If you’re still studying or just about to kick-start your professional life, then you know that living with one or more housemates has plenty of advantages. Not only does it save you money on rent, but it can also be a lot of fun – when you’re coming home from work, there’s always someone to chat to about your day, you can cook together, and when you’re spontaneously deciding that you want to go out for drinks or watch a film, company is just one wall away. But if you’ve ever lived with housemates, then you know that even the loveliest housemates can be messy at times. And when the dishes start to pile up in the kitchen and the bathroom hasn’t been cleaned in weeks, you’re bound to ask yourself whether it wouldn’t be easier to just live on your own.
If you get on well with your housemates, you might be able to bring this up in conversation and solve the issue, but some housemates are a bit more difficult to communicate with. If you’re struggling to come to agreement on dirty countertops and messy sinks, then you should consider suggesting a more impartial system to keep track of household chores. If you’re looking for a quick and simple fix, there are plenty of housekeeping checklists on the internet to help you keep track of household chores – so you can split them evenly and review who’s done what. But if you want to tailor your housekeeping checklist to your flat, we’ve put together some tips and tricks to help you do just that.
Decide what needs to get done
First of all, you will have to decide what needs to get done – on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Some chores, like wiping the countertops and doing the dishes, will need to be done daily, whilst others, such as cleaning the bathroom, should be done once a week. Some tasks, like scrubbing the refrigerator, will only need doing once a month. If you and your roommates have very different schedules and don’t eat together, it’s easiest if you agree that everyone just cleans up after themselves. But if your housemates fail to do that, you might have to add daily tasks to your housekeeping checklist too.
Decide who will be responsible for what
If each of you has your ‘favourite’ household chores, this will be easy. Just divide daily, weekly, and monthly chores between you and your housemates, taking into account what chores people prefer to do – to make sure that they will actually get done. If everyone feels responsible for certain chores, you will soon get into a routine. If you are struggling to divide tasks between yourselves, you will have to rotate them so no one will be stuck with unpopular chores for too long. Every month is a good time to switch it up, as this will include four weeks of weekly chores, as well as doing the more extensive monthly tasks once.
Make it happen
Create a list with all your names and your designated daily, weekly, and monthly chores, agree on a time they should be done by, and tick a box once the chore has actually been done. If you rotate tasks, you’ll have to make a new list every month, but this shouldn’t be too much trouble if you have a template you can work with. There are lots of ways of going about doing this. If you’re struggling to come up with a template, you can always turn to Pinterest for creative inspiration. You’ll find ways to keep track of housekeeping chores in a way that is not only efficient, but will also make a pretty addition to your kitchen wall or notice board. Some people like using magnets, colours, and stickers, and others like to keep it sleek and simple; whichever works best for you.
Author Bio: A veteran of unsavoury housing arrangements, John is now the Rambo of household tasks. Obliterating his enemies (dust and grime) during the day, in his spare time John fights crime and writes sensitive poetry about clouds.
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