How to Create (and Keep) a Home Diary

What year was that bathroom renovation? What kind of tile was used? What color and brand of paint are on the walls?

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A lot of little details go into the upkeep of your home, but it’s easy to forget them all. Keeping a home diary (also known as a home journal) can help you remember.

What Is the Purpose of a Home Diary or Home Journal?

A home journal stores all the important details about things that happen in and to your house. Think of it as the logbook for anything and everything you do to the home. 

The main purpose is to help you keep track of important details you might need later. For instance, if you document the paint colors, you can easily reference them if you need to touch up the paint in the future. It can also serve as a record when you sell your home. You can refer to the book to tell potential buyers about the work you've done. If you can part with the book, you can leave it for the new homeowners. 

For other people, the home diary is a personal keepsake that documents memories and stories from the home. You can use it to record milestones and other events that happen in your home. Some people use it to write down ideas and inspiration for future remodels. Plus, it can be personally satisfying to document what you've done and look back at it. 

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What Information Is Kept in a Home Diary?

Creating a home diary is a very personal experience. You can customize it to include whatever information you want. If you do something to the home or have information about the home, you can add it to the book. Some details you might want to add include:

• Renovation dates and details
• Home repair dates and details
• Receipts for purchases, maintenance, and repairs
• Routine maintenance, such as cleaning the gutters
• Home appliance information, including date of purchase, model numbers and maintenance 
• Home damage and corresponding homeowner's insurance claims
• Warranty information
• Details about your decor, such as paint colors, wallpaper patterns and fabrics used
• House description
• Personal stories about the home, such as why you chose it and what your first impressions were
• A wish list of renovations or changes you want to make

For basic entries, you can write the details on the pages, but you can also include other items in your journal. You might attach receipts to the pages or include before and after photos.

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How Do You Start (and Keep) a Home Diary?

Start by choosing the format for your journal. Some people prefer traditional paper and pencil journals they can write in by hand. You don't need a fancy book to start a home journal. A regular notebook or blank journal works. Choosing a book with lots of pages gives you enough room to include all the details you want to put in the home diary. 

You can also keep a digital home journal. This could be as simple as creating a document in a word processing program. Journaling apps offer another option with more features to help you organize your information. With an online journal, you can also include videos if you want a different way to document the details of your home. 

Once you choose your format, decide how to organize it. You might have a section for each different type of information, such as renovations, maintenance, decor, and personal stories. Or you could create a section for each room in the house and document the details of that room in the corresponding section. 

However you organize it, leaving several pages between sections in a physical home diary can help you stay organized. That way, you can go back and add more details if you have new activities related to that section. 

If you've been living in your home for a while, you've likely already done a lot of work on it. Try to recall those details as much as possible to include in the home diary. Looking back for evidence might also help. You can look at old paint cans for paint colors or dig up the receipts for renovation projects. You might not remember everything, but you can get some of the details down in the book.

Going forward, enter information on any new projects you do. This is easiest if you make your journal entries right away. A few times per year, review your home journal to make sure you didn't miss anything. This is also a good time to add personal stories or details you want to remember.