Chore Wheel Guide – And Why You Need it for Your Home

You can solve your apartment or house cleaning frustrations much easier than you think. Simply invest some time creating a chore wheel or implement handy solutions like downloading a chore app. We share the why and how, to help create better living environments.

Whether you’re a parent renting your home out to your adult kids or a landlord leasing student accommodation, someone has to do the cleaning! No one wants to live in a pigsty – at least, not for too long anyway! Renters and roommates need to agree about how the accommodation is kept clean so everyone’s happy. But, how can this be done in a fair manner, so the house cleaning doesn’t always land on one person’s shoulders? Enter the chore wheel, a nifty tool designed to distribute cleaning duties between all occupants sharing a living space.

And, yes, this also applies to you if you’re sharing space with your adult kids! Ensuring they do their bit will prevent tension and resentment from building up when they still think mom is responsible for their laundry!

How does a chore wheel work? What other modern options do you have? Read on to find out more about this tool and other methods like the Enzo app that are simplifying home life for many households.

Start building a cleaning and maintenance schedule that’ll keep both renters and roommates happy.

 

What is a Chore Wheel?

Part of home management—whether you’re a landlord, homeowner, parent, or apartment owner—is making sure the place is habitable for all its occupants. A chore wheel is made up of the roommates’ names and a list of house cleaning tasks that need to be performed to keep the place clean. The wheel guides everyone involved regarding the chores they’re responsible for.

Using a chore wheel ensures every roommate has different cleaning tasks. It easily manages task distribution when the schedule switches after a week or month. It means that the particularly dirty work doesn’t always land on the same person every time and you have a super easy method to manage assigning different tasks! After all, who wants to be on bathroom duty all the time?

 

Why do Renters and Roommates Need Chore Wheels?

Both the renter, such as parents, and roommates sharing accommodation space have the right to live in a safe and healthy home. However, the more people share a living space, the faster dirt and grime can accumulate. And, problems are bound to build up too.

Tension mounts as roommates grumble about who’s not doing their bit to keep the place clean. Even pest infestation can become a serious health issue. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up sharing your residence with more than just humans! And, renters will end up paying unnecessarily for repairs and damage control as an infestation takes over.

You need to stay one step ahead of frustrations AND infestations!

Establishing a cleaning schedule is an ideal plan when a group of people share a living space.

There are a number of ways to manage house cleaning, but it usually starts with all inhabitants sitting down to hash it out. To avoid unfair distribution of cleaning tasks, using a tool such as a chore wheel helps prevent disagreements from surfacing. It’s a fair system, where no one get penalized or receives special treatment. Everyone has to do the dirty work at some stage!

The other benefits of having a chore wheel include:

• Knowing what needs to be done: Clearly defining what chores need to be done to keep the residence clean, prevent misunderstandings. Also, with everyone having a task no one has the right to try and get out of doing the worse jobs such as taking out the trash.
• Sharing of tasks: Each roommate gets a chance to perform each task. The system prevents one person having to wash the dirty dishes every day!
• Fair distribution: By dividing the different chores between the number of roommates, the wheel ensures there’s an even distribution of house cleaning jobs. Flat mates will have a better attitude towards chores when they don’t feel taken advantage of.
• Easy maintenance: Performing the tasks on the chore wheel helps maintain a clean and hygienic environment. It also reduces the chance of pest infestation, which means fewer expenses and no health risks.
• Atmosphere at home: Creating a chore wheel for roommates eliminates arguments. So, no uncomfortable silences after a fight about who should mow the lawn this week. Everyone gets a chance, so there’s clearly no discrimination.

 

How Does a Chore Wheel Work?

Introducing the chore wheel tool is a simple but effective way of sharing the house cleaning tasks. But, how does it really work? Here are steps to making a chore wheel and how to use it.

 

1. List the Cleaning Chores

Sit down as a group and list the different cleaning chores that need to be done to keep the accommodation habitable. These could include:

• Cleaning the kitchen and washing the dishes
• Taking out the trash
• Cleaning the bathroom
• Vacuuming
• Unclogging drains
• Sweeping the yard
• Dusting and mopping

 

Tip: cleaning the kitchen, taking out the trash, mopping the floor, and washing the dishes could be combined into one chore. It streamlines the workflow. Just make sure the list reflects exact expectations, to avoid misunderstandings.

 

2. Create the Chore Wheel

There are downloadable templates for creating a chore wheel, or simply make your own:

• Cut out two circles, one bigger than the other.
• Divide the bigger wheel into the number of roommates sharing the living space.
• The different cleaning chores are divided into sections on the smaller wheel. Allocating daily, weekly, and monthly tasks can be added to an even smaller wheel if necessary.
• Use a brad paper fastener to join the circles while allowing them to rotate. Make sure the sections align with each other on all the circles.

 

3. Rotate the Wheel

You can decide how often the chore wheel should be rotated and whether rotations should be done weekly, quarterly, or monthly. Agreeing as a team to the number of times rotation of chores takes place gives each roommate buy in and the opportunity to plan their cleaning schedule accordingly.

Daily tasks can be rotated more often if roommates feel it’s best to share out these tasks and get a break in between doing them. For example, walking a jointly owned pet daily can become tiresome for one resident if they have to do it every day for a month!

 

Alternative Chore Tracker Methods

A chore wheel is a fun and interactive method to organize tasks at home. You can even have fun with your kids while getting chores done, because they may like ‘spinning the wheel’ each week. But every household is unique, so also consider the following chore tracker options:

• A chore calendar, showing days of the month and each person’s responsibilities. The visual reminder against the fridge may help get things done.
• Using a spreadsheet that everyone can collaborate on, without the need of a calling a meeting.
• Chore tracker apps like Enzo that puts the house’s task allocation in the palm of everyone’s hand.
• Write chores on strips of paper, put them in a jar and let everyone draw tasks they need to do that week. It may not be evenly distributed in terms of time and effort required, but it keeps life interesting!

 

Tips on Getting Chores Done

Whether you use a chore wheel or an app, you rarely have a guarantee that everyone will do their share. You can improve these chances by doing the following:

• Use a roommate compatibility quiz before approving a new flat mate, so you know if they value cleanliness.
• Discuss the rules of the house with everyone present, and allow their input, in order to get all persons’ buy in.
• If necessary, let there be consequences for not performing tasks. For kids it could mean losing out on pocket money, while adults may need to pay a fine.
• Organize times where everyone performs their tasks together, in order to motivate each other.

 

Final Words: Do Your Bit

Sharing accommodation with other people requires each person to be responsible and do their bit to keep the place clean. The chore wheel or one of many other chore calendar resources clearly details what needs to be done while fairly distributing the tasks on a rotational basis between all roommates.

Chore wheels simplify household cleaning schedules. However, doing your bit means also taking responsibility for your own personal tasks such as cleaning up after brushing your teeth and tidying away your clutter. Be the kind of roommate others want to live with, to ensure a welcoming home environment for them—and you.

And remember, technology can help you take home management to the next level—and make it MUCH easier! If you’re looking for something to handle household bills, pay utilities, and set ground rules the Enzo app is your solution! Download to try it out and if you have a question, share with us in the comments.