Chore chart: divide household chores fairly
List the household members and the chores around the home: the tool hands out each turn to balance everyone’s housework time, and gives you a weekly chart to print.
- 17 common chores, each with a frequency and duration you can adjust
- A half share for children or busy weeks
- A weekly chart to print and stick on the fridge
1. Household members
A half share for a child or anyone with a busy schedule: they get half as much housework.
2. Chores
Tick the ones your household does, adjust how often and how long each time takes, and choose who does it if it’s always the same person.
3. Weekly chart
- Emma
3 hr 20 min
per week, 39% of the total
- James
3 hr 30 min
per week, 41% of the total
- Olivia
1 hr 40 min
per week, 20% of the total · half share
Monday1 hr 05 min
Hang up and fold the washing
James
Clean the kitchen
Emma
Empty the dishwasher
James
Put a wash on
Emma
Put the bins out
Olivia
Water the plants
Emma
Tuesday1 hr 15 min
Vacuum
Emma
Dust the furniture
Olivia
Every other week
Clean the kitchen
James
Empty the dishwasher
James
Wednesday1 hr
Hang up and fold the washing
James
Clean the kitchen
Emma
Empty the dishwasher
Emma
Put a wash on
Olivia
Water the plants
James
Thursday1 hr 10 min
Mop the floors
Emma
Clean the kitchen
James
Clean the toilet
Olivia
Empty the dishwasher
James
Friday1 hr
Hang up and fold the washing
Emma
Clean the kitchen
Olivia
Empty the dishwasher
James
Put a wash on
Emma
Water the plants
James
Saturday2 hr 15 min
Do the grocery shopping
James
Clean the bathroom
Olivia
Change the sheets
Emma
Clean the kitchen
Emma
Empty the dishwasher
Emma
Sunday2 hr 15 min
Clean the windows
Emma
Once a month
Clean the fridge
Emma
Once a month
Hang up and fold the washing
Olivia
Clean the kitchen
James
Empty the dishwasher
James
Put a wash on
James
Water the plants
James
How the tool divides household chores
A fair split isn’t measured in the number of chores, but in time spent. The tool follows three rules.
- 01
Everything counts in minutes
Each chore counts as its duration multiplied by the number of times it comes up in the week: 15 minutes on the kitchen every day adds up to 1 hr 45 min, the windows once a month to just over 10 minutes.
- 02
Each turn to the least busy
The tool hands out each turn, longest first, to the member whose total is lowest relative to their share. A half share gets half as much, and the tool avoids piling one person’s chores onto the same day.
- 03
Big chores at the weekend
Weekly, fortnightly and monthly chores land on the least busy day, and Saturday and Sunday count double: the longest ones go there first.
“Another split” shuffles the tie-breaks without upsetting the balance: handy for rotating chores from one week to the next.
How often should you clean the house?
Here are the guidelines the tool suggests, with how long each one takes. They suit a family home: adjust them to yours, the size of the rooms and the number of people.
Every day
- Empty the dishwasher10 min
- Clean the kitchen15 min
- Make dinner40 min
Every 2 days
- Put a wash on10 min
- Hang up and fold the washing20 min
- Water the plants5 min
Every week
- Put the bins out5 min
- Vacuum30 min
- Mop the floors30 min
- Clean the bathroom30 min
- Clean the toilet15 min
- Change the sheets20 min
- Do the grocery shopping60 min
Every 2 weeks
- Dust the furniture20 min
- Do the ironing40 min
Every month
- Clean the fridge30 min
- Clean the windows45 min
Which household chores can children do, by age?
Common guidelines, to adapt to each child. In the tool, give them a half share and assign them the chores within their reach.
From age 3
Tidy away their toys, put dirty clothes in the laundry basket, feed the pet with an adult.
From age 6
Lay and clear the table, water the plants, put the cutlery away from the dishwasher.
From age 9
Vacuum, put the bins out, fold and put away their clothes.
From age 12
Put a wash on, clean the bathroom, make a simple meal.
From the chart on the fridge to household routines
In Melimelo, each line of the chart becomes a routine: its emoji, its frequency, daily, every 2 days, every week on a set day, every 2 weeks or every month, and the assigned members. On the day, each of them gets a reminder at 8 am; whoever ticks the routine off is recorded in the history, and the next due date resets. The Routines module is part of Premium.
- One-off jobs, like fixing the garage door or calling the insurer, go in the household task list.
- “Do the grocery shopping” relies on the shopping list, shared in real time by the whole household.
October 11
Today
October 16Questions about chore charts.
Answers to the questions that come up when you want to share the housework at home.
Your whole household,
on all your screens.
On iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac, Windows and in the browser. Every member connected, in real time. Your first module up and running in under a minute.
On the App Store
Already on board
No commitment, right in your browser.