The Chore Chart
Do You Need to Chart Your Chores?
A chore chart might be the key to harmony in your new apartment.
So you’ve rented an apartment, found a roommate and are all moved in. It feels nice to be settled in at your new home, but there’s still something important to take care of: How will you split up the chores?
No doubt, chores are no fun. We’d all much rather spend our time doing something fun instead of scrubbing the tub or taking out the trash. But it’s gotta get done, or an apartment will quickly turn into a mess. Not organizing chores is also a sure way to get into a conflict with your roommate, so make things clear from the beginning. There are a few ways you can do this — just talking to your roommate and deciding what chores will be done by which person and how often, or making a Chore Chart.
A Chore Chart may feel a little bit lame at first. Can’t we just do the chores when they need to get done? you might wonder. You can try it that way, but all too often when directions aren’t clear, chores will wind up getting forgotten about. Dishes can pile up in the sink, dirt can cover the floor and bathrooms can get downright awful. If you and your roommate are clear on which chores you’re supposed to handle, you can avoid all kinds of messes.
Setting Up a Chore Chart
Making a Chore Chart is easy. Get together with your roommate and come up with a list of chores that need to get done. It’s different for everyone, but here’s a list to help you get going:
- Load the dishwasher
- Unload the dishwasher
- Wipe down kitchen counters and sink
- Wipe down bathroom counters
- Mop kitchen floor
- Mop bathroom floor
- Clean the toilet, tub and sink
- Vacuum
- Dust
- Clean out fridge
- Take out the trash and recycling
Once you’ve got your list — and you’ll probably be adding to the list as you discover new chores — start working on the actual chart. You can either go big and put it on a poster board, or just put it on a regular piece of paper. Keep in mind that you may want to recreate this chart every couple of weeks. You’ll want to make a few columns at the top: Chore, Who?, Due Date and Done. List each chore on its own line under Chore, the person responsible for it under Who?, the date you’d like it done under Due Date, and leave the Done column blank. Once the chore is done, just put a check mark by it in that column. Keep your Chore Chart somewhere visible, like on the fridge.
If you or your roommate are unhappy with your assigned chores, just switch off next time to keep it fair.
And remember, if you haven’t gotten to the chore chart stage yet, and are just looking for a decent apartment for rent, Apartment Search is here to help. Our website has tons of resources and fantastic apartment listings for you to browse. Plus if you end up finding an apartment through Apartment Search, you can collect up to $200 in apartment rental rewards! Not a bad way to start out in your new place.
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