I finally gave my roommate a chore chart and it actually worked

For 6 months I tried the passive approach with my roommate Dave, just hoping he'd notice the trash was overflowing or the dishes were piling up. He never did. Last week I made a simple whiteboard chart with specific days for each chore, like Tuesday is vacuum day and Thursday is bathroom wipe-down. Compared to the old way of me stewing in silence while he watched Netflix, this feels way more fair. Has anyone else had success with a visible schedule or does your roommate just ignore it too?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_wood5114d ago

It really is a game changer when you finally just put it on paper, isn't it? I've noticed more and more people doing this with coworkers too, like putting a shared calendar in the break room for coffee duty. It's like once it's written down, nobody can pretend they "forgot," and it just stops all that weird silent resentment.

iris_davis9014d ago

Nodding along with @terry_wood51 here, but actually I think you got one thing backwards lol. It's not that people are doing it MORE with coworkers now, I feel like this has always been a thing in workplaces. The real game changer is when people start doing it in their personal relationships, like with roommates or partners. Putting stuff on paper stops the whole "but I thought you said" back and forth so fast. I've seen couples nearly break up over who forgot to take out the trash, then one sticky note fixes everything lmao. Written proof just hits different when feelings get involved.