According to Pew Research, only 46% of men and 34% of women believe that household chores are divided equally. Cleaning is an important chore for helping with illness prevention and general wellbeing, but how can it be divvied up more equitably? Here are some methods for chore division that can help make cleaning a family affair:

Establish your baseline. There is a bare minimum of how clean a home needs to be for hygiene. Then there’s how clean and organized we’d like it to be. Decide on a level you can all agree on and the steps needed to keep it there.

Make a list. It’s hard to know how chores are divided without accounting for all the chores that need to be done. Listing them out can help ensure everyone is on the same page and nothing falls through the cracks.

Divide and conquer. There may be tasks that you don’t mind but your partner can’t stand. Or things that need to be done by an adult as opposed to a child (like handling cleaning products). And schedules will also dictate what time is available for chores . Maybe you’d prefer to take turns doing certain chores. Go through and delegate tasks in a way that seems fair to you and your family.

Hand off the whole task. If one person is in charge of cleaning the bathroom, for example, they are also in charge of determining when it needs to be cleaned and monitoring when supplies like bathroom cleaner needs to be purchased.

Check in periodically. Schedules may change. Some chores may take longer than estimated. And as kids get older they can take on more complex tasks. Designate a time to revisit the chore list and reassess if any updates or adjustments are needed.

Additional Resources:
Getting Kids to Do Chores
Home Cleaning Basics