How to Split Chores With Your Roommates?

All of us have participated in group projects where everyone inevitably fills a role. There are four types of people: the slacker, the person who submits to the micromanager, the person who is irritated by micromanagement, and the micromanager themselves.

Living amicably with roommates can be achieved by having a good dynamic when it comes to keeping your home tidy and organized. A roommate chore chart and other helpful tips can help with that.

Why is it important to divide household chores equally?

Given that men and women typically have different expectations about duties growing up, there may be an unspoken gender divide about doing all the chores. Again, it can be easy to unintentionally fall into these roles or those class project defaults.

You should feel comfortable in your own home. To foster a fair and positive atmosphere, it is important to have a candid, transparent, and straightforward discussion regarding cleaning expectations and household duties. Plus, doing your own chores is also a crucial life skill.

Step One: Define what clean means to you from the start.

Do you need the house to be spotless every day, or is a complete cleaning once a week or once a month enough? Early expectation-setting can help prevent future misunderstandings. Make sure to include any cleaning standards you decide upon in your written record.

Call a meeting with your roommates to go over all the chores that must be completed in order to keep the house tidy and welcoming to all. Be on the same page to finalize all the specifics.

For instance, if you decide that you should be washing dishes right away after a meal, does that include wiping down and drying dishes? Living with roommates will go more smoothly if you can agree on shared chores.

It is also a wonderful time to talk about hiring a cleaning service for either monthly or seasonal cleaning. Regularly paying for a cleaning service might help you and your roommates accomplish fewer chores, and many homes think the cost is worthwhile.

Step Two: Create a detailed to-do list.

Create a complete chore list, which is an exhaustive inventory of all the tasks that must be completed on a daily, weekly, monthly, or seasonal basis. This chore chart should include both household and personal tasks. Establish a cleaning routine and decide what needs to be done around the house.

Ask questions like, "What has to be done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis?" or "How are you going to divide up the thorough cleaning (windows, refrigerator) and the light cleaning (vacuum, dishes)?"

In each of the common areas, outline the expectations, and it is the responsibility of each roommate to fulfill those responsibilities within the designated week. When it comes to deep cleaning, set aside a day to tackle large projects together in order to make them more manageable (and fun).

Step Three: Assign tasks to each person.

Everyone should be assigned daily, weekly, and deep cleaning tasks. Some roommates use weekly cleaning as a chance to spend quality time together and assign a certain day for the task.

Some would rather do their weekly chores whenever it suits them. Talk about what will be most effective for your family. Task assignments can be done in a few different ways.

Play to your strengths. Letting your roommate do what makes them most comfortable is one way to go about things. Should you choose this path, be sure to follow up after several months to determine whether anyone is experiencing burnout.

Weekly rotation: Switch chores and assign each roommate a new set of jobs each week after classifying the tasks (e.g., group 1 might include the kitchen and floors, group 2 might include the bathrooms and garbage, etc.).

Make sure it's documented in writing once more. Include it in your roommate agreement and maintain a copy for convenient access in one of the common areas of the apartment.

Step Four: Decide on accountability.

Finally, discuss how you intend to avoid the group project atmosphere. How are you going to hold each other accountable? Whether it's a group huddle after cleaning or an agreed-upon way of bringing up neglected tasks, determine how you'll double-check completion and make a note of it as well.

Keep in mind where accountability ends and micromanagement begins. Try not to micromanage your roommates or feel irritated when you're doing your own duties. If you've decided on a system for distributing housework, trust that it will work and communicate if it doesn't.

Step Five: Express gratitude.

Make an effort to make your roommates feel appreciated. While different people have different ideas about how a house should function, there are some common approaches to help people feel happy and reduce tension.

It's usually not beneficial to act resentful or insecure about not being as hardworking as someone else when they're putting in a lot of effort. Rather, express your sincere gratitude to them and do your bit when it's your turn.

Step Six: Check in and discuss any issues that emerge.

Call out problems as they arise or set weekly or monthly meetings to discuss what is and isn't functioning before they become a major issue. With that being said, set real expectations; you may have to take on some tasks that you consider necessary but aren't necessarily important to the rest of the household.

Fun Ways to Divide Roommate Chores

1. Download an app to assist you.

You may split up your responsibilities in a lot of creative ways with do-it-yourself projects, but since your phone is usually always in your hand, why not make use of it?

If you're not into using a cleaning chart, consider using an app like HomeSlice. You may allocate and manage household chores, bills, food, and cleaning supplies. The software allows you to speak with your roommates as well, centralizing all of your chats in one location.

2. Assign chores to Lady Luck.

Add a gambler's checkmark to your duty list, and you can literally roll the dice if you'd rather not pick which tasks you accomplish.

Make a roommate chore chart that you need to complete, and assign a number to each task. Next, assign responsibilities by using a dice roll to decide who must do what. If you receive repeats, just roll again until all the different chores are assigned.

3. Turn a pinwheel to make a choice.

Another method to give your duties the final say? Turn the chore wheel. There are many different types of chore wheels available. A simple one requires attaching a paper pinwheel to a chore list. You only need to spin and start cleaning.

4. Create a magnetic chore chart.

Depending on what would work best for your house, you can create multiple framed magnet chore charts or divide one chart into multiple columns.

In either case, your chore chart can still appear fashionable in your house, and magnets make it simple to switch from the "to do" list to the "done" section. Of course, using this strategy will require you to assign responsibilities to yourself.

5. Take your tasks out of a jar.

If you're not into rolling dice or spinning wheels, you can always pull straws or sticks, as the case may be. Attempt labeling every task on small pieces of paper and storing them in a jar. People can pull chores each week until all the paper scraps are allotted. Put them in the "done" jar when your jobs are finished.

Although it may seem laborious at first, establishing a cleaning schedule will prevent needless arguments between roommates. Embrace the roommate chore chart, do the assigned tasks, and then proceed to allocate your time to the things you enjoy doing.