About this collection
A chore chart is less about getting kids to clean and more about making the invisible work of the house visible. When everyone can see the list, it stops being one person's job to remember it.
Our chore charts come in three broad shapes: sticker-style charts for kids under ten, weekly assignment grids for older children and teens, and rotation charts for adults sharing a home.
Further reading: a longer essay on building a personal planning system that pairs well with this collection.
Inside the collection you will find seven concrete formats. The Sticker Chart is sized for ages 4–9 with three or four named chores and a sticker square per day; the chart itself becomes the reward, and most parents find that the act of placing the sticker matters more to a young child than any prize at the end of the week. The Weekly Grid is sized for ages 10 and up with a rotating list of named chores and a check-off column. The Rotation Chart is for adults sharing a kitchen and bathroom, with a built-in switch every fortnight so no one is stuck with the same job forever.
We also publish a Daily Checklist (for households that prefer a fresh sheet each morning), a By-Room organizer (kitchen, bathroom, living room each get their own column), a By-Person organizer (each person in the house gets a named column), and a Magnetic-Friendly format printed on a single 8.5×11 sheet that fits inside a magnetic page protector for the fridge. Every variant includes a small "house rules" reminder block — three or four expectations everyone in the house has agreed to — and a blank line for one-off jobs that are not part of the regular rotation.
Two things we have learned from the people who use these the most: first, the chore chart works best when it is posted somewhere everyone walks past — a fridge, the inside of a kitchen cabinet door, the side of a bathroom mirror — not folded into a binder. Second, an honest weekly five-minute meeting (Sunday evening is a popular slot) where everyone looks at the chart together is more important than the chart itself. The chart is the artifact; the meeting is the process. Pair the chart with a weekly meal planner from the same shelf so dinner-and-dishes responsibilities rotate fairly along with the rest of the week's domestic work.
What's typically inside a chore chart printable
- A list of named chores with a frequency
- A column or row for each person
- A sticker or check-off space per day
- A weekly reward or allowance summary
- A "house rules" reminder block
- A blank line for one-off jobs
How to choose the right one
Pick a sticker chart for ages 4–9 with two or three small chores. Pick a weekly grid for ages 10 and up with a rotating list. Pick a roommate rotation chart for adults who share a kitchen and bathroom.
A note on the underlying practice
Chore may refer to one of the following:House work Bads in economics Chore division Housekeeping Handyman work Biochore, parts of the biosphere with similar environmental conditions Chore (band), a Canadian rock band Édgar Mejía, Mexican footballer Chore jacket
Background context drawn from open Wikipedia summaries; the printables themselves are the editorial work of the PlannerNest team.
Related: a deeper guide to the methodology behind these printables.