Yvonne Glasgow
Busy trying to keep track of all the things you need to do at home? Create a chore board for yourself! They’re not just for kids—your entire family could benefit.
What’s a Chore Board?
If you’re not familiar with a chore board or chart, it’s a list of household things that need to get done each day or week. You just write the name of the person who’s been assigned the task that day and leave some room for a check mark when the job has been completed.
There are many styles of chore charts. You can find a template online, print it, and then hang it on the fridge. Or get a white- or chalkboard you can hang on the wall (and save some trees).
Each week you make a new chart and change who’s responsible for each chore—unless, of course, you live alone. Then, it’s all for you!
Why They’re Useful
Even if you live alone, a chore board is a great way to remind yourself of all the things you need to get done each day. It allows you to break up your household chores so you don’t have to waste your day off doing all of them.
If you have a spouse or some kids who can help out, a chore chart enables you to divide everything up equally. If you share chores with your spouse, it might even make you feel closer because you’re both putting equal effort into your home.
How to Make a Chore Board
Again, you can create a chore board online and print it, but, of course, something reusable is better. If only one or two people do the chores in your home, a magnetic dry erase board you can hang on your fridge should work great.
If you have a larger household, a bigger chalk- or dry erase board will give you more room to organize chores for everyone. You can also steal an old trick from school teachers and print your list, laminate it, and then use dry erase markers on the plastic.
Sometimes, you might have chores that are exclusively for you—especially if you work from home or have a side hustle. You might want to keep an extra chore chart in your office to help you keep track of your creative or business duties.
There’s no wrong way to create your chore chart. You can put a list below each person’s name or put boxes beside each name and write in their chores. Think of it as a to-do list on a grander scale.
If you make a list below the person’s name, put seven boxes next to each chore with the day of the week above. They can then just check off which day they did it. If you assign one person to do the same list of chores for an entire week, this is one of the best ways to track when they do it. You can also black out squares on the days they don’t need to do that job—for example, if they only need to clean the bathroom mirror every other day.
Your chore chart doesn’t need time specifics, but if you have trouble motivating yourself to get the work done, you might want to schedule a time frame. If your spouse works in the morning, for example, he or she will have to do chores at night.
Find the layout or design that works best for your household. Your board doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s!
Reward Yourself
Chore charts for kids usually include some sort of reward system. For example, when they complete their work each week, they might get a gold star. After they earn a certain number of stars, they might get a gift, like a trip to an amusement park or some cash.
Consider giving yourself stars and rewards, too. It might help motivate you, and while the money still comes out of your pocket, you get the satisfaction of earning something for your hard work.
