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How to Share Housework During Coronavirus

With all of the uncertainty and anxiety you may be experiencing during coronavirus, staying on top of your housework can give you some sense of control and normalcy. If you're in self-quarantine at home with other people, sharing the...

Assigning Tasks Fairly

  1. Include everyone in the decision-making process. Have a family meeting to talk about the housework that needs to be done and to assign the chores to the people in your home. Explain the need to keep your home clean and tidy while you're locked down to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Allow people, even the young children, to voice their opinions so everyone gets their fair share of chores and duties.[1]
    1. While everyone will end up getting chores they maybe don't love, it's important that you try your best to distribute tasks as fairly and evenly as possible. Letting people voice their opinions will help them understand the importance of and embrace the tasks they receive.
  2. Give children younger than 5 simple tasks that they can accomplish. Kids younger than 5 years old may have difficulty completing complex chores such as washing dishes or folding clothes. But, they can still do their part! Give them assignments that are simple and age-appropriate so they can pitch in just like everybody else and have a sense of accomplishment.[2]
    1. Have them put dirty clothes into a hamper, sort and match clean clothes, or put away toys, games, and movies.
    2. Get them to keep their rooms clean and pick up after themselves.
  3. Have children aged 5-10 help organize and clean the house. Kids between 5 and 10 years old can pick up after themselves, clean their rooms, make their beds and do more general household tasks such as washing dishes, dusting and wiping down surfaces, and setting the table. Have them lend a hand with cleaning up and helping to organize for more complex tasks.[3]
    1. For instance, they could gather the clothes hampers and place them near the washing machines to help out with laundry.
    2. Be patient with kids that are struggling to finish their tasks. Take a moment to show them the correct way to do something if they're having trouble.
  4. Get pre-teens and teenagers to help out with complex tasks. Kids over 10 years old can really pitch in and knock out more complicated chores like vacuuming, preparing food, loading and unloading the dishwasher, and laundry. Don't overwhelm your pre-teens and teenagers, but give them tasks that they're able to handle and would be really beneficial to everyone else in the home.[4]
    1. Older teenagers can do things like mowing the lawn and cooking meals as well.

    Warning: If you give teenagers tasks like taking out the trash or retrieving the mail, make sure they understand the importance of washing their hands and avoiding touching surfaces that may be contaminated. Never give tasks that involve potential exposure to coronavirus to young children.

  5. Split chores evenly between adults in your home. Tasks that are more complex or require you to take safety precautions, such as retrieving packages, taking out the trash, or disinfecting items that were outside of the home need to be evenly divvied up between adults. That way, everyone is doing their fair share, and nobody feels overwhelmed by the tasks they're given.
    1. For example, if you're in charge of taking care of the laundry, another adult can be responsible for keeping the dishes clean.
    2. Assign tasks based on people's talents or interests. For instance, if you're husband is a great cook, maybe you can handle cleaning up the dishes afterward.
  6. Break up larger tasks into smaller pieces multiple people can do. Everyone can do their part when it comes to big, complicated tasks such as cleaning out a garage or attic. Instead of giving the job to 1 person, bust it up into bite-sized pieces so everyone can chip in and make the task easier.[5]
    1. For instance, if you're looking to clear out the basement, have adults and older teenagers lift and move heavy objects, and do complicated tasks like mopping. Younger kids can sweep and pick up smaller items.
    2. Try to distribute the pieces of a larger task as evenly as you can.
  7. Create a chart or list of chores and assignments for everyone. Living in the time of the coronavirus can make you feel powerless and overwhelmed, but a schedule can help you and the people who live with you regain a small sense of control. Make a chart or schedule that lists the housework tasks and who they're assigned to so everyone knows what their duties are. Place it in a central location such as your refrigerator or on the wall in the living room.[6]
    1. Make a chore chart that everyone in the house can follow.
    2. Add colors and stickers to the chart to make it more lively and engaging.
    3. Leave a marker nearby so people can mark off tasks as they complete them and feel a sense of accomplishment.

