Agreements

Agreements are the expectations we set for each other for how we show up in community. They can be short and simple or more lengthy and detailed. They can expand on how we functionally practice our Values, Principle, and Aspirations, or they can be unrelated to them.

Money stuff

Using house money

• House money is intended for:

  • Groceries - we agree not to buy some items with house money, these change over time

  • Regular household items - ex. Toilet paper, cleaning products, etc.

  • Larger purchases - for projects, appliances, etc., but only if they have been pre-approved by the house

  • Small purchases - under $15, for things needed, (ex a can opener), should only be done occasionally. If lots of things are needed check in with the house

• People can use personal money for house purchases and get reimbursed

  • Place a receipt in the mailbox of the person managing house money with your name

  • If you can’t find the receipt, you can create your own by turning in a piece of paper with:

    • Your name

    • The date of the purchase

    • The items purchased (if you don’t remember exactly, write a general category)

    • The amount for each item

  • Money will be reimbursed at the end of the month as a deduction from rent

  • If you need to be reimbursed before the end of the month, let the person managing house money know and they can transfer money over sooner

• We have chosen to intentionally contribute more money than we need, so we can have a surplus for peace of mind and for fun activities or projects

  • When moving out, a housemate can ask to be reimbursed an equally divided portion of the surplus at that time.

Access to the house bank account and debit card

• After someone has lived at the house for at least one year, they can request to have access to the house bank account and debit card

  • After they make a request, all community members will discuss and agree whether or not to grant them access

• The house card should only be used for the purchases mentioned above

• Please turn in a receipt after making a house card purchase with your name on it

• If you lose a receipt, please make your own (see above)

• A house card transaction without a receipt will be assumed to be a personal purchase

• If you make a transaction with the house card or house account that doesn’t follow one of the agreed uses of house money and/or without turning in a receipt, please send a text to the house as soon as possible to let folks know

  • If the person managing house money sees a transaction without a receipt or a text they will send out a text to the house to let folks know

Rent

• The rent and other money email is sent out on the 24th of the month

• Housemates are expected to send their payments by the 27th of the month. If a housemate can’t pay by the 27th, they should coordinate with the person managing house monies.

• If a housemate hasn’t paid rent by the first of the month, they should notify the house by the next house meeting over text, over email, or at the meeting.

  • Notification can include a plan for when the person will be able to pay rent, or it can be a discussion of how to support someone who can’t pay rent.

Money owed

• If a housemate owes the house money, for not paying rent, using house money for personal purchases, or any other reason, that should be resolved as soon as is feasible

• If someone still owes the house money at the end of the month, the person managing finances will include the money owed in the monthly rent email

Travel and Reimbursement

• The house has already pre-approved being reimbursed for monthly grocery payment if the following things are true:

  • In a one month period you are gone for 14 days or more in one or two chunks of travel

  • You ask for the reimbursement before you leave town

  • If your travel does not meet that, it needs to be approved by the house

• Please send notice of pre-approved reimbursement to the whole house via text or email including

  • The dates you’ll be gone

  • Request to get covered for house responsibilities, or who will cover you

• Please put the dates on the house calendar

Communication

• We have a house text on signal

• We use the house text for small friendly reminders (ex. If people could remember to stack small pots in big pots that would be great; don’t forget to rinse stuff out before putting it in recycling, thanks!)

• We avoid being passive aggressive in texts. We can also assume texts sent to the house are not passive aggressive.

Drugs

Smoking

• Tobacco - never smoke inside, smoking on covered patio/ porch is ok as long as no one else is using them. Their priority is as community spaces, not smoking spaces.

• Not tobacco, vaping tobacco - ok in people’s rooms, as long as windows are open, and smoke/smell is kept out of common spaces. If a housemate has an issue with smoke/smell, any smoking/vaping inside should stop until that issue is resolved.

• Vaping weed - same as above but window does not have to be open

Other drugs 

• Please send a message if you are going to be intoxicated in a way that will impact how people interact with you.

• If drug behavior impacts the community, you might need to face accountability for it, which may include needing to stop or change the habits.

