Re: Common House Laundry Facilities | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: PattyMara (PattyMaraaol.com) | |
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2000 23:56:07 -0700 (MST) |
In a message dated 2/26/00 5:49:38 PM !!!First Boot!!!, tgowers [at] jps.net writes: << 1) Did your group purchase, rent, or lease laundry machines for the Common House? How were these financed (i.e. coin-op, membership dues)? At Tierra Nueva Coho, Cen. CA Coast, we are using donated machines from households who opted not to have them in their homes, or upgraded. We talked about leasing coin op machines at one point but these became available and we opted to use them. We don't collect any money for the utilities that the laundry room uses (gas and electricity). Homeowners Dues covers the utility costs even though half of the households use their own machines in their homes. 2) Are your machines front or top loading and why? top loading because that's what was available. 3) How many machines were provided in the common house per how many households in the community? >> For 27 households, half of which use their own machines in their homes, we have 2 washers and 1 dryer. For the first 6 months or so we operated on first come first serve basis. Then we decided to try a laundry schedule which is working great. It gives everyone a 4 hour block of time per week for exclusive use of both washers and the dryer. Plus some unscheduled free time in the afternoons and evenings when anyone can use the machines, first come first serve. We are able to get by with one dryer because we live in a place with lots of sun, and we have 4 clothesline areas throughout the site. Our laundry room is directly off the kitchen, first floor, next to the service porch. It is a place where lots of interaction occurs. We made reusable signs that say "Put in dryer" or "Don't put in dryer" or "Washer available" or "Next for dryer". This helps keep the flow of clothes moving. We've created a policy that a laundry basket with your name on it sits on top of the washer in use, so that your clothes can be put in it when the load is finished (and put in dryer if indicated). Same for the dryer. More often than not, I've come back to the laundry room and found my clothes folded in my basket after someone took them out of the dryer, and I gladly reciprocate when I go to use a dryer full of someone else's clothes. It is an intimate and anonymous gesture that feels good to do. We also have a deep laundry sink in the room and I find that it is a handy thing to have. I've used it for hand washing sandy beach towels, rinsing out mops and compost buckets etc. I've also seen it used for a quick bath for a muddy toddler or two. Remember to design in lots of cabinet or shelf space for people's laundry soaps, pre-wash, bleaches, fabric softeners etc. We also store a big bucket of laundry detergent for common house linens and towels as well as all the cleaning supplies for the common house, light bulb storage, tools. etc. Probably more information than you need at this time, Patty Mara Gourley Tierra Nueva, Cen CA coast.
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Common House Laundry Facilities Todd Gowers, February 26 2000
- Re: Common House Laundry Facilities PattyMara, February 26 2000
- Re: Common House Laundry Facilities Kay Argyle, February 28 2000
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