The roster on the fridge, or one online?

What paper still does best

At 14 Rose St the dishes roster is an A4 sheet held to the fridge by a magnet shaped like a pineapple. Sofia, Kofi, Aisha and Tomás can see it while the kettle boils. Nobody needs a password, a phone or a signal. When Kofi does his night he ticks the box with the pen on a string.

That is hard to beat. Paper is always on, always in the room, and everyone understands it. A sheet on the canteen wall or the staffroom noticeboard is seen by people who would never open a link. For a small household, or a team that all walk past the same wall, paper might be the whole answer.

Where paper slips

The sheet is right on the day it’s printed. After that:

• Changes don’t travel. Aisha swaps nights with Tomás by crossing out names. Anyone who took a photo of the sheet last week now has the old version.
• It only reaches the room. A roster on the canteen wall doesn’t help the parent deciding on Thursday night whether they’re on.
• Someone has to make the next one. Every month, a fresh grid, a count of who did what, and the printer jams.
• Turns drift. Without a count, the person who is always home ends up with more nights.

Side by side

Keeping both without doing it twice

You don’t have to choose. Keep the roster in FairTurns and print it when you want paper. Add the dates once (“Every week on Monday”, “Every second Saturday”), set how many people each needs, and press Fill. Each place goes to whoever has had the fewest turns. The dates are kept up to 12 months ahead, so next month is already there.

Print the month for the fridge or noticeboard. Then put the public roster link on the sheet itself, so anyone checking from home sees the latest version. When something changes, change it once in FairTurns and reprint if you like; the link is right straight away.

People can be added by name only, with no email, so a nine-year-old or a grandparent can be on the roster without an account. Anyone who will be away marks it, or you mark it for them, and Fill leaves them off those days.

A useful line to print at the bottom of the sheet: “Latest version always at the link. Away? Tell Sofia by Sunday.”

When to stay with paper

If the roster never changes, everyone sees the same wall, and it’s a handful of names, paper is fine. The free chore chart template and weekly roster template print cleanly. Move online when changes start arriving by text, when people need to check from home, or when you catch yourself counting turns on the back of an envelope. The printable vs online roster guide goes further.

Questions