Around the House

Laundry

• If you have a hamper with your name on it, please leave it by the machines when you have your clothes in them

• If there are clothes in the washer and you need to use it, you can move them to the dryer

  • If you do not want your clothes transferred to the dryer, or if you need a certain dryer setting, put a note on the washer to let people know.

• If there are clothes in the dryer, you can put them in the person’s hamper, or you can put them in the community hamper. You can also bring clothes to people’s room if you’d like

Dishes

• Please wash your dishes. If you need to leave a dish to soak or for some other reason please leave it OUT of the sink.

• Please dry sharp knives right after washing and put them back on the magnet. Do not put sharp knives in the dishwasher or drying racks.

• Please don’t soak cast iron pans or wooden utensils

• Nonstick cookware

  • Don’t use metal utensils

  • Use the yellow/soft side of the sponge

  • Don’t use cooking spray

  • After washing, dry the pan and hang it instead of placing in dish rack

Common Spaces

• All spaces besides personal rooms and agreed upon basement shelving are considered common spaces. This includes the kitchen, living rooms, bathrooms, outdoor spaces, etc.

• The community as a whole can decide what we do or do not want in common spaces. In order to change common spaces from how they are now, we need to reach consensus as a community.

  • Housemates are welcome to make small changes to common spaces without checking in first. These should be things that are relatively easy to undo, and housemates should be open to other people wishing to make further changes or undo the changes.

  • If someone wants to make a bigger change, especially something that can’t be easily undone, they should check in with the house first.

  • Housemates should check in or at least notify the house if they will be doing anything that temporarily blocks common space, ex short term mess in the kitchen, projects in the backyard

Doors

• Keep locked overnight, and if no one is around during the day.

• Can be unlocked if leaving for less than 15 min, or someone is in the common areas.

Bathroom

• Mellow yellow is ok, please close the toilet lid though.

• You can leave the door unlocked when showering, brushing teeth, etc. so if someone needs to use the bathroom they can.

  • If you want to use the bathroom when someone is in there, knock first and wait for a response

  • If you want privacy, it’s completely ok to lock the door.

Guest agreement

In our bedrooms

• If the guest is staying in our bedroom for one or two nights, there is no need to notify the house

• If a guest is staying in our bedroom for several nights in a row and living in the house during that time, please send a house text to let everyone know

• If a guest is staying in our bedroom for more than a week, please discuss with the house

Staying in common space

• Notify the house by adding the information to the house calendar. Include your name next to the guest’s name. If they are from couchsurfing or another hospitality website, include their request and a link to their profile in the calendar event

• Please send a house text the day before or day of to let people know the guest is coming

• Guests should sleep in the guest bedroom

• Only one “group” consisting of one or two people at a time

• Maximum stay of one week

• The housemate that invites the guest is the contact person in case of any issues

Discuss with House: 

• Guests that fall outside of the above parameters should be discussed with the house first. This includes:

• Guests wanting to stay in other common space such as the living room, in a van in the driveway, or camping in the backyard

• Inviting a friend of couchsurfer when there is already a friend or couchsurfer in the house

• Inviting a group of friends or couchsurfers with more than two people

• Inviting a guest for more than a week

• Pets

• Kids

Pets

• No Cats (Sean is allergic)

• Send out a house text to let people know if a pet is coming over

• Like with human guest, one housemate is the official host for the pet, other housemates can turn to them if they have an issue

• The host housemate is responsible for dealing with any mess the pet might make, including:

  • Pooping or peeing in the house

  • Pooping in the yard

  • Shed fur after the pet leaves

• The host housemate is responsible for dealing with any damage the pet causes

• Pets can spend the night if they sleep in a housemate’s room and if they are not likely to make noises/bark

• If the pet does not behave well or makes issues for any housemate, it may be asked to leave. Any housemate can ask the host housemate to make that happen.

• Keep eyes on the pet while in the house. Other housemates are not responsible for picking up their room or closing their doors, but the pets need to be supervised so they don’t go into people’s rooms.