Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: consumer durables

[Kevin Wolf (kjwolf]

Ian Higgenbothams reply on the value of sharing goods was a useful 
reminder of other economics involved with the purchasing of more goods.  
My cousin Donna (who is now on this list) and I reviewed how many loads 
the community washer in her garage must have run.  In 1982, when I was 
still a renter in what would become the common house 8 years later, the 
five tenants bought that washer used for $25 shares each.  It was 
probably five years old when we got it.  When we started adding on 
houses, it was the only washer for, at one point, five houses.  Since we 
have gotten other community washers in other member garages, but that 
washer still, we estimate, does 40 loads a week - 2000 a year.  It has 
easily done 10,000 washes in its lifetime and it doesn't seem to be 
slowing down. 

Items like community freezers, drill presses, saws, ping pong tables, 
fuzball, solar hot water heaters, sweats, etc don't wear out with more 
use; maybe time, the seasons etc, but for may items, more use is not 
geometrically linked to how much use it gives.  

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Kevin Wolf
724 N St
Davis, CA 95616
phone and fax: 916-758-4211