Duma operating agreements
From ICWiki
INFO FOR NEW DUMANIANS
AH:8/26/92
By providing information about our day-to-day expectations of one another to new folks at Duma , we hope to make the transition for new residents as smooth as Velveeta® cheese. Feel free to ask questions about the following information. And if you have suggestions or concerns about any of these items, speak with other folks or write about it in the communications book. As a group, we can change these agreements at any time.
KEYS, DOORS, WINDOWS, AND LIGHTS
We have agreed to lock the outside doors and close ground-floor windows at night to keep out burglars, rapists, and slimy green monsters with lots of tentacles. Generally the security person locks the doors and closes windows around 10 pm and the first people up in the morning unlock the doors. We have also agreed to lock the house and close windows in the daytime when no one is home or no one is on the first floor. It's wise to take keys with you any time you leave home. The membership coordinators can give you a key if you haven't received one yet. Hallway and porch lights are also left on at night for safety and security. Please turn the lights off during the day if you notice them on.
MEALS
Please indicate what days you are able to partake in meals on the board located in the kitchen so the cook knows how much food to prepare and how many places to set. Please indicate if you need a "late plate" or aren't sure whether you can attend dinner. If you have guests over for dinner, please remember to put the date they plan to attend on the board as well. If there are any foods that make you gag, let others know through the communication book. If you wish to prepare or eat meat in the house, bring it up at a meeting so we can work out any concerns folks might have.
DISHES
Everyone is responsible for cleaning dishes, pots, pans, containers etc. that they use during the day and after the evening meal. Violators will be promptly thrown into the dungeon. After washing your dishes, help out by putting a couple of dishes from the drainer away. The afternoon clean-up people and the dinner clean-up folks are not responsible for cleaning up people's personal messes. There are a whole bunch of other kitchen guidelines posted in the kitchen to make sharing food enjoyable rather than a hassle. Please read through the kitchen guidelines and become familiar with them.
RECYCLING and TRASH
We recycle just about everything (except certain contraceptive devices). Please become familiar with the system, so folks who have lived here awhile don't have a cow when they see a juice carton in the trash. It's best to ask the recycling coordinator if you have questions, since what can and can't be recycled seem to change frequently. We also have a "free box" and lost and found. Put your personal garbage in the can outdoors. Garbage pick-up is on Wednesday.
PERONSAL BELONGINGS
We have found much less blood is shed if folks do not leave their personal belongings in common spaces. Please follow through with any project you start or mess you make.
BATHROOMS
When you shower, open the window to prevent the mildew that's growing on the ceiling from coming down and gettin' you. Remove the hair from the drain, and close the shower curtain to let it dry out when you are done. (Here's a Hint from Heloise: Drying in the shower keeps the bathroom floor drier!) The toilet motto to conserve water is "If it's brown, flush it down, if it's yellow, let it mellow." For men only: After you take a pee, put the seat down so the next person to sit on the john doesn't have to put the seat down (or accidentally fall in!) Oh yes, and everyone, please replace the toilet paper when you use up the roll or else your ass is grass.
TELEPHONE MESSAGES and USE
It seems to work best if messages are left in people's mailboxes with the day, time of call, and your name on the message. This information really helps when you are trying to decipher a message that looks like it was written in Cantoneese. Speak with the treasurer about obtaining an account code for making long-distance calls from the house. Please notice that there's a special access number for making calls in SW Oregon and that you should use the upstairs phone for calls to the outlying areas around Eugene (Veneta, Marcola, Cottage Cheese, etc.) Trial members and members can also receive calling cards for use away from home if you wish. If you plan to be on the phone for a long time, use the phone upstairs.
MAIL and NEWSPAPER
If you bring in the mail, please sort it and put it into people's boxes and recycle any junk mail addressed to "Resident." The secretary forwards mail on to folks no longer living here and sometimes to people who are no longer living. If you bring in the newspaper, please recycle the advertising inserts and yesterday's paper. We leave the current newspaper behind the boxes of periodicals during the day so others aren't ripping their hair out looking for their horoscope or the latest lies from Washington. P.S. Some people (read: "me") get peeved when a section of the paper is left folded up backwards like a gymnast doing a floor routine or when the paper is strew all over the table.
JOB DESCRIPTIONS .
There's a notebook describing the responsibilities of each job. Please, please, please read them so other folks don't have to remind you that evening clean-up includes putting away the dishes as well as washing them. It's up to you to find someone to cover your job if you are gone. If you plan on being gone for a while, place the item on the house agenda so we can decide which jobs can slide and which jobs others can take on.
