Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: problems at move-in time?

[Howard Landman (howard]

> We're trying to be proactive about setting up some
> processes, policies, or whatever to deal with problems that might come up
> around our move-in time, or shortly thereafter.
> 
> Are there any issues that commonly cause problems in communities around
> this time?

You'll need extra garbage disposal to handle the large number of cardboard
boxes etc.  You might find some way to recycle some of these, but it will
be a significantly larger load than will become normal after things have
settled down.

Allocating utility bills when some people are moved in and some aren't
might get messy.  It will also confuse your ability to forecast utilities
for next year's budget.  A little attention to the details now might
save a lot of hairpulling later.

There will be lots of things that need doing, and yet folks will all
be a bit exhausted from the move.  I recommend making your first
community workday a celebration, with free breakfast to get people
started on time.  (At River Rock I instigated and cooked the first
breakfast and I think it helped a lot.  If nothing else it gave the
parents one less thing to worry about that day!)

Take delight in the early, baby steps of living in community.  Even
something as simple as borrowing a pinch of spice from a neighbor
can remind you why you're there in the first place!  Such small
joys can help offset the inevitable initial difficulties and make
them seem less important.

        Howard A. Landman
        River Rock Commons
        Fort Collins, Colorado
_______________________________________________
Cohousing-L mailing list
Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org  Unsubscribe  and other info:
http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L