Chores

All members are required to complete a set amount of hours of chores per week. These chores are assigned according to each member’s preferences at the beginning of each quarter, and stay consistent from week to week. Chores range from typical household chores, such as cooking meals, cleaning, and grocery shopping, to things that help the co-op function as an organization, such as managing house finances and planning co-op events.

 

The chore system is essential to co-op life. No one but us runs MOSAIC; we do all of it ourselves! Contributing so much of our own labor to the co-op is what allows us to keep the co-op going; we rely on each other every day to keep things running. The chore system might sound intense, but by dividing up chores, we all spend much less time on household tasks than we would if we each lived on our own. At its core, completing our chores is an act of love and solidarity toward one another.

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Meetings

All members are expected to attend and participate in house meetings, held on Sundays at 8pm. House meetings are the time when we discuss problems within the house, share ideas, and make plans for the future; they are the official decision-making forum for the house. We make house decisions by consensus, and it’s important that every member’s voice is heard!

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House meetings also serve as “family time” — an opportunity to catch up with your housemates after a long week. Part of each meeting is set aside for sharing joys and sorrows from our lives, and for expressing our appreciations for one another. 

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Paying Rent and Other Dues

Members are expected to submit their rent and other dues on time each month. If you can’t pay your rent by the normal due date, you’re expected to talk to your house’s accountant about a plan for deferred payment. We strive to keep the co-op affordable and accessible to people with a range of financial needs and abilities. 

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Safety & Privacy

Members are expected to respect the safety, privacy, and well-being of their housemates. Pretty simple stuff, but it’s worth saying. Each house sets their own specific standards for safety and privacy, which are often the result of productive house meetings in the Fall.

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Safety is treated with the utmost importance, and there are policies and practices in place to provide safety to all members. From conflict mediation all the way to evicting any member found in violation of another's safety, we provide many channels for members to voice their concerns and be treated with respect.

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Respecting House/MOSAIC Rules

In addition to house-specific policies, MOSAIC has policies that apply to everyone. Co-ops create an open environment and serve the needs of their members by allowing people to collectively set the rules that shape their living environment. It’s important that you respect existing co-op policies, or work to change them democratically if you don’t like them.  This process of collectively deciding on what policies we live by is an important part of keeping the co-op healthy and continuing to serve the needs of its current membership.

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Living Cooperatively!

Most of all, everyone should approach living in MOSAIC with a spirit of cooperation! Fundamental to living in a co-op is a commitment to cooperative values and, in our case, MOSAIC’s mission. Members are encouraged to take initiative to go beyond their minimum requirements, and put their energy towards developing the co-op and ensuring its longevity for future generations of co-opers.

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