What's In YOUR Toolbox?

The Cohousing Toolbox

While some folks find it fun in cohousing to debate privacy vs. community, voluntary vs. required workshare, Common House use for private events, noise, pets and policies ... sometimes you just need TOOLS to help you on your way.  Whether you are a newly forming group or a well established community, here's some stuff designed to grease the skids of cohousing.

Are you just starting out in cohousing?  Are you geographically challenged with some of your members living far away?  Is your cohousing professional in another time zone? Are you having a critical meeting and some of your neighbors are away? 

ZOOM is a FREE tool that allows you to video conference up to 50 participants!  The number of meetings is UNLIMITED.  You can even do one-to-one meetings.  It's a little like SKYPE but for groups.  It's EASY to use.  Believe me ... if I use it it's easy!  

Chat support is available.

Inside maps.com

Selling your cohousing home?  We're sorry to see you leave but if you have to ... make marketing your home a little easier with this app.   Save time with open houses that go on too long by using Insidemaps.com   3D or virtual tours of homes is not new.  However, this tool allows anyone with an iPhone to upload images and go live with a minimum of fuss.   While you're at it ... why not map your Common House and put in on your website?  Doing this can be especially helpful for prospective buyers who may live out of town.  

A great thought:  if every built cohousing community used this tool to 3D map its Common House and made it available on its website ... what an incredible resource we would have for everyone to use!

Hey!  I been to college.  I speak English.  But ... there-their-they're ... are just times I need a little help getting that grammar straight.  Here's a nifty tool that's NOT a book! It's an easy to access INFO GRAPHIC.  Yeah.  It says "for students" but really ... aren't we all always learning?  If you're creating marketing materials, writing for a website or blog ... for any kind of written communication ... keep this info graphic handy.   Beautiful materials with lovely pictures peppered with with misspellings, grammatical errors, poor syntax, etc. are a turn-off for your marketing, outreach, education and information efforts.  Maximize your potential reach by getting the grammar rite-write-right.

Do you have a tool to share?  Send your thoughts, comments and suggestions toAnn.  Include contact information.  We'll print suggestions in a future newsletter!
​

---

Sunday, February 7, 2016, 2:00 pm,  New Member Social  EcoVillage Arlington, Virginia, Boccato Gelato & Espresso, 2719 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201

Saturday, March 5, 2016, tour Takoma Village Cohousing in Washington, DC.  Sign up via Washington DC Area Meetup.

Saturday, February 20, 2016 come out for the Visitor Day at Heathcote Community!  Freeland, Maryland.

Heathcote Community, a 50-year old intentional community and permaculture demonstration farm, is seeking proposals from families or groups who would like to be Associate Members of Heathcote and rent Heathcote’s farmhouse for a year.

---

You know how when it's going to snow people go to the store and buy milk, bread and eggs? 
Are they all making french toast? (quickmeme.com)

Find out how cohousers spent the Blizzard of 2016 by visiting this photo array on the Mid Atlantic Cohousing website.  

​We'll be adding photos and text as they become available so check back.  With 36" of snow on the ground the folks at Catoctin Creek Village in Lovettsville, Virginia just got out of their front doors three days after the storm finished.  They promised pictures ...
​

---

Saturday, April 30, 2016  Have you registered for the unique opportunity to promote your community along with others around the country through the National Cohousing Open House Day ?

This will be a great way to strengthen the bonds within and between communities while lengthening your waiting lists and filling openings. It will help generate new interest nationwide as well, thus more communities can emerge over time. Sign up using this form.
​

Aging Better Together: May 20-21, 2016
​Salt Lake City, Utah
Discover how you can live a powerful purposeful life in cohousing!

The conference holds the keys to creating a highly functioning senior friendly cohousing community. You will learn how to get started, meet the people who can help make it happen, and discover best practices from others who have already made the journey.
​
There is something for everyone - those exploring the idea, newly forming groups or existing communities with aging members.
​

Do you have an announcement?  Send your info to Ann using the standard 5-Ws:  Who, What, Where, When, Why + contact info!
​

---

Edi-bits

Can You Buy a House with Bad Credit?

With the recession hitting in 2008 coupled with a very slow recovery, many people seeking to live in cohousing find themselves with less-than-perfect credit.  Are you shut out of the market?  Not necessarily.   Check out this article by Kayla Albert for Trulia on 4 Ways To Buy a Home with Bad Credit.

Can You Color in the Lines?

With the adult coloring book craze sweeping the country ... here's a coloring book for people who really like detail and who really like architecture created by Steve McDonald.  His new coloring book Fantastic Structures is due out March 15, 2016.  Available via all on-line bookstores.

Can You Build a House Out of Plastic?

EcoDomum converts waste plastic into 8'x4'x1" building panels for low-cost homes in Mexico.  If they can do this in Mexico ... can we do it here?  If you don't read Spanish then read about what this company is doing in Treehugger.

It's a little WEIRD ... it's a little BIZARRE ... it's a ...

Folding bathtub.  

​And it won the 2015 RedDot award.

---

HUH?

---

Wanna have a contest?  What fun contests about "life in cohousing" would you like to see?  Send your suggestions to:  Ann Zabaldo.  Or you can comment on our blog.  Open to all clean & green, natural, organic, cage & steroid-free contests ...

---

You can leave comments about blog postings or all our published work below.   Newsletters are posted to the the web site two days after being emailed to subscribers.  Or you can send your comments to ANN.  She reads them all!   While at the website, cruise around earlier blog posts and other parts of the website.  Look for FREE downloads!  

If you received our newsletter from a third party ... you can subscribe yourself!  We don't trade names, we don't spam and we're all around lovely people.  Subscribe using the button on the Home Page!

---