Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Fees for participation

[Ann Zabaldo (ann.zabaldo]

HI All --

In re:  Sharon's post on CH cleaning.  (We live in the same community.)

Yes, it's true we have a four person team who likes cleaning the CH.
They would also like to have some help.  It's hard for them to move
all the furniture to mop and vacuum.   As far as I can tell no one
else does any cleaning except to clean up after a personal event.
(And sometimes not even then.)  We have now started adding CH cleaning
to our bi-monthly work days and that helps w/ some of the "deep
cleaning" issues.  Other efforts to address the lack of participation
by the community in helping w/ the cleaning such as HIRING someone to
help have been rebuffed by the four person team.  They don't want to
spend the money.

I have to say our CH is very very clean when one considers we have 65
adults and some 30+ children using it.    And esp. clean when compared
to other CHs  I've been in.  We have almost no clutter.  But cleaning
is definitely a "chore"  -- completely the opposite of let's say ...
gardening and landscape maintenance which a number of people like to
do.

What is it about cleaning that make people so resistant?  Is it that
it's a "chore" that never really gets done?  That is ... as soon as
you mop the floor someone walks in w/ muddy boots?  Or it's a job
that's unacknowledged or unappreciated ranking lower than throwing out
the garbage?  I think it may have something to do w/ people's
expectations about what is an acceptable level of cleanliness.  Some
people don't mind clutter on every surface and others are
uncomfortable w/ books or papers scattered on the coffee table. I
dunno.  Just curious ...

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village
WDC

On Dec 13, 2007 1:02 PM, Villines Sharon <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com> wrote:
>
> On Dec 13, 2007, at 12:34 PM, Christine Sizer wrote:
>
> > I know I don't want to clean anything extra, either, but I was
> > hoping to
> > help cut some of that $5000 or whatever it is....
>
> We have a cleaning team and they actually love cleaning the
> commonhouse as a team. They protest when some members want
> professional cleaning. They clean every other Saturday morning from
> 10-12. I think one member comes in when everyone is gone to mop the
> kitchen and corridors.
>
>
-- 
Ann Zabaldo
Voice 202-291-7892
Fax 202-291-8594
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
McLean, VA