SHR: Cleaning Star of the Week

Summary

This technique identifies who has done their Shared House Responsibility and, if everyone has completed theirs, who has been the STAR!!! You can identify this person in a number of ways - poster with everyone's names, a gift with acknowledgement during community dinner, a crown on their door tag or a grand prize! This is great positive affirmation of people's contributions to the house cleanliness and can get competitive...

SHR: Wall of Shame

Summary

The Wall of Shame is a way to identify who hasn't been doing their Shared House Responsibility. It shouldn't be mean or overly cruel but can be done kindly and with fun. It is a display/poster in your house common area with all of the residents in the house identified - even you. There is a space in the middle for the person who didn't complete their SHR. You can make little stick people with print outs of people's photos or you could make them characters from a movie, tv show, book etc.

Dishues: District 13

Summary

District 13 is a last resort technique. If dishes get to a point of no return - clogging up the sink, never being washed, growing bacteria etc. - there comes the time of removal. Essentially, if cleaning in your house has reached the danger zone multiple times with no signs of change from the community you can start taking the dirty dishes away to District 13. They can be earned back over time but until the community shows signs of change and a willingness to be responsible for the mess they create. This can have negative reactions from a community, especially if they feel you are an "authority" and just using your "power." You have been warned!

Dishues: The Selfie

Summary

Standards of cleanliness differ from person to person. My level of clean could be your level of gross. My internal cleanliness watchdog might be less awake than yours. Making expectations of cleanliness clear is difficult because "clean" can mean a different image to everyone in your household. It's understandable that during the year the house isn't going to remain spotless much to the cleanliness watchdogs dismay! The selfie is a way to make clear what is expected of everyone by displaying what "clean" looks like so everyone can remember and compare whether or not the area is clean by the communities standards.

Dishues: The Clothesline

Summary

The Clothesline technique is a useful tool if you have a small community of residents. The idea is that you create a clothesline with everyone's name on it and a peg that moves from name to name once you have cleaned. You can alternately use any version of this that allows an object to be moved from one name to another and is in a visible spot e.g. the fridge with a magnet, a sticky tack arrow and names on a wall. The idea is whoever's name the peg is on has to clean a dish, wipe the counters or load something into the dishwasher. Once you have completed something you can move the peg to the next persons name on the line, allowing the cleaning to rotate between members of the house.