Borrowed and Lent Items Log

Who this is for

Who has the ladder, and whose drill is in the garage. One row per item records whether it was lent or borrowed, who the other person is, when it changed hands, when it is due back and whether it has been.

Households that lend tools, books, camping kit, cake tins and car seats to friends and neighbours — and borrow theirs — and cannot remember, a month later, which is which.

What this helps you track

• What has been lent out, to whom, and when it went
• What has been borrowed, from whom, and when it is due back
• The two directions kept apart, so a glance shows what is owed each way
• The date agreed for return, so the reminder is not awkward
• A tick when it comes home, and the row can be forgotten

How to use it

1. Write the household name and the date at the top.
2. Add a row whenever something changes hands: the item, the other person, and whether you lent it or borrowed it.
3. Write the date it went and, if one was agreed, the date it is due back. If none was agreed, leave the column blank rather than invent one.
4. Tick returned when the item is back where it belongs, and add anything worth remembering — a broken part, a missing lid — in the notes.
5. Read down the unticked rows now and then; the browser version keeps the list in your own browser and prints a fresh copy.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why keep a log for something so small?

Because small things go missing quietly. A row that took ten seconds to write settles, months later, whether the strimmer went to the neighbour or the brother-in-law.

What is the direction column for?

It marks each row as lent or borrowed. On paper, write the letter; in the browser it is a drop-down, so the list can be sorted into what you are owed and what you owe.

Do I need a due-back date?

Only if one was agreed. The column is there so a date you both settled on is written down, not so the sheet can set one for you.

Is this the same as the library loans tracker?

No. That one is for library books with due dates set by the library and counted down for you. This is for things lent between people, where the date is whatever you agreed.