Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: getting people to wash dishes and do post-meals clean up

[Ann Zabaldo (zabaldo]

So I”m wondering just how much “fatigue” there is around meals?  I know we 
struggle with this here at TVC.  People love to eat and socialize but the 
cooking and cleaning up … not so much. 

Maybe it’s because we work all day and what we really need is to come home and 
have someone else cooking and cleaning for us.  Has anyone experimented with 
hiring folks to clean?  Or cook?  Or both?  I read about a co-op in NYC that 
has dinner prepared and cleaned up by hired folks.  Seems to work well for 
them.  

Would we have more meals?  What kind of experience would it be if someone else 
did the cooking and cleaning?  Or at least the cleaning?  Does having someone 
else cook and clean fundamentally change the experience of sharing meals in 
cohousing?   

I know in my group house which had 4-8 people in it once we hired cleaning 
folks to come in and clean 75% of the arguments just vanished.   Amazing. The 
house was cleaner, the air was devoid of friction and the conversation was 
something other than the chore wheel and who’s turn it was to _______.

Best --

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
Falls Church, VA
703.688.2646


> On Oct 5, 2015, at 11:38 PM, Karen Carlson <kcarlson2 [at] wisc.edu> wrote:
> 
> 
> Our problem, too, except our numbers have fallen since move in.  Tell us 
> about solutions.
> 
> Karen carlson
> Arboretum Cohousing
> Madison, Wi
> 
> 
> On Oct 5, 2015, at 1:13 PM, Cynthia Dettman wrote:
> 
>> 
>> We're struggling with our perennial problem of a robust meals program- we 
>> get good turnout, but we consistently have trouble finding folks to do the 
>> dishes and clean up afterwards, and those who do it complain that their 
>> duties are too demanding.  In addition to pots and pans and dishes, they are 
>> currently required put away tables, sweep the dining hall floor, and sweep 
>> and mop the kitchen.  Ideally we have 3 people doing this, but not always.  
>> We could add another "job" that involves DH set up and cleaning, but how 
>> likely is that to work?
>> 
>> What solutions might you recommend?  How do you make dish washing 
>> interesting, sexy and desirable?  perhaps required?
>> 
>> Cynthia Dettman, Columbia Ecovillage
>> _________________________________________________________________
> 
>