The Family Agreement: Starting Together on the Same Page
A free printable to kick off your organizing journey as a team
One of the hardest parts of getting a family on board with organizing isn’t the clutter itself.
It’s the feeling that you’re the only one who cares.
A few years ago I introduced this Family Agreement to a client during a weekend session. She had two kids who, like most kids, weren’t exactly lining up to declutter.
But something shifted when she sat them down, snacks on the table, and asked them to be part of the conversation.
They were excited.
It wasn’t because they suddenly showed interest in organizing, but because they were being asked.
Their opinions mattered.
Their voices were in the room.
And by the time everyone signed their names at the bottom, they weren’t just agreeing to keep their home in order. They were part of a vision for how they want their home to feel like when the work is done.
That’s what this agreement does. It gives your family a shared starting point: a moment you can point back to when things get challenging, when someone forgets, when the pile comes back.
We agreed to this. Together.
The process is simple. You gather everyone, talk about how the clutter makes each person feel, share what kind of home you all want to live in, and make it official with signatures. Kids can decorate the page. Everyone gets a high five.
It sounds small. But it plants something.
Download the Family Agreement printable below.
It includes a step-by-step guide for hosting your Family Agreement Meeting, and the agreement page itself for everyone to sign.
This is also part of the Dooley Method book — available as a physical copy or through your paid membership in the Dooley Method library.
Make this your family’s motto:
We are such a great team for taking care of our home together.
Doing this tonight!