Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: home occupations/ use of common areas

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Feb 28, 2016, at 12:30 PM, Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah <welcome [at] 
> olympus.net> wrote:
> 
> Remember that "someone(s)" will need to take care of maintenance, scheduling, 
> house rules, collection of fees, etc etc. In theory all users will have the 
> same standards and will leave common areas in as good condition as they found 
> them. In practice, it doesn't happen that way. If you allow things like 
> public events or big private events such as weddings, I strongly suggest you 
> require a member sponsor to be on site and responsible from start to finish 
> of each event. Such a sponsor offers information on where things are kept, 
> how the dishwasher works, maintaining emergency-exit aisles at a concert, 
> appropriate parking, keeping of house rules (like about alcohol use, 
> fragrances, dogs, etc). 

Amen. I am a terrible host because I don’t like cleaning up after groups that 
don’t self-organize and have a hard time smiling for hours at a time. In spite 
of that, thinking I wouldn’t have to be in charge, I recently hosted a birthday 
party for a friend’s mother’s 90th birthday. They expected 30 or so people 
because she was having 2 other parties. Instead over 60 people showed up. All 
happy, all boisterous. We were wall to wall bodies, tables, chairs, and festive 
personalities.

It was a lovely, memorable event. People stayed and stayed, only gradually 
drifting off. If I wanted to finish cleaning before 1:00 am, we had to start 
cleaning while people still sitting here and there, including the 90 year old 
who was basking in the attention of friends she hadn’t see in a long time. 

Those responsible for helping clean up were relatives and still talking with 
guests. Other people volunteered at least for a few minutes or one task, but it 
was exhausting to have to tell people what to do. Understandably they knew 
nothing about anything. Throughout the party, I also had to be alert for things 
people were doing “wrong” and answer questions. 

I never realized how many things needed to be done that I would have to clean 
up after. The complexity is only obvious when a a group of strangers is there. 

I recommend if you want to take on any outside events that you have a cleaning 
crew that is familiar with your facility and insist that large groups use them. 
Even when members host, the cleaning is not always done well. Not all residents 
are equally familiar with CH functioning. And more than one resident present 
for the event is a good idea.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org