Running your household

Introduction

Whenever you move to a new living situation, you will need to think through the logistics of how it is going to work. This chapter focuses on the practical considerations that go into setting up a household; it assumes that you now know where you will be living and who you will be living with.  

Taking the time to work through these practicalities is especially important if you find it hard to adapt to new situations or are moving into a type of living situation that you have not experienced before.  

What is required to maintain a household

There are many practical considerations that go into setting up and maintaining a household. If you are going to be living with others, this includes thinking about how household tasks and responsibilities will be shared.

To start to build a picture of what this could mean in your new living situation, refer to the ‘Contributing to the household’ worksheet you completed as part of Finding Your Flatmate(s) (Stage 2, Chapter 3). As discussed in that worksheet, some common categories of household tasks include:

• Food preparation – e.g. shopping, cooking

• Indoor chores – e.g. cleaning, dishes, laundry

• Outdoor chores – e.g. gardening, rubbish

• Household admin – e.g. paying bills, household purchases

• Daily routines – e.g. curtains, locking doors, answering the door

Now that you know more specifics about the home you are creating (i.e. the who, what and where of your living situation), it is a good time to review your answers in the worksheet mentioned above and add any details that have become relevant since you first did the exercise.  

Creating a structured plan

It can be helpful (especially if this is new to you) to create a structured plan to help run the routine elements of the household. This can include things like:

• cooking and chore rosters

• household meetings

• house rules

Having these in place before you start the new living situation can help ensure things start off on the right footing.  

Disagreements within a household can occur when one person feels like someone else is not doing their fair share. If you have agreed how tasks can be delegated from the beginning, everyone will have a better idea of what is expected, and any disagreements will be easier to resolve.

Establishing new routines

For many people, the routines and systems that they used before do not automatically carry across to a new living situation. For example, if you are used to combining your laundry with your whole family, it may not be appropriate to replicate this system when you move into a flat with friends. In this instance, you might need to be more structured and organised with your routines so that you can keep things running the way you are used to.  

If you are living with other people, it is important that you talk about tasks that will happen around the house and agree on a plan together; this is how you make sure everyone understands how they will contribute, and everyone feels like it is fair.

Using a roster

For some people, using a roster system that tells you whose turn it is to cook or clean can be a useful tool to make sure everyone is consistently doing their part.  

There is no set way to structure a roster, so it can be helpful to talk with your housemates about the things that you find easy or fun when it comes to work around the house, and what things you find difficult or stressful. It might be that the things you find hard are the same things that your flatmate finds easy, or vice versa.

It doesn’t matter how you share the responsibilities. As long as the tasks get done, the house is kept the way everyone likes it, and everyone feels that the plan is fair, you can make whatever kind of roster works for your household.  

Scheduling household meetings

Some people like to hold regular meetings with the people that they live with. This could be something that you do on a casual basis (i.e. when someone has something they want to discuss), or something that you schedule regularly. Household meetings can be a good way to talk about the tasks around the house, the menu for next week or any concerns you have.

Establishing house rules

If you are a person who likes things done in certain ways, or who needs to know the rules about things, it can be useful to create a set of house rules. This is a way for you to talk about what is important in your home, how you will treat each other and how you will communicate.  

It is also good to agree on how decisions will be made. Will it be a vote, does everyone need to agree, or does someone (like the lead tenant) have the final say?

Using disability supports for household tasks

Some people use their disability supports to make life around the house easier. This might involve getting help, or using services or technology to help with things like cooking, cleaning and shopping. If there are parts of running your household that you find tricky, this can be a good strategy to help you manage the ways that you contribute.  

You will have worked through elements of this in the ‘Contributing to the household’ worksheet you completed as part of Finding Your Flatmate(s) (Stage 2, Chapter 3). Now that you know more specifics about the home you are creating, it is a good time to review your answers in the worksheet mentioned above and add any details that have become relevant since you first did the exercise.

Exploring technology for your independence (Stage 2, Chapter 8) discusses ways that technology can be used to help with managing household tasks.  

‍

Where to start

Outline your preferences  

When planning for how you want to manage the household in a new living situation, it can be helpful to think about the situations that you have encountered before.  

Reflecting on the things that have helped you to feel organised and comfortable in the past and the things that have caused stress can be beneficial when it comes to making decisions on the set-up of the new household.  

Create a plan for your household

Once you know the who/what/where of your new living situation and you have spent some time considering the ways you would prefer to set up the household management, it is time to create a plan for your household.  

• What has helped you feel organised and relaxed at home?  

• What are the things that stress you out or get on your nerves around the house?  

Looking back on previous experiences can help you make informed decisions that will work for you in your new living situation.

Next steps:

1. Read through the example scenarios below.

2. Use the 'Outline your household preferences’ worksheet to reflect on your past experiences and outline the things that have helped you to feel organised or comfortable in the past, and the things that have caused stress.

3. In collaboration with your new housemates and/or support team, create a plan for how you will manage your new household.