• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Account

Sharing Housing

Improve your life and finances — and make new friends

  • Home
  • Why Share Housing?
  • Blog
    • Stories of Sharing
  • Learning Center
    • The Real Scoop (Downloadable PDF)
    • Books
      • Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
      • Interviewing Guide
      • Workbook
      • The Complete Sharing Housing Kit
      • Other Books About Shared Housing
    • Classes
      • Zoom Class—Discovering Shared Housing
      • 5 Key Benefits of Shared Housing (Free)
      • Sharing Housing 101
    • Free Worksheets
  • Our Shop
    • Cart
  • For Organizations
  • Who We Are
    • Our Story
    • Our Board and Leadership
    • In the Media
    • Annual Reports
    • Support Our Work
    • Press Kit
  • Search

Methods to Divide Chores

Author Annamarie Pluhar, Posted on February 17, 2010

Every home needs to be cleaned.  When people share housing the question arises about how the common areas that everyone uses are cleaned.  Here are three methods that work.

Hire a Pro

If you can afford it, the easiest, best way to get the house cleaned is to have someone else do it. Seriously – once every two weeks by a professional will avoid quite a lot of conflict about the quantity and quality of housecleaning.  Since you are saving money by sharing housing, you might be able to afford this option.

Rotate Chores Weekly

Figure out how many chores you have and divide them equally among the housemates. Decide if these chores are done weekly or every other week. Put chores in a set order and housemates in a set order and every week the chore shifts to the next person.

Areas of Responsibility

Create equitable areas of responsibility (vacuuming common rooms, taking out trash and recycling, washing kitchen floor, etc. ) divide them among housemates by preference. Each person is responsible for their area for a month. They can ask for a change at the end of the month. If no one wants a change each person keeps their area of responsibility.

Follow Your System

Once you decide your system for maintaining a clean home, you just have to follow through! It may seem tough to come to an agreement, but one of the benefits of sharing housing is that you can divide tasks or even afford professional help! The most important thing is that you come to an agreement about how to maintain your home.

For more about cleanliness in a shared home, check out these articles! The Five Commandments of Keeping a Tidy Household; Home Sharing Means Never Having to Scoop the Litter Box

Filed Under: Keeping Good Housemates Tagged With: cleaning house, costs, ground rules

About Annamarie Pluhar

Annamarie advocates for people to share housing for the benefits of cost, company, help and sustainability. Author of Sharing Housing, A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates, and founder of Sharing Housing She lives in Vermont with one two-legged and two four-legged home-mates.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Footer CTA

Check out our resources

Our Guidebook
Our Guidebook
Online Lessons
Online Lessons
Interviewing Guide
Interviewing Guide
Worksheets
Worksheets

On Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Refunds and Return Policy
  • My Account

© 2026 Sharing Housing · This is Clear.Design