Thank you to a client who has recently introduced me to the concept of Fair Play. “Fair Play outlines a system for how to divide up household tasks fairly, based on your needs.”

One of the biggest issues I hear about in counseling is a balance of household tasks. As often as I recommend dividing things up, having a deck of cards, a book and website to guide people is brilliant! I purchased the Fair Play card deck, so I could use it when I work with clients.

Basically, you create the deck of cards that applies to your household and then divide the responsibilities up between everyone in the household. Having the cards as a visual is a great idea. Oftentimes we may talk about it or write lists, however to see each item as a card gives a different perspective to the conversation. It’s also a reminder to us as to what we need to do. Oftentimes, one partner feels they are doing more around the house, caring for the kids, paying bills, etc. and things get imbalanced. In order to create and maintain balance, using the cards to sort things out is very helpful.

In addition to the cards, I recommend to couples that they have a weekly meeting to not only make connection a priority, however it also allows us to maintain order in our hectic lives. 30 minutes a week isn’t much if it helps alleviate arguments and keeps our lives more orderly.

Let me know what you think!