Community Library

The most-forgotten task by exactly the people who need it most. Controlled-substance prescriptions usually can't be refilled early and often need a fresh script from your prescriber every month — start 5 days before you run out. Set this recurring every 30 days.

Maintain water softener by keeping salt levels full and optionally adding a water softener cleaner.

Monthly, and when the seasons change — pressure drops about 1 PSI per 10°F. The correct number is on the driver's door jamb, not the tire sidewall.

Reminder to mow your lawn

Take the trash to the curb or dumpster

Daily meds shouldn't depend on memory. Set this a week before each bottle runs out, or sync all your refills to one day a month at the pharmacy.

Once a year. Booking is the hard part — the appointment takes care of itself. Many offices book 3–6 weeks out, so the reminder is to call, not to go.

Every 6 months. Book the next one on your way out of this one and squirrel the date immediately.

Yearly, or every two years if your optometrist says so. Also when your contact lens prescription is about to lapse — you can't reorder on an expired script.

Every 3 months, or after being sick. Frayed bristles clean dramatically worse. Buy heads in multi-packs so the swap is 10 seconds.

Every 90 days (every 60 with pets). A clogged filter raises your energy bill and wears out the blower motor. The size is printed on the frame of the old filter.

Check monthly; most tanks need salt every 4–8 weeks. Keep the tank at least half full. If the salt has bridged into a crust, break it up with a broom handle.

Every 6 months. The indicator light lies in both directions — go by the calendar. Order the replacement when this nudge arrives; swap it when it ships.

Press the test button on every unit twice a year (daylight saving weekends are easy anchors). Replace batteries yearly and whole units every 10 years.

Once a year — lint-clogged dryer vents are a leading cause of house fires. If clothes take two cycles to dry, do it now. A vent brush kit costs less than one service call.

Once a year. Sediment buildup shortens the tank's life and makes it rumble. Hose to a drain, open the valve, done in 30 minutes.

Set the due time for the evening before pickup, recurring weekly. The classic squirrel: you know pickup day perfectly well — at 9am, in a meeting, watching the truck drive away.

Every 1–2 weeks. Strip the bed in the morning so you're committed by bedtime.

Once a year at the start of heating season. A crusted pad does nothing but grow things you don't want to breathe.

Every 5,000–7,500 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first — check your manual, modern synthetics last longer than the sticker says. Squirrel it by date; your odometer doesn't send reminders.

Every 5,000–8,000 miles — easiest to just do it with every oil change. Even wear can add 20% to tire life.

Yearly, with a real deadline and a real ticket if you miss it. Many states let you renew online in 5 minutes — the task is remembering, and the sticker.

Go check your expiration date right now — it's usually your birthday in some year you haven't thought about. Squirrel it with a 30-day lead; REAL ID renewals can require an office visit and documents.

Once a year, ideally before the rainy or snowy season. If they streak or chatter, they're already overdue.

Squirrel one of these per person you love, recurring every 365 days. The 2-week lead exists because shipping exists. Day-of flowers are a save; day-after flowers are an apology.

Recurring every 365 days, 3-week lead. Good restaurants book out weeks ahead — the lead-up nudges are for reservations and gifts, the day-of nudge is for you.

The task with the longest pipeline in family life: photo, printing, addressing, stamps, mailbox — all before mid-December. Start when the Halloween candy goes on sale.

Second Sunday of May. Recurring yearly with a 2-week lead so the gift arrives and the brunch reservation exists.

Third Sunday of June. Recurring yearly with a 2-week lead.

Due April 15 (US). The 45-day lead is the whole point: gathering documents is the task; filing is the afterthought. W-2s and 1099s arrive by early February.

Quarterly. Scroll your card statement and cancel everything you forgot you were paying for. Routinely saves more than it costs in time.

Free weekly at annualcreditreport.com — a practical rhythm is every 4 months, rotating bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). Catching fraud early is everything.

Check the expiration date today. Many countries refuse entry with less than 6 months of validity, and routine processing takes 6–8 weeks. This is the task Squirreled was built for: a deadline years away that suddenly isn't.

Once a year before your auto or home policy renews. Loyalty is priced in — 30 minutes of quotes routinely saves hundreds.

Flexible spending accounts are use-it-or-lose-it, usually by December 31. Glasses, contacts, first-aid restock, that dental work you postponed — spend it on purpose, not in a December 30 panic.

Monthly, same day each month. Missed doses create coverage gaps — and heartworm treatment costs 100x prevention.

Yearly. Rabies and other vaccine lapses can mean restarting a series, and boarding or grooming will ask for current records.

Vet-prescribed meds often need clinic approval before the pharmacy fills them — start 5 days out, same as your own.

Full dump, scrub, and fresh litter monthly (scooping is daily and doesn't count). Your cat has opinions about this even if you don't.

Twice a year — after the leaves drop in fall, and in spring. Overflowing gutters quietly destroy fascia boards and foundations.

Before the first hard freeze: disconnect hoses, drain them, shut interior valves if you have them, add faucet covers. A burst pipe costs four figures; this costs 20 minutes.

Around 4 times a year depending on your grass and region — early spring, late spring, summer, fall. Squirrel each application as its own date.

Once a year before mowing season: oil, blade sharpening, air filter, fresh gas. Do it in March, not on the first 80-degree Saturday when the shop has a 3-week backlog.

Pediatric well visits book out weeks ahead, and school and camp forms all want a physical dated within the last 12 months. Book it before the back-to-school rush.

Registration windows are short and leagues fill up. Squirrel the signup-opens date, not the season start — by the time the season starts, it's too late to register.