Swedish engineering students have unveiled an innovative app designed to streamline household chores, promote equality in domestic responsibilities, and encourage family communication.
Named Accord, the app allows families to assign, track, and monitor household tasks, with features like reminders for incomplete chores and acknowledgments for completed ones. Launched in early September, the app has already gained traction with around 2,000 users.
Developed by students Victor Fredrikson and Marcus Pahlman, Accord emerged from a personal challenge. Fredrikson’s father, frustrated by repeatedly reminding him to tidy his room, jokingly suggested creating an app to eliminate the nagging. Inspired by this, the duo crafted a solution to make “invisible work visible.”
Among its early adopters are Marko and Neha Sarcevic from Täby, Stockholm, who use the app to manage their busy household with two young children. The app has sparked meaningful conversations in their family about sharing responsibilities and reducing chaos.
“It opened up discussions about who is responsible for what,” Marko shared, while Neha praised the app’s reminder feature for easing her mental load.
The app also addresses gender disparities in unpaid domestic labor, highlighted by a 2023 UN Women report revealing women spend 2.8 hours more daily on such tasks than men. By fostering transparency and collaboration, Accord aims to reduce this gap and make household chores a team effort.
Fredrikson envisions the app as a tool for sparking discussions about fairness and accountability in homes. “We want families to engage in conversations about shared duties and appreciate each member’s contributions,” he said.
Looking ahead, users like the Sarcevics plan to introduce Accord to their children, integrating rewards and allowances for task completion. “Clean your room and earn points,” Marko suggested as a future family strategy.
By simplifying household management and highlighting often-overlooked labor, Accord seeks to create a more balanced and harmonious home environment.
