Cleaning rota for flatmates
A cleaning rota says whose turn it is to do the bins, the kitchen, the bathroom and the hoovering, week by week, so the flat stays tidy without arguments. It is made for flatmates, couples and other adult households sharing a home. It is not a kids' reward chart.
Blank cleaning rota
Print this page from your browser (the menu and footer are left off the paper) and write a name in each box. Four weeks, four jobs.
| Week | Bins | Kitchen | Bathroom | Hoovering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | ||||
| Week 2 | ||||
| Week 3 | ||||
| Week 4 |
Example: three flatmates, four jobs
Ellie, Fraser and Gwen share a flat. There are more jobs than people, so one flatmate has two jobs each week. The rota moves every job one person along per week, and the double load moves with it.
| Week | Bins | Kitchen | Bathroom | Hoovering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Ellie | Fraser | Gwen | Ellie |
| Week 2 | Fraser | Gwen | Ellie | Fraser |
| Week 3 | Gwen | Ellie | Fraser | Gwen |
| Week 4 | Ellie | Fraser | Gwen | Ellie |
Making a cleaning rota stick in a shared flat
- Choose a changeover day. Most flats pick Sunday or Monday, so the new week's jobs start together and everyone knows when last week's must be finished.
- Write down what each job covers. "Bathroom" might mean sink, loo, shower and floor; "kitchen" might mean worktops, hob and the washing-up left in the sink. A line each saves a lot of rows of complaints.
- Sort out the bin days. Put the council collection day for rubbish and recycling next to the bins job so whoever has it can plan their week.
- Deal with deep cleans separately. The oven, the fridge and the windows come round a few times a year; add them as an extra column for a month rather than crowding the weekly rota.
- Handle holidays openly. If someone is away, swap weeks before they go and change the grid, so the next person knows when it is their turn.
Skip the writing: make the rota with calendar links
The chore rota generator does the rotation for you, puts real dates next to each week and gives every flatmate a personal link that downloads their own calendar (.ics) file, which opens in Google Calendar, Apple Calendar and Outlook.
The free version makes rotas for up to 4 people and up to 4 weeks. More people, or a run past four weeks, need the paid Chore Rota Pro licence, which covers up to 12 people and up to 26 weeks and nothing above that.
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. Details are on the privacy page.