Sharing Household Tasks Promotes Equity and Fairness

 Whether you live with your family, a partner, or roommates, sharing domestic tasks promotes equity and fairness. It also helps everyone develop life skills that are useful for future independence.

Wipe kitchen and bathroom countertops to maintain hygiene and a clean environment. Sort and process mail daily to avoid clutter and to recycle junk mail.

Cleaning

Almost every place where people live, work or play requires cleaning. It can be a huge job that may include sweeping and mopping floors, wiping surfaces and sinks, dusting, washing dishes and cleaning out closets. It can also include seasonal tasks like deep cleaning the refrigerator, donating outgrown clothes and cleaning out the basement.

Cleaning tasks can be broken down into daily, weekly and monthly chores. This makes it easier to manage the workload. It can also help prevent certain tasks from getting overlooked or neglected.

It’s important to have a clean, organized home. Studies show that a messy home increases stress levels and can lead to procrastination. A cleaning schedule can be a great way to stay on top of household chores and avoid the chaos that clutter creates. It’s also important to make sure that all members of the family contribute to the household chores. This can include children, spouses and hired help.

Organizing

Organizing is a household tasks that involves keeping things tidy and put away on a daily basis. Whether that’s sorting through items to donate, putting away seasonal clothing or cleaning off surfaces like countertops. Having systems in place to keep these things organized is important so they aren’t forgotten or missed.

Creating a chore chart or schedule is a great way to get the entire family involved in managing these tasks. It is a simple and efficient way to ensure that everyone knows their responsibilities and what needs to be done each week.

Depending on the size of your family, you may need to determine how many people will be responsible for each chore. Then, divide the list up accordingly so everyone has a daily task they can complete on their own. This will help you manage your chores, prevent them from becoming overwhelming and teach your kids responsibility.

Cooking

Cooking is one of the more time-consuming tasks on a weekly or daily chore chart. However, it should be a responsibility shared amongst family members who like to or are skilled at cooking. The person responsible for this task should also be in charge of organization chores like sorting clothes and cleaning the kitchen cabinets. Having everything in its place will make it easier to find and reduce the amount of time spent looking for something.

It can be difficult for partners or roommates to understand the full domestic workload, so it's important to sit down and discuss how each person is contributing to the home. This can help you reassess what's really going on with your home and give you an idea of what needs to change. Ultimately, dividing household chores fairly can lead to less stress and more quality time for everyone involved. —Jacqueline Misla, lifestyle coach and co-host of the Curious Fox love and relationship podcast.

Shopping

In most households, women are still the primary decision-makers for household chores like laundry, cleaning and cooking. In addition, women are more likely than men to be the primary grocery shoppers and to wash the dishes. However, there is a lot of room for equality in these tasks. In half of households, women and men share the responsibility of planning family activities. Changing the way you do chores can help you find balance in your household. Try scheduling daily chores, outsourcing tasks you hate and breaking larger tasks down into manageable pieces. For example, if you have to do laundry often, consider using Rinse laundry service.