Making Housework Fun

  1. Offer incentives to reward people for doing their chores. Offering rewards for people who complete the tasks assigned to them will make them much happier to complete them. Choose a reward that's most effective for the individual person so they have more incentive to do their chores.[7]
    1. For example, you could offer cash to teenagers, or let 10-year-olds use their electronic devices for a few hours.
    2. You could give younger kids candy as a reward for doing their chores.
    3. For adults in the home, let them have some free time for completing their tasks.
  2. Put on some music while you do your housework to make it more fun. Get everybody's blood pumping and raise their energy levels by putting on some happy housework music. Crank it up loud so everyone can hear it and feels a little bit better about having to do housework, even the teenagers![8]
    1. Try having everybody choose songs for a big cleaning playlist so everyone gets a chance to hear a song that they like.

    Tip: Every now and then, take a short break to have an impromptu dance party!

  3. Race against the clock to add some competition. Nothing gets people's energy levels up like a little competition, so set a timer or use a stopwatch to see how quickly somebody can complete a task. Break a task into pieces and have multiple people compete against each other to see who can finish it the fastest.[9]
    1. For instance, you could time younger kids to see how quickly they can pick up their toys.
    2. Time people as they sweep a room to see who can do it the fastest.
  4. Allow people to take breaks from their tasks. Since everyone is stuck at home with the coronavirus, there's plenty of time to do your housework, so let people take breaks from their tasks. Remind them of any rewards they'll earn for finishing their tasks and ask them to complete it whenever their break is over.[10]
  5. Help people struggling with their chores so they don't feel overwhelmed. Younger children may struggle with some tasks, but teenagers and adults can feel overwhelmed too, especially with the concerns or anxiety about coronavirus. It never hurts to lend a hand to someone with their housework. They'll be thankful for your help and the task will get finished much quicker.[11]
    1. Younger kids may need you to show them how to do something, so have a little patience and take a moment to teach them.
    2. Remember, we're all in this together, so if you help out a housemate, they'll return the favor if you feel overwhelmed in the future.

Doing Housework Safely

  1. Get everyone to wash their hands before and after they do housework. It's extremely important that every person in your home washes their hands often as well as both before and after they do their chores to minimize the chance of spreading or being exposed to coronavirus. Wash your hands for a full 20 seconds using soap and water.[12]
    1. Wash your hands before you eat, after you come back home from being outside, before you go to bed, before you put on makeup, as well as anytime you plan to be in contact with your face or mucus membranes such as your eyes, mouth, or nose.
    2. Practice washing your hands with young children so they get into the habit and do it correctly.
  2. Disinfect high-touch surfaces to kill any potential pathogens. Keeping high-touch surfaces such as countertops, doorknobs, cellphones, and toilet flush handles disinfected will help minimize the risk of getting sick. Use disinfectant wipes or a disinfectant spray with a clean cloth to wipe down high-touch surfaces at least once a day to help prevent coronavirus from spreading.[13]
    1. Allow the disinfectant to dry according to the time listed on the label to make sure it kills any potential viruses on the surface.{{greenbox:Tip: To make a homemade disinfectant, mix 1⁄4 cup (59 mL) of chlorine bleach with 1 gallon (3.8 L) of cool water.}
  3. Place clothes in the washing machine without shaking them out. Shaking clothes out before you wash them can cause any contaminated debris on them to be dispersed around your home. Whenever you do laundry, place the clothes directly into the washing machine without shaking them out first to minimize the risk of spreading coronavirus.[14]
    1. If there are any contaminants or viruses on your clothes, don't worry. The hot water in your washing machine and the heat of your dryer will kill them.
  4. Keep sick people separated and don't have them do housework. If you or someone in your home becomes ill, have them stay in their room to keep from exposing anyone else. Definitely don't have them do any housework so they don't potentially spread their germs. If you're concerned that they may have been exposed to coronavirus, contact a doctor.[15]
    1. Look online for testing locations near you so they can be tested for COVID-19.
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