About this template
The grey SAMPLE rows show a first year already started: a few Home Facts answered (filter size 16 × 25 × 1, shutoffs located), the two Month 1 tasks ticked Done, and the matching purchases in the cost log — $85 for new deadbolts and $24 for detector batteries, $109 in total. The plan's estimated budget across all 24 tasks reads $1,864, and two of the three SAMPLE products on the Registrations sheet are registered (67%). Every sample is marked "SAMPLE — delete me". Delete them, type your own, and the whole file is yours. The first year of owning a home is a blur of small unknowns: Where is the water shutoff? What size filter does the furnace take? What has this house actually cost us so far — and what is it quietly planning to cost next? This dashboard answers all of it in one file: a home-facts sheet for the 11 p.m. questions, a ready-made 12-month plan with two tasks a month, a cost log, and a registration tracker so no warranty ever lapses unregistered.
What's inside
- Start Here — the 3 steps, a download/open checklist for Etsy, Excel and Google Sheets, the color guide (pale yellow = type here; white/gold = automatic; grey = sample data), and a walk-through of the filled example.
- Dashboard — the one-page summary. Move-in date, plan progress as a percentage, the estimated budget for the whole plan, what you have spent so far, how many products are registered — and the five facts you need fastest, mirrored from the Home Facts sheet.
- Home Facts — fourteen facts, one sheet: water and gas shutoffs, breaker panel, HVAC filter size, furnace and water heater details, paint colors, roof year, sewer or septic, spare keys, HOA contact. Fill it in during your first week; thank yourself all year.
- The 12-month Plan — twenty-four preset tasks, two per month, written for a first year: change the locks and test the detectors in Month 1, gutters and leak checks in Month 3, water heater and dryer vent at the halfway mark, winterizing in Month 10, the annual review in Month 12. Each task carries an estimated cost you can edit; tick Yes as you finish and the plan scores itself.
- First-year Costs — the running log of everything the house costs beyond the mortgage: date, item, category, cost, store, receipt filed. The total feeds the Dashboard, so "what has this house cost us?" always has a number.
- Registrations & Warranties — every appliance and system, its brand, install date, whether you registered it, when the warranty ends and where the paperwork is filed. The registered percentage feeds the Dashboard.
How it works — 3 steps
- In your first week, fill in Home Facts: shutoffs, filter size, paint colors, panel.
- Work the 12-Month Plan two tasks at a time and log every cost as it happens.
- Register each appliance the month it arrives, and glance at the Dashboard monthly — progress, spend and gaps are already calculated.
You never build or fix a formula. Type only in the pale-yellow cells — the formula cells are protected (no password) so the math can't be broken by accident. Fictional SAMPLE rows, clearly marked, show you the format; delete them and the file is yours.
What you need
Microsoft Excel, or Google Sheets (free with a Google account). One file works in both. A desktop or laptop is best for setup — a phone screen is too small. This is a spreadsheet. It will not work in GoodNotes, Notability or a PDF reader.
Instant download
This is a digital download — no physical item will be shipped. After purchase, go to Etsy → Purchases and reviews → Download files, save the file to your computer first, then open it in Excel (click “Enable Editing”) or upload it to Google Drive for Sheets (then File → Make a copy, and always work in your copy).
License
Personal use only — for your own household. Please do not share, resell or redistribute the file.
Questions
Does it work in Google Sheets as well as Excel?
Yes — the same .xlsx file works in both. Upload it to Google Drive, open it, then choose File → Make a copy and work in your copy. A printable PDF render is included too.
We moved in three months ago — is it too late to start?
Not at all. The months are labels, not a calendar: start at Month 1 whenever you open the file, tick off anything you have already done (locks changed? detectors tested?), and the plan, the costs and the scores catch up instantly.
The Dashboard already has numbers in it — is that real data?
No — it's a fictional SAMPLE first year: Month 1 ticked done, $109 of SAMPLE purchases in the log, a few SAMPLE home facts, every row marked "SAMPLE — delete me", shipped so you can watch every score work before you touch anything. Delete the grey rows and type your own.
Can I change the plan's tasks and prices?
Yes — every task, category and estimated cost is editable, because your house is not our sample house. Swap the chimney inspection for pool care, change the gutter price to your contractor's — the totals and progress score keep working.
How is this different from a home maintenance schedule?
This file is the first-year companion: learning the house (Home Facts), a guided first 24 tasks, first-year spending and product registration. A maintenance schedule is the forever rhythm after year one. Many buyers run this for year one, then graduate the recurring tasks into a schedule.