December home maintenance checklist
Updated August 2026
Two lists share December, and the safety half goes first: test every alarm and check the kitchen extinguisher before the cooking starts. Ten tasks total, most of them ten minutes, split between holiday risk and the cold that settles in for good this month. Half of them protect the house while you are away for a week.
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Test smoke and CO alarms before the guests arrive | Twice a year | 15 min · DIY |
| Check the kitchen extinguisher gauge and date | Monthly glance | 2 min · DIY |
| Deep-clean the oven and range before holiday cooking | Twice a year | 1 hr · DIY |
| Run a humidifier to hold 30–40% humidity | Daily in winter | $10–20 hygrometer |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Change the furnace filter | Monthly in peak | 10 min · DIY |
| Hold the thermostat at 55°F or higher when away | All winter | 2 min · DIY |
| Check the damper and flue before the first fire | Yearly | 10 min · DIY |
| Task | Interval | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Run holiday lights on outdoor-rated cords and GFCI | Each season | 30 min · DIY |
| Watch the roof edge for ice dams after each snow | After each snow | 5 min · DIY |
| Protect hose bibs and crawl space pipes | Nights below 20°F | 15 min · DIY |
Why these tasks in December
Two things drive the December list. The first is cooking and decorating: home cooking fires spike around the winter holidays, so a charged extinguisher within reach of the kitchen and alarms that actually sound are worth ten minutes tonight. The second is travel. An empty house with the thermostat dropped to 50°F and a cold snap in the forecast is how people come home to a burst supply line and a flooded floor. Holding 55°F costs a few dollars a day and removes that risk. Ice-dam watching belongs here too, because the first heavy snows arrive before most people think of it as deep winter. If the November list never happened, the pipe insulation and the alarm test are the two to catch up on.
This whole checklist ships as reminders in OnOtto: every task above, on the right schedule for your home, snooze-proof.
Load this checklist as remindersFrequently asked questions
What should I set the thermostat to when I travel in winter?
55°F is the floor, not 45°F and not off. Room air can read 55°F while the wall cavity behind a kitchen sink on an exterior wall sits near freezing, so the margin matters. Before a trip longer than a few days, open cabinet doors under sinks on outside walls. If the house will be empty more than a week, shut the main water valve and drain the lines. A smart thermostat that texts a low-temperature alert is worth its $100–250 for this alone.
Are holiday lights safe to leave running overnight?
LED strands draw roughly 2–5 watts each against 20–40 for old incandescent strings, so overloading a circuit is far less likely than it used to be. The real risks are cracked insulation on cords pulled out of a box for the tenth year, indoor extension cords used outdoors, and chaining more strands end to end than the box allows. Use outdoor-rated cords on a GFCI-protected outlet, put everything on a timer, and unplug tree lights when you sleep or leave.
How do I know if my fire extinguisher still works?
Look at the gauge: the needle should sit in the green band. Then find the manufacture date stamped on the cylinder, since disposable dry-chemical units are generally treated as good for about 12 years. Turn the extinguisher upside down and shake it once or twice a year so the powder does not pack solid at the bottom. A 5-pound ABC unit costs $40–70 to replace, and it belongs near the kitchen exit, not under the sink behind the cleaning supplies.
Should I run a humidifier in winter, and at what setting?
Aim for 30–40% relative humidity. Below 25%, wood floors gap, furniture joints loosen, and static builds. Above 45% in cold weather, moisture condenses on window glass, freezes inside the frames, and feeds mold behind curtains. Buy a $10–20 hygrometer and put it in the room you actually use rather than trusting the dial on the unit. If windows fog every morning, lower the setting instead of adding a second humidifier.