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Division of Labor: Three Steps to Setting Up Your Adult Chore Charts

Once you get your system, there are three steps to getting it up and running. 
 

STEP 1: EVALUATE

First, let's decide how you'll set up your charts. There are two choices for how to set up the charts. You can each "own" a chart for all the tasks. Or you can split the charts into two sides, with each partner taking one side of the chart; use one chart for Daily Tasks and the other for Weekly Tasks. As time goes on, you can add additional charts — maybe one for deep cleaning and another to assign tasks to the kids. 
 
Below are a couple of examples of how you can set the charts up:
 

STEP 2: CHOOSE AND DIVVY UP TASKS

If you've been following along, you may have already done some of the legwork here.
 
We want you to get started slowly rather than overwhelming anyone with too many tasks (or getting distracted in the setup — sometimes trying to solve the problem is actually *avoiding* the problem). 
 
These sheets have been designed to get the most necessary tasks out of the way first. That means feeding yourselves and keeping the house tidy (remember there's a difference between tidy and clean — cleanliness is about deep cleaning, and tidy is about keeping a space livable.)
 
You're welcome to go through all four sheets at once, but if this is overwhelming and you want to set yourselves up for success, just start with Sheet #1 for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. 
 
If you're working on this as a couple, now comes time to divvy up the tasks. A word of caution before you start divvying up tasks: this is an opportunity to get derailed. I once had a partner insist that we create a spreadsheet where we color-coded and ranked tasks according to how much we hated them. This was an epic waste of four hours and the trash never got taken out.
 
Operate from the assumption that no one wants to do any of this stuff, and it just needs to get done. It's fine to talk (quickly) about the fact that doing the kids' morning routine doesn't require the same level of commitment/equality as taking out a bag of trash, but *do not get distracted* or this will not work. Remember Rule #1: Done is Better than Perfect. 
 

STEP 3: GET STARTED

Once you've organized Sheet #1, go through the remaining three sheets and divvy up tasks accordingly. Unless there's something you honestly do every day that you know needs to be represented (for example, sanitizing all the toothbrushes), don't customize any of the blanks yet.
 
Set up your charts in a common location (we like the kitchen, because it's the center of the household) and get started using them daily. Make sure you put them in a place where they're in your face. Out of sight is out of mind, so don't put them inside a cupboard or on the side of the fridge where you won't see them.