My roommate and I agree in principle that chores should be shared. In practice, one of us thinks a clean kitchen means no dirty dishes, while the other notices crumbs, greasy handles and the sink. We're both convinced we're doing our share. I'm considering a short list of concrete tasks and a weekly reset, rather than a vague promise to ‘keep things tidy.’ How did you discuss mismatched standards without implying the other person was lazy?
Sharing chores with a roommate when standards are very different
- adulting
- sharing
- chores
- roommate
26
4 replies
Concrete list beats “tidy” every time. We split things into daily, weekly, and “someone else would absolutely notice this” and it got less p...
Concrete list beats “tidy” every time. We split things into daily, weekly, and “someone else would absolutely notice this” and it got less personal fast.
Seconding that. I’d frame it as “let’s define what done looks like” instead of “you’re missing spots,” because that’s where people start defending themselves.
One thing that helped in my apartment was agreeing on the sink as the stop point. No dishes in it overnight, and everything else was a separ...