If your family has several members, it’s quite likely everyone has things to do. It’s also a good bet that parents expect the children to help with chores around the house. There are many advantages of family rotas, or rosters, to keep your household running smoothly.

Family rotas can make daily and weekly chores easier. By making a rota, you’re able to write down all the chores that need to be done and who is responsible for each chore. Then you can create a centralised roster for the whole family or give each person their own rota of chores.

Consider having a family meeting to discuss changes being made in regard to chores. Explain that each person, except infants, will be expected to help. You may also want to determine consequences for not doing chores in a timely manner. Some families even go as far as writing up a chores contract that each person is expected to sign, showing they understand their responsibility in helping keep the house running smoothly.

Start by knowing what each family member is able to do. Make a list of chores each person can do and then assign each one to the person best able to do them. Of course, if you have several children close in age, you may want to switch out days so they share duties. Continue to assign chores based on ability until all household chores are assigned and rotas made.

Don’t expect everyone to do their chores perfectly the first day. In fact, you may want to give yourselves a week to get used to the new family rotas. Once everyone learns what they’re supposed to do and actually does them, your house could begin to run smoother than it ever has.

One advantage of having family rotas is the fact that one person won’t be responsible for everything. It wasn’t uncommon in the past for women to “keep the home” while the men cared for everything outside. Times have changed, and traditional roles for caring for the home have changed as well.

Another advantage of family rotas is the work should get done quicker. The old proverb “many hands make light work” is true. If everyone is working to get their chores done each day, there won’t be so much work to do on the weekend. This will free everyone up to do things they enjoy rather than tackling chores at home.

Perhaps your family hasn’t been successful at keeping a family rota. Put past failures behind you and start afresh. When your family realizes the advantages of family rotas, they may be more willing to give it another try. Before long, your family will know what’s expected of them, do those things, and the house and family will thank you.