Our Duty Roster

I don't think we've told you lately how much we love the show M*A*S*H. (The old TV show, not the movie. Do not waste your time on the movie.) It's such a classic. We don't have instant Netflix, but it's on there if you want to check it out. We watch it before bed every night as it's part of our bedtime routine. On the show, sometimes they refer to a duty roster. This usually involves who's scheduled in post-op for the day and night shifts, and also the Officer of the Day.

We all have similar duty rosters, don't we? Kels and I sure do. And I suppose if you're single and live with a roommate, you might have a duty roster, too. This (perhaps unwritten) document would answer the simple question involving chores: Who does what?

This who-does-what question has been a huge frustration to me throughout our marriage, but through open communication, Kels and I think we have slayed this beast once and for all. "Victory is ours!"

Kelsey: Huh? What is that? A movie line?

The key for us is that we tackle our daily chores at the same time, and we set a timer. We call this our 10-minute rule. But something more profound happened when we enacted this ammendment to our constitution. I realized that my duty roster frustration was caused because we didn't work on our chores at the same time.

I am a time manager. I understand that we have a finite ammount of time on this earth and I don't want to spend 10 minutes cleaning while Kels is watching TV, and then for me to watch TV while she spends 10 minutes doing her chores. We love doing things together, but when it came to chores we were never on the same page until the 10-minute rule came along.

Kelsey: I once heard that whatever chores you do in the first two weeks of your marriage, they will "stick." Meaning that your spouse may expect you to continue to do those chores, even if you were just being sweet and not wanting to set such a rule. Perhaps some families do not need a duty roster. After arguing about chores for four years, we learned that we do. It works better for us if we do know who is responsible for what.

So, now we hustle to clean at the same time so we can have fun together. It saves time, saves arguments, saves lives (OK, that's a stretch).

So, without further adieu, I post the Williamses' Duty Roster:

Well, there you have it. (It's not exactly even, but Kels also has a second job, working on contract freelance projects from home.)

What's your duty roster look like?