What this calculator works out
This calculator divides total household chore time by the number of people and applies an adjustment where an even split is not the intention.
Its real function is to get the total written down. Most disagreements about housework are about perception rather than arithmetic, and a shared list changes the conversation.
Enter your details
Before you divide anything
- Build the list together. A list written by one person will reflect what that person notices.
- Include the invisible work: planning meals, tracking what needs replacing, booking appointments, remembering birthdays. It takes real time and is routinely uncounted.
- Time tasks honestly rather than estimating. Most household jobs take longer than remembered.
- The adjustment exists for genuine differences in availability — different working hours, caring responsibilities, health.
Research on household labour consistently finds that the organising, remembering and anticipating — knowing the washing powder is running low, that a form is due, that someone needs new shoes — falls unevenly and goes largely unrecorded. It is harder to time than washing up, and leaving it off the list is the most common reason a split that looks even does not feel even.
How this calculator works
A division with an adjustment:
Minutes per person = total chore minutes ÷ people × (1 + adjustment ÷ 100)A positive adjustment increases one person's share; setting it to zero gives an even split. The tool calculates one share, so for an uneven split it is used twice with opposite adjustments.
Worked example: ten hours a week
Using the default figures — 600 minutes across 2 people, no adjustment:
- Per person: 300 minutes, or 5 hours a week
Ten hours a week between two people is a plausible figure for a household without children and a low one for a household with them — published time-use surveys generally find considerably more. If your total comes out well under ten hours, the list is probably incomplete rather than the household unusually tidy, and the missing items are usually the planning and remembering.
Common mistakes
- One person writing the list. It captures only what that person sees.
- Omitting planning and organising. It is the largest uncounted category.
- Estimating rather than timing. Estimates are consistently low.
- Treating equal minutes as fair. Frequency, flexibility and unpleasantness all matter.
- Using the split as a scoreboard. The point is a working arrangement, not a verdict.
Frequently asked questions
How much housework does a household actually do?
National time-use surveys consistently find several hours a day of unpaid household work per household, rising sharply with children. Comparisons are complicated by what counts — childcare, shopping and admin are sometimes included and sometimes not. Your own timed list is more useful than any published average.
Is an even split the right target?
Not necessarily. Households differ in working hours, health, caring responsibilities and what people mind doing. A split that both people consider workable matters more than one that is numerically equal. What the calculation provides is a shared starting point rather than an answer.
How do I raise it without an argument?
Build the list together rather than presenting one. Time tasks rather than asserting them. Focus on the arrangement going forward rather than on the past. Most of the heat in these conversations comes from disagreement about what the current state actually is, which a joint list removes.
What about children's contributions?
Age-appropriate tasks are widely recommended and genuinely reduce the adult total over time, though supervising a young child doing a job usually takes longer than doing it yourself in the short term. Counting their contribution in the split is reasonable once it is real.
Is what I enter stored?
No. Figures are processed in your browser and never transmitted or retained.
Related tools
References
- GOV.UK — Office for National Statistics time use surveys and unpaid work estimates
- MoneyHelper — guidance on managing shared household arrangements
Sources are checked at publication and can change — how I choose and check references.