THE COMMUNICATION BOOK
The communication book is a way we can share information with everyone else about matters that don't need immediate attention. Items that need immediate attention or response are posted on the fridge. So if the house is on fire, post a note on the refrigerator to find who will be on the committee... Read through the communications book to see what kinds of entries people contribute and add your own. Communication flows best if everyone reads the book at least once a week. A reminder circulates from left to right in the mailboxes.
USE OF COMMON SPACE
If you wish to use a common space for a group event like having the Grateful Dead play in the living room, it's best to write about it plenty ahead of time in the communications book to see if it's OK with others.
NOISE
Sound travels easily in the house, so we've agreed to keep quiet between 10 pm and 9am on weekdays and between 11pm and 10am on weekends. Leave hall doors closed during these hours to reduce sound travel. Remember that the chair sliding across the dining room floor sounds like a herd of elephants to the people sleeping below.
OTHER PEOPLE'S BELONGINGS
Most folks enjoy sharing their belongings with others, but in group living situation such as ours, it's easy to take for granted that other people's personal belongings are there for everyone's use. It's important then, to take extra care of personal belongings so people who are letting others use their items don't harbor resentment or feel "used".
LENDING OUR BELONGINGS
Friends, neighbors, and past Duma members occasionally come over to borrow things from us. Unfortunately, they aren't always responsible about bringing them back. To create some accountability, if Nancy the Neighbor wants to borrow the nail-puller, ask her to write in the communications book what she borrowed, when she borrowed it, when she will bring it back, and how to get in touch with her. That way we all know who has the nail-puller rather than looking around for it and wishing we could pull the toe-nails out of the person who took it.
PARKING
If there's no place in the front or back to park your car, speak with the neighborhood liaison about where to park on the streets. We wish to keep good terms with our neighbors, particularly Carl the Car Crusher, so we need to be careful not to park in their Spot.
SMOKING, ALCOHOL, and DRUGS
Because smoking affects other people, outside is the only appropriate place to smoke. Place cigarette butts in a can and arrange with other smokers to empty the can periodically. We don't have any formal agreements about the use of alcohol or drugs, however, it's pretty difficult to have a meeting with full participation when someone is under the influence of chemicals. Basically, it' up to the individual to make a decision about the use of substances as long as long as it doesn't interfere with other people or hinder our ability to create community. Keep in mind that some people may feel uneasy about substance use in their presence because they are recovering from substance addictions or have hurtful experiences surrounding friends or family members who used chemicals.
NUDITY
In general, most people in Duma feel comfortable about being naked and seeing other people naked. Please take into consideration, however, that not all people feel comfortable with nakedness for many reasons including sexual abuse. If you feel it's important to be naked within the house or outside on a regular basis, bring this issue up for discussion at house meeting by placing it on the agenda.
ROOM IMPROVEMENTS
If you wish to make a semi-permanent change to your room such as painting or engraving a silhouette of Barry Manilow's nose on the wall, it's best to check with others first (i.e. write your ideas in the communication book and ask for feedback) At a meeting, we can discuss using house funds for making long-term improvements to rooms.
INTERPERSONAL TENSIONS
To create a sustainable community, we need processes to work out interpersonal tensions before they erupt into major conflicts. Confronting one another directly and compassionately is the key. Many of us have found that Marshall Rosenberg's method for compassionate communication is effective. This involves stating a specific action, how that makes feel, why you feel the way you do, and what you would like to see done differently in the future. There's more information available about this method of communication.
PETS
As a group we will need to decide at a meeting whether we wish to live with specific pets. One exception: we do not need to reach consensus on allowing dust bunnies to live with us since they already do.
PROPOSALS
Anyone can generate proposals to consider at house meetings. We slowly but surely discovered that if proposals are made in writing at least a few days ahead of the meeting and posted for everyone to read, that meetings flow with much less turbulence. When writing a proposal, it's helpful to give some background information and state the purpose of making the proposal because it often alleviates other people's concerns.
OTHER AGREEMENTS
Over time, we have made many other agreements to make living together easier. Some of the most important include agreements about guests, the meeting process, our values, finances, leave of absence, toe-nail clipping regulations, our by-laws, and return of investment. It's important to gain a familiarity with these agreements (and suggest changes) so we all have a common understanding about how we will live together. Look in the agreements notebook or ask the secretary for a copy of these agreements.
