For the keeper of the house
The House Binder
The House Binder now comes as part of The Household Binder — this book, together with the “When I’m Not There” File, in one complete 64-page edition. Everything below is the House Binder itself, in full.
Somebody in every house becomes the keeper — the one who knows which breaker runs the kitchen, when the water heater was replaced, who fixed the roof in ’24 and what it cost. The House Binder is the medical chart for your home: its systems, its history, and its people, in one place. Not scattered across five drawers, two apps, and a spreadsheet that’s a mess — one book, where the next pair of hands can find it too.
- Home Profile — the facts of the house: year built, systems snapshot, insurance. The page every other page leans on.
- Systems & Shutoffs — where the water main, gas, breaker panel, furnace, and water heater live, and how each one turns off.
- The Home Emergency Quick Card — one page to copy for the fridge, the utility closet, and the house-sitter.
- The Year at a Glance — all 12 months of maintenance, already written in: filters, detectors, gutters, tune-ups, winterizing.
- Seasonal Checklists — Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter: 54 small checks that keep small problems small.
- Appliance Inventory & Charts — every machine: brand, model, serial number, its own service history, and the day the warranty runs out.
- Repair & Renovation Log — 32 rows of what was done, who did it, and what it cost, plus paint colors and codes so a touch-up in three years matches the wall.
- The Handoff Page — for a buyer, a spouse, a house-sitter: the people, the shutoffs, and the quirks only you know.
People ♥ Plans ♥ A Brighter Tomorrow
Made differently
What other home binders leave out
A home binder should do more than hold blank lines. Six things the others skip — and this one doesn’t.
Blank logs expect you to already know.
Most maintenance printables are blank logs — you have to already know what’s due, and when.
Ours: the year is written in for you. The binder does the nagging.
Some “binders” are five pages.
A cover, a log, and good wishes — for the price of a real record book.
Ours: 26 pages, and the logs reprint instead of padding the file.
A leak at midnight is not the moment to learn.
Where the main valve is should not be knowledge you go looking for in an emergency.
Ours: the shutoffs are on page 6 — plus a quick card for the fridge.
It all lives in one person’s head.
The spouse, the house-sitter, the grown kid with the spare key — none of them can use what only you know.
Ours: the Handoff Page is the way out of that.
A blank page is a hard place to start.
Twenty-six empty pages can stall even a determined keeper.
Ours: page 3 shows a fictional house, filled in, so you see the shape before you start. Blank-page panic not included.
“Fillable” that isn’t.
A PDF you can only print is a promise half-kept.
Ours: all 871 fields are real — type on your tablet or computer, or print and write. Both, same file.
How to use it
One weekend hour to start
Start with the Start Here page — big things first. Then the binder keeps the rhythm for you.
- Photograph the serial plates and note the shutoff locations — the first hour does the heavy lifting.
- Put the Emergency Quick Card on the fridge.
- Check off each month on the Year at a Glance as it comes.
- Log repairs and service the day they happen — two minutes, while you still remember the cost.
- Reprint the log and chart pages whenever they fill up. That’s the idea.
What you get: one PDF file (64 pages) — the complete Household Binder: the House Binder (26 pages) together with the When I’m Not There File, fillable and printable, US Letter — print at 100% (“Actual size”). Instant digital download; nothing is shipped. Personal use license — print as many log pages as your house needs. This edition follows the Northern Hemisphere year; the logs, records, and shutoff pages work anywhere. And a gentle note: this binder helps you keep records. It is not a repair manual and not professional advice — for the work itself, call a licensed professional, and put their number in the directory on page 17.
A note from the desk
About June
“A house keeps its story. This is where you write it down — so it stops living in one person’s head, and starts living in a book anyone in the house can open.”
— June Callahan
Good questions
FAQ
Is this a physical binder?
No — it’s a digital PDF download. Nothing ships. You can print it at home or at a copy shop and put it in any 3-ring binder, or keep it on a tablet.
Can I type into it, or do I have to print it?
Both. Every line and table cell is a real fillable field — type on a computer or tablet (it works beautifully in GoodNotes or Notability), save your copy, or print and write by hand.
What size is it?
US Letter (8.5 × 11 in). Print at 100% — “Actual size,” not “Fit to page” — so the lines land where they should.
Can I print extra pages?
Yes — that’s the idea. The Maintenance Log, Appliance Charts, Repair Log, and Home Notes pages are made to be reprinted whenever they fill up. Personal use.
Does the calendar work for my climate / my house?
The Year at a Glance uses the standard rhythm for most houses. Your manuals win — where a maker’s schedule differs, pencil yours in and follow the manual. This edition follows Northern Hemisphere seasons.
Is this a how-to repair guide?
No. It’s a record-keeping system — where things are, what was done, who did it. For the repairs themselves, June recommends a licensed professional, and their number goes in the directory on page 17.
Write the house’s story down
The shutoffs, the systems, the repairs, the people — one calm book, ready before the next pair of hands needs it.
Get The Household Binder — $49