done asks for "Current reading", filled in from the meter, and the next service is that reading plus the interval.
- In "Settings", choose whether Household opens on "Due" or "Things".
- Archive items you no longer need from their "..." menu. "Archived" in the module's "..." menu lets you restore them, and a deleted item can be restored from Recently Deleted for 30 days.
Questions
About Household day to day.
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Can I schedule work by mileage instead of by date?
Yes. Turn on “Track usage meter” on the thing, then choose “By mileage” under “HOW OFTEN?”, in km, miles, hours or uses. The job falls due when the reading reaches the last service plus the interval.
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Why does “Mark done” on an oil change ask for a reading?
A mileage job moves on only with a reading. So on a job “By mileage”, “Mark done” on the Due tab opens the full “Mark Done” sheet, with “Current reading” filled in from the thing’s meter. Check it against the odometer and tap “Save completion”. The next service is that reading plus the interval. “Update Reading” on the car moves the meter but logs no work.
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How early does Household remind me?
As many days before the due date as you set under “REMINDER (OPTIONAL)”, 14 by default. The reminder appears in Today, two jobs a day at most. Turn off “Send a reminder” and the job still shows on the Due tab.
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Can I keep receipts?
Yes. “Mark as done” on an item takes receipt photos or a PDF under “PROOF”, with the provider, cost and notes. They stay on the item’s timeline.
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Can I export the service history?
Yes. “Export service history CSV”, in a thing’s ⋯ menu, shares its log as a spreadsheet.
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What counts as on time?
A job done on or before the date it was due. A job that repeats weekly, monthly or every N counts its next date from the day you mark it done, so a late one moves every date after it. A yearly date keeps its day. Done early, it moves to next year’s. Done late, it moves to the next one after the work. “Postpone due date” moves the date it is scored against.
Works with
Where Household hands off to the rest of HourLife.
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Today
When a maintenance item reaches its reminder window or goes overdue, Today can show it with "View details", two a day at most.
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Countdowns
Maintenance items due in the next 90 days appear in Countdowns, and opening one shows the item.
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Compass
The weekly review lists what falls due in the next 30 days under "HOUSEHOLD", and the yearly review counts the jobs you completed under "MAINTENANCE REGISTRY".
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Finances
Costs are shown in the currency set in Finances.
Read and try
Books from the library that Household puts into practice, and something to try on paper or in the browser.
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How to Keep House While Drowning K.C. Davis KC Davis on care tasks as morally neutral and done in small pieces. Household shows what is due.
How to Keep House While Drowning
K.C. Davis
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Fair Play Eve Rodsky Rodsky on dividing a household's tasks so the load is visible, which a list of upkeep makes plain.
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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up Marie Kondo Kondo on keeping only what you need, fewer things to service.
Already have HourLife?
Household is under Reference in the module list, and it needs HourLife Premium. The “+” adds a thing; the ⋯ menu holds “History”, “Insights”, “Archived” and “Settings”.
Household is in the Library, under Reference. If it isn’t there, turn it on in Settings → Look & Feel → Modules. It needs HourLife Premium.
What would you like to know?
Ask a question about this feature or tell us what’s missing.
Try Household in HourLife.
HourLife is free to download. Household comes with HourLife Premium.
