Do you know how to delegate household chores productively and efficiently? Well if you need some help keep reading. Here you will learn 10 steps to take to assign home chores to people in a way that people will take on duties depending on their preference and financial budget. Make yourself some popcorn or any other snack because these next steps will be made with intention and time.

Step 1: Set a Time & Date to Organize Everything

If you live alone or with a partner, family members, roommate, etc, have them set a time that best fits them and you to sit down together. You will talk/discuss delegating household chores productively and efficiently.

Set more time than anticipated because if you do need that extra time it is better than rushing the conversation because you have to leave. Be intentional always. Be open to other people’s opinions and hear the other person, but also let them know your truth and what you believe is best to do cleaning-wise.

Once the time and date arrive, go to the next step.

STEP 2: Self-Reflect and Observe all of your Life Responsibilities

Self-reflecting and organizing all of life’s to-do’s in a paper first before even delegating chores is a must. Knowing all the responsibilities you have already going on and considering that is the first step.

Look and write down on paper all your:

Work schedules
Weekly responsibilities and times that you usually do them and how often they take you to finish them
Weekly frequent commitments
If have children, the time you take them to school and pick them up

etc,

Taking all of this into consideration before adding more to your plate is essential to doing it firsthand.

Once you have your paper filled with all your information.

Talk with the people who you live with about all the stuff that you do even if they may know or may not know all that you do, for everyone to be on the same page.

Only share with them what you are most comfortable sharing. Never feel forced to give them a general gist of the work and stuff that you do.

Step 3: List all your Household Chores

Take paper and a pen and walk around your home and write down any appliance, thing, area, etc, that needs cleaning. May it be a small or a big to-do, still write it down.

When everyone is done, share your list with everyone and write down areas someone may have missed or may have not noticed.

Search online for common chores at home if you need inspiration. Write down some common chores you find online, that you did not write on your list but that apply to your living and home situation.

What does the word delegate mean?

Delegate Definition(verb): “Delegation is commonly defined as the shifting of authority and responsibility for particular functions, tasks or decisions from one person (usually a leader or manager) to another.”1

1- Credit Definition Link

Synonyms: Assign, share, give task to

Once we all are on the same page on what delegate means. Let us start delegating household chores productively.

Step 4:See your Finances

Once you had time to see your finances and your budget. If you feel secure and close with the people you live with, ask them about their finances and talk about yours as well.

Maybe you have the means to contract a house cleaner/ cleaning individual. If you do have the money to budget for every month, see if you can split that up with people also living at home. If that is something that is the best solution rather than delegating household chores for various personal reasons DO IT.

Weigh the pros and the cons of doing so, talk about them intentionally with people, and how this will impact them. You can also try it out and if you see as though later on or as things change and your income amount changes you can stop this service. And you and the people you live with would have to delegate home chores is what would be needed to do.

That’s life. Always see what is best for your situation and personal circumstances in which you are now living.

STEP 5: Delegate Household Chores

Delegating household chores efficiently to all who live in the home is the start. Delegating cleaning chores ensures people stick to the same chores and build cleaning habits.

Here is links to articles on the benefits of having a clean home:

1- Link

2-Link

3-Link

Question to ask each other “What home chores can I be responsible for doing and that I prefer doing as well, over other chores from my list”

You will find people having a preference for household activities that you prefer not to do. This opens up a table of discussion in ways where people take their likes and stick to them to build lasting habits.

TIP: Give people chores to do around the house that only they have. Do not give 2 people the same responsibility because it will cause unsureness and unproductivity. Yes, life will happen and people will get sick and not be at home from time to time. That is where people will step in and do their chores. But that will be on a few occasions, not as a constant thing we will keep doing.

Step 6: Assign Chores to Certain Days

Take a quick look at step 2. Observe again your life responsibilities and find gaps in which you have available time to do some household chores.

Assign things where you have an increase of time to cleaning chores that require more time and effort. And things that can be done quickly, assign those things to days when you have less time to clean.

All in all, “Building habits is the way to continually do something in the long term”.

Constant Time Work Schedules Vs Changing Work Time Schedules

Work schedule and/or life to-dos that remain the same every week

Set all your cleaning weekly tasks on certain days.

