Adult Chore Charts for Husbands & Wives
Chore reward charts aren’t just limited to kids. Check out how we developed our own chore charts for husbands & wives or chore charts for adults and get your free printable.
Why We Set Up Adult Chore Charts:
You go to work, you work hard, and you come home and instead of relaxing, you have more work to do! The work never seems to end! My husband and I have specific things around the house that we do on a weekly bases that we downright hate, put off or forget about.
What Tasks to Include on Your Adult Chore Charts:
What you decide to put your chore chart should be based on four types of things:
- Things you NEED to do.
- Thinks you want to be consistent at.
- Things that make you healthier.
- Things you always forget to do.
Here are some examples of things you may want to put on your own chore chart:
- Flossing Teeth
- Drinking a Certain Amount of Water
- Exercising
- Cleaning Tasks
- Decluttering Tasks
- Kid related tasks
- School-related tasks
- Work Prep Related Tasks
- Daily Packing Tasks
- Daily Menu Planning Tasks
What to Set as Your Rewards:
Remember that with these adult chore charts, they don’t have to be money-based. They can be reward-based. Here are some ideas for how to reward yourself.
- Cash
- Coffee
- Gift Cards
- Dinner
- Movie
- Car Wash
- Pedicure
- Manicure
- New Purse
- New Shoes
- New Tech
- New Gadget
- New Book
- Bottle of Expensive Wine
- Growler of favorite craft beer.
- Overnight getaway
- Class to learn a new skill
- Online subscription service
- New tool
How to set up your adult chore charts
Step 1- Budget money or rewards for your adult chore charts.
- Evaluate your budget to see how much money you can put into your “allowance category”.
- When you figure it out make sure you keep it in mind as you assign values to your chores or activities.
- Make sure you can “afford” to pay yourself if you do all your chores or payout your reward.
- If you decide to do rewards instead of cash, think of the rewards that you will give yourself and how many checkmarks you need to get your reward.
Step 2- Print out Your Weekly Adult Chore Charts
- Download your free printable chore chart.
- Decide how much stuff needs to be worth to motivate you to do it each day and assign that amount to the item.
- Once you complete filling out your chart, you can make it re-usable by printing the chart and sliding it in a clear plastic sleeve/report cover, laminating it or putting in a glass frame.
- Grab yourself a dry erase marker and you’re on your way!
Step 3. Hang Up Your Adult Chore Charts
My husband and I hung our adult chore charts up in our bathroom so that each night before we went to bed we could check off our items. We also use that room often and consistently so it was always there to remind us.
- Hang your adult chore chart somewhere that you will see it regularly.
- Complete the items on your list whether they happen once a week, every other day or daily.
Step 4. Reap the Rewards
- At the end of the week, add up your earnings or completed tasks.
- Go to the bank and cash in or fulfill the reward you planned to receive.
- Bask in the glory of having been consistent with chores and self-care!
Tips for Motivation:
I was diagnosed with ADD as an adult so doing any kind of menial task is torture for me. Therefore I’ve learned that if I will watch TV or listen to podcasts while I do my work it helps give my brain the exciting input it’s looking for and makes the task way less boring.
- Do something you enjoy while doing something you hate like listening to a podcast while you do dishes or watching a show while you fold laundry.
- Cash-in your rewards or earnings weekly to keep you focused and motivated.
- Consider setting a timer and going after your chores for a certain time period. This strategy can help you focus with intention.
- Consider working on chores at the same time as your spouse as a TEAM effort.
- Make sure that you embrace this as a team activity. Check out this article from Huffington Post on 5 Great Ways Couples Can Embrace Marriage as a Team.
Consider Out-Sourcing if It Makes Sense-
One thing that I was never good about was considering the idea of handing off stuff that I don’t really have time to do to a service, someone else or automation software. When I learned to do this, I freed up some really valuable time to grow my business, spend time with my kids and do more of the things in life that I really enjoy. Here are some things you might be able to outsource or get help with!
- Menu Planning
- Laundry Service
- Cleaning Service
- Meal Delivery
Goal-Based Reward Adult Chore Chart System
Another approach you can take is with goal setting. This system is based on setting one big reward for yourselves that you earn based on achieving smaller goals.
- For example, my husband and I want to get a projector to watch movies on.
- We have set a goal that when we each lose 5 pounds, we will go get the projector.
- Other Examples:
- Track Walking a certain distance (add up your miles each day).
- Saving certain amounts of money.
- Eating a particular way for 2 weeks.
- Avoiding certain foods for a period of time.
- Finishing a project around the house.
- Make them short, obtainable goals so you don’t give up or lose interest.
- Make the prizes worth it, if it doesn’t motivate you, what’s the point?
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Kim Anderson is the organized chaos loving author behind the Thrifty Little Mom Blog. She helps other people who thrive in organized chaos to stress less, remember more and feel in control of their time, money, and home. Kim is the author of: Live, Save, Spend, Repeat: The Life You Want with the Money You Have. She’s been featured on Time.com, Money.com, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, and more!
