The fridge stops cooling on a Sunday. The washer starts walking across the floor. Nobody in the house knows the model number, and the paper that came with the machine is somewhere under a stack of mail. This is a common hallway problem in the weeks after a discharge, because the house is suddenly running on more visits, more deliveries, and more laundry than it was set up for.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

This guide covers one small job: build a single folder with one page for each appliance your parent relies on, and fill it in before anything fails.

Step 1: Walk the house and list what matters

Start in the kitchen and go room by room. Your list should include anything your parent uses every day or would miss within a day: the refrigerator and freezer, the stove or range, the microwave, the washer and dryer, the water heater, the furnace or air conditioner, and any window or portable unit that cools the bedroom. Add the bed controls and any powered chair or lift that plugs in at home.

Skip nothing that runs on power or water. A small appliance can matter more than a big one if your parent depends on it for meals or sleep.

Step 2: Copy the facts from each label

Most appliances carry a label on the back, inside a door, or under a lid. Look for the model number and the serial number. Write both on the page with the brand name and the room it sits in. If the label is worn, photograph it with your phone and keep the picture in the same folder.

Then find the purchase date and the store or installer. If you cannot find a receipt, note that. A missing receipt does not end a warranty claim, but it makes the claim slower.

Step 3: Find the service line before you need it

Check the manual or the manufacturer's website for the support phone number and any online repair request page. Write down the listed hours. Then check whether the appliance is still under a manufacturer warranty, an extended plan you bought, or a service contract a landlord or builder arranged. Those are three different owners, and each one answers a different call.

Ask one question for each machine: if this breaks at seven in the evening on a Friday, who do I call first? The answer is the manufacturer, the store, a plan company, a landlord, or a local repair shop you already know. Write that name on the page.

Step 4: Decide who owns each item

Each appliance needs one owner in the family, not three people who each assume someone else is handling it. The owner makes the call, schedules the repair, and keeps the paperwork current. Write the name next to each item. If your parent owns the machine, a family member may still need to make the call. Say that out loud so nobody waits on someone else.

Be clear about what hired help does and does not do. A hired or in-home non-medical caregiver may handle a reminder or an errand, but booking a repair visit, meeting the technician, or deciding whether to replace a machine stays with the family or the household's owner. Put that in the folder too, so anyone helping in the house knows where the folder lives and who to text.

Step 5: Set one weekly look

Pick a day each week and spend five minutes on the folder. Check that the fridge door seals and the freezer is not frosted over, that the washer drain hose is not kinked, that the water heater area is dry, and that the dryer lint screen is clear. Note anything odd in the margin of the page. A small note now costs less than a repair call after a machine has already quit.

What to keep in the folder

Keep these in one place: the model and serial page for each appliance, photos of the labels, receipts or warranty cards if you have them, the service phone numbers and hours, the name of the owner for each item, and the date of the last service. Keep a paper copy in a kitchen drawer, because the phone may be out of reach on the day you need it.

If you are still sorting out the larger questions after discharge, the Day 0 to Day 14 After Discharge pages walk through the sequence, and Local Help After a Discharge lists local places to ask for help.

The Appliance Folder Is the Repair Call: Record the Model, Serial, and Service Line for Each Machine Your Parent Uses