Example: you work Monday to Friday 8-5 pm and you have the weekends off. And you only have that job. Assign cleaning activities that require more time and effort on the weekends and the rest of the cleaning tasks that are simple on the week day by day. For Monday is dusting, Tuesday is cleaning /organizing your room, Wednesday is sweeping the living room, etc.

Changing work week weekly

See your weekly cleaning responsibilities list. Write them all down on one single paper. Place that paper in a place where you frequently walk past in your house. And as your week goes by, do things on that list as you have time to get them done.

Example: you just got your weekly schedule and you have time off on Monday and Saturday. Give yourself Monday and Saturday for cleaning and vacuuming the car, cleaning all the 2 restrooms at your home, and doing all the laundry. And throughout the other days since they have different times per day, when you have time and are at home do all the light cleaning at home. Like dusting, putting away the dishes, brooming your room, etc.

STEP 7: YOUR “WHY”

Write down your why on cleaning. Why are you doing all of this, what is your motive for delegating cleaning household responsibilities? Write it down on paper and let that be your motivation on days that you just do not want to clean. Help and hype up people who you do life with in case they also are having a hard time doing their cleaning chores. Because there will be days like that but we can not be driven by emotions or feelings but by discipline.

Self-discipline is defined as “the ability to control yourself and to make yourself work hard or behave in a particular way without needing anyone else to tell you what to do.” In other words, self-discipline is a commitment to yourself, and it involves following through on that commitment, even when it’s hard.2

2- Definition Credit LINK:

Being self-disciplined will help in your adult life by taking responsibility for your stuff and guiding you on your journey toward maturity.

STEP 8: Be Adapting & Flexible

In cleaning of course but with anything occurring in your life too. If you see something in cleaning that is not working out and you are having trouble with it, find a solution. Do not stay stagnant but find a way out. If people are not doing their part in cleaning talk and communicate with them rather than having hard feelings towards them. You never know what is happening that is preventing them from having time to allocate to cleaning. They may be busy with other stuff just as important but may not know how to communicate that.

Have grace for yourself but for others too when those household chores are not getting accomplished.

Step 9: Buy Cleaning Products

Make a list of all the products you need to buy, products that you may not have already, products to help you motivate to clean, etc. Do what it takes for you to get responsibilities done.

Have a budget on what you are allowed to buy just for your cleaning errands trip. Dollar General and Dollar Tree have great items for a great price if you want to save a buck.

Tip: Search your nearby stores’ weekly newsletter for cleaning product promotions & offers. So when you have your cleaning chores you will be stocked up with products you now have at a good price. Buy in bulk if you can for products you and other people at home use frequently that can save you $ for in the future.

Step 10: Start Cleaning

Yay, you are done with all the steps and you can now start cleaning. Yayy. See delegating tasks with others was not that hard right? Sharing household chores ensures everyone is doing their part and taking ownership as well. Listen to your favorite artists with your earbuds while cleaning.

It is a privilege to have a place to stay and more yet to clean your space. Never take that for granted. Have fun cleaning, listen to a podcast, put on music that hypes you up and edifies you, and talk with that friend that you haven’t had the time to all while cleaning.

Now let us get scrubbing!!!

To conclude, Did you walk away from these 10 steps feeling more prepared and ready to start productively delegating household chores? These 10 steps all try to be specific and personal depending on the person doing all 10 steps. No person following through the 10 steps will have the same cleaning chores as another person doing the steps. That is why you should never compare your cleaning journey with anybody else or do things that just are not meant for you to incorporate or start buying. Do what works for you always and only. 💗

‼️Comment down below if these tips were beneficial in delegating household activities. And also let us know in the comments any other step that you take to delegate household responsibilities that we did not include here.‼️

Credits

https://www.smartbrief.com/original/delegation-defined-and-applied#:~:text=Delegation%20is%20commonly%20defined%20as,leader%20or%20manager)%20to%20another.
https://www.gloveworx.com/blog/how-develop-discipline-fitness/#:~:text=Self%2Ddiscipline%20is%20defined%20as,commitment%2C%20even%20when%20it’s%20hard.