Random Chore Roster
Assign recurring chores across days.
Built and maintained by Paul Clark, Redmoon Software · Last checked
Generate a random chore schedule from a list of people and chores for a week — or any number of days you choose. Families, roommates, and small teams use it to take the arguing out of who does what: each day's assignments come from a fresh shuffle, so nobody is favoured, though the tool doesn't balance totals across the period. Export the finished roster to print or drop into a spreadsheet.
Enter. Add the people and the chores you want covered.
Click Build roster to see a result.
Options
Recent results
- No history yet.
How it works
- Enter. Add the people and the chores you want covered.
- Period. Choose your time span, such as a week, in the Options panel.
- Build. Click "Build roster" to generate the schedule, then export it.
About the Random Chore Roster
Each day is shuffled independently
The roster is built one day at a time: for every day the people list is shuffled afresh and then dealt across the chores in order. If there are more chores than people the deal wraps around, so some people get two chores that day.
The consequence worth knowing is that days are not coordinated with each other. Nothing guarantees you a different chore tomorrow from the one you had today, and over a week somebody is likely to draw the same job twice. It is fair in the sense that nobody is favoured, not in the sense that the week is balanced.
Reading the grid
The output is a table with a row per day and a column per chore, which is the format that actually goes on a fridge. Set the number of days to match your rota — a week is the default, and a fortnight works equally well.
Check the columns rather than the rows when you are looking for unfairness. A person appearing three times under "bathroom" across a week is the thing people notice, and it is invisible if you only read across.
What it does not model
- No memory between generations. Regenerating gives an entirely fresh roster with no reference to last week.
- No weighting for effort — a five-minute chore and an hour-long one are the same thing to the tool.
- No availability. Someone who is out on Thursday will still be given Thursday.
- Both lists are saved in this browser; only the last ten rosters are kept, so print or copy the one you are using.
Frequently asked questions
How is fairness ensured?
Each day shuffles the names afresh before handing out the chores, so every person has the same chance at every chore. Days aren't coordinated, though: someone can get the same chore twice in a row, and the totals over a week won't necessarily come out even. If there are more chores than people, some people get more than one chore a day.
Can I save or print the roster?
Yes. Use the export option to download a CSV you can print or paste into a spreadsheet.
Are the assignments genuinely random?
Yes. Shuffling uses the Web Crypto API, so nobody is more likely than anyone else to land a particular chore.
Does my list of names get sent anywhere?
No. The roster is built entirely in your browser and works offline — nothing is uploaded to a server.
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Further reading
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- Saving for one thing: how to run a savings challenge that isn't 52 weeks long
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- Running a classroom kindness challenge that doesn't run out of ideas by day 3
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- Why a random resolution prompt beats staring at a blank list on January 1st
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- Why the standard 52-week savings challenge secretly punishes December
The classic ascending 52-week chart backs its biggest, hardest deposits into the final weeks of the year — right when holiday spending peaks. Shuffling the same amounts into a random order keeps the total and the deposit count identical while scattering the hard weeks across the year instead of stacking them at the end.
- Does it just feel unfair, or is it? Audit your random picks over time
One person swears they get picked for chores twice as often as everyone else. With a randomizer that logs recent draws and exports to CSV, you don't have to argue about feelings — you can open the spreadsheet and count.
- Who gets which prize? Let chance decide — and show your work
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- A chore roster that actually feels fair (and stops the arguments)
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- Beat decision fatigue at home: let a randomizer run the small stuff
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