Got roomies? Organize those chores!
When you have roommates (or even if you're living with a partner), sometimes we complain of them being sloppy, or they complain of us being sloppy. The best way to end this dispute is to get organized.
When I was younger I lived in a co-op house and we had a complete system of chores - clean the bathroom, vacuum, take out the garbage, running the dishwasher at night. There were always at least 7 of us, so the frequency of chores are cut down to every 8 days, really. We just each picked a day where we have the most time free, and dedicated an hour or so to cleaning up. The chores would change every week, so one Friday I would be responsible for the bathroom, another vacuuming the rug. Each Friday I'm responsible for putting away the dishes from the dishwasher int he morning, and running the machine at night. It was an ingenius system thought up by our 90 year old landlady, and she was using it for years.
When you're in a couple situation, things change a bit. You might want to do your laundry together because you don't have enough for a load at the end of the week, and you don't want to waste water. You might want to share the cooking as well, since some days are late days. So over the years, I've developed the points system. Every two weeks, sit down and pick out the chore that NEEDS to be done in the next two weeks, then divide the points equally, plan them out with stickers on a stickerbook calendar (so you can reuse them, if you like.) and work out beforehand who's doing what on which day - especially when it's a recurring task like cooking and doing the dishes.
At the end of the two weeks, take a digital photo of the calendar, remove the stickers, and start over. You can either use a mini-whiteboard or a sheet o wax paper; both work equally well. One thing that really work well is the waxy on one side freezer paper. It's translucent so you can draw a calendar (backwards) on one side, then turn it onto the waxy side to receive stickers.
The sticker system works well with the rooming situation as well. The points system (printed out and posted next to the calendar) provides a flexible way of doing housework - you can always swap for equal points.
Good luck getting things done, and enjoy a clutter-free home!
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