Chore rota for 12 housemates: the largest size
Twelve is the biggest household the generator handles. With that many people the real question is how to share a few chores fairly, because most of the house is off in any given week. This page shows a complete twelve-week table for four chores.
Worked example: 12 people, 4 chores, 12 weeks
The housemates are labelled A to L so you can drop your own names in. Each chore has one person a week and moves on by one person every week. Everyone not in a row is off that week.
| Week | Bins | Kitchen | Bathroom | Floors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | B | C | D |
| 2 | B | C | D | E |
| 3 | C | D | E | F |
| 4 | D | E | F | G |
| 5 | E | F | G | H |
| 6 | F | G | H | I |
| 7 | G | H | I | J |
| 8 | H | I | J | K |
| 9 | I | J | K | L |
| 10 | J | K | L | A |
| 11 | K | L | A | B |
| 12 | L | A | B | C |
After twelve weeks every person has done each of the four chores exactly once. Each person works in four of the twelve weeks and is off for eight. Week 13 repeats week 1.
Keeping a big house running
- Add chores to use more of the house. With twelve chores for twelve people, everyone has one job every week and nobody is off.
- Split big jobs into zones. "Bathroom" can become "Upstairs bathroom" and "Downstairs bathroom", which gives two chores instead of one.
- Agree a day for the handover. The calendar event sits on the first day of the week, so decide whether the chore is done by Sunday.
The exact limits
This size needs the paid Chore Rota Pro licence, USD 3.50 one-time. It covers up to 12 people and up to 26 weeks and nothing above that, so a house of thirteen cannot be made. The free version makes rotas for up to 4 people and up to 4 weeks. Only the organiser needs the licence. Housemates who receive a link do not.
Every housemate gets a personal link with their own weeks, "No chore this week" in a week off, and a button that downloads a calendar (.ics) file. Privacy: the schedule lives only in the link, anyone with the link can read the names and chores in it, and nothing is stored on a server. See the privacy page.