Creating a roommate cleaning schedule for your apartment may seem like a simple task. However, it takes strategic thinking and careful communication to approach your roommates about establishing a precise cleaning routine and having regular cleaning habits. But before you all speak together, find out what you’ll need to include in a fool-proof apartment chore plan:

Tips for Ensuring Cleanliness while Avoiding Conflict

When creating a chore plan, remember it’s crucial that you meet with your roommates and discuss what needs to get done. Also, be sure to evenly distribute tasks so that no one feels like they’ll be doing more than their fair share of work. Below are some tips from us:

Know your roommates

Are your roommates the type who will react well to a chore chart or would they more likely find it insulting? Knowing how they will react as well as their level of cleanliness will help you determine how best to approach schedule making.

Discuss your apartment cleaning plans together

Whether you have one roommate or three, everyone should be involved. Make sure your roommates are aware of your plans. You may want to surprise them with a nice treat, a group meal perhaps, before suggesting chores or mentioning cleaning habits you’d like to implement.

Focus on an even distribution of tasks

Remember that frequent, strategic cleaning is the key to bringing your apartment under control. Make suggestions for frequent cleaning, especially when it comes to chores like bathroom or kitchen cleaning that can otherwise get out of hand. Be sure, however, to evenly distribute these tasks as conflict will inevitably occur otherwise.

What every cleaning schedule should include

Before creating a regular cleaning schedule to ensure a spotless apartment, you’ll need to decide what tasks must be included, as well as how frequently these chores need to be performed. This may vary depending on your living conditions, preferences, and roommates.

Consider including the following tasks in your chore chart:

Scrubbing toilets, showers, and bathtubs

Scrubbing the shower and toilet can be a simple task if you add this to your apartment cleaning plan. Also, these chores are much easier if you split them with your roommates, ensuring they are done weekly or at least twice per month.

Cleaning microwave ovens, refrigerators, and other kitchen equipment

Equipment in your kitchen needs to be kept in good condition. This usually involves daily or weekly cleaning based on the frequency you and your roommates are in the kitchen.

After-meal cleanup

After-meal cleanup is a must. The quickest way to a mess in an apartment is a kitchen cluttered with dirty dishes. You may choose to split chores with your roommate by determining that he who cooks must clean up after him or herself. Or you may choose to have another roommate clean after the meal is consumed. There’s no right or wrong way to do this since it all depends on you and the roommates with which you share your apartment.

Vacuuming and dusting

Floors need to be swept and vacuumed. Furniture and common areas need to be tidied and dusted. Vacuuming can be reduced, or potentially eliminated with a robot vacuum cleaner that has smart scheduling and smartphone integration.

Garbage removal

Life will be much more pleasant (and less smelly) with your roommates if you add this task to your list. Garbage should be taken out at least once per week, depending on how much garbage generally accumulates in your apartment.

The Perfect Chore Chart

To make cleaning easier, we’ve created an easy-to-use chore chart for you to download and print at home so you and your roommates can get started on cleaning right away!

This chore chart pairs perfectly with our downloadable cleaning schedules too, ideal for individuals in large households or those who share apartments with roommates.

Our cleaning schedule template makes it easy for individuals to set chores and evenly distribute them among those with whom you live. So if your apartment currently looks more like a pigsty than a home, there’s no need to fear or feel frustrated. Turn your home into a clean and tidy living space by splitting chores with your roommates through an apartment cleaning schedule!

Chore chart instructions:

What you’ll need:

• Chore wheel templates
• Cardboard
• Glue
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Paper fastener

Directions

Step 1: Download the chore wheel template

Step 2: Print out the chore wheel template you downloaded and cut out each of the circles

Step 3: Glue each circle to a piece of cardboard

Step 4: Cut the cardboard to match the circle. Now you should have three circles with cardboard backing

Step 5: Punch a hole in each of the circles. You can use a hole punch or bore a hole in each circle with the pointy end of a sharp object. (Just remember to place a cutting board underneath, and be careful!)

Step 6: Push the paper fastener through the hole to join the three circles together