Furniture/ Storage
What requirements do you have for your things? Do you have enough furniture to equip an apartment or room by yourself, or do you have nothing? Do you need space for storage for things you don't use often like luggage, skis camping gear, bikes etc?
Sources: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
Contributors: Annamarie Pluhar
Recommended Books: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
Gender, Age, Sexual Orientation, and Cultural Preferences
Many people assume they should have Home-mates who are more or less like them in a age, gender, culture, and sexual orientation. However, many other combinations work very well-for instance, middle aged, single empty-nesters living with young professionals, couples renting to foreign students; seniors with middle aged adults; mature Home-mates of opposite sexes. It could be that age, gender, sexual orientation, and cultural preferences don't matter at all. You know what your preferences are.
Sources: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
Contributors: Annamarie Pluhar
Recommended Books: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
Appliances
Do you require a washer and dryer? A dishwasher? A microwave? Do you already have these appliances and need to make sure they fit in the space? Or do you not own any of them, but need them in the place you are moving into?
Sources: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
Contributors: Annamarie Pluhar
Recommended Books: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
Routines
People with different routines can be fabulous Home-mates; people with the same routines can be fabulous Home-mates too. How do you live? Are you a morning person or a night person? Think about a typical day. How does it start? When do you eat? How does it end? How are your weekends different from weekdays? Which of your routines would affect other people in the house? Is there anything in your daily routines that you "must have" or simply "would like to have"?
Sources: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
Contributors: Annamarie Pluhar
Recommended Books: Sharing Housing: A Guidebook for Finding and Keeping Good Housemates
Burner Principles
- Radical Inclusion
- Gifting
- Decommodification
- Radical Self-Reliance
- Radical Self-Expression
- Communal Effort
- Civic Responsibility
- Leave No Trace
- Participation
- Immediacy
Stacking
If many people want to speak at the same time, it is useful to ask all those who would like to speak to raise their hands. Have them count off, and then have them speak in that order. At the end of the stack, the Facilitator might call for another stack or try another technique.
Read moreHow to Start Your Own Movie Club
Whether you're looking for like-minded folks to talk to about the current zeitgeist of our world or just an excuse to chat over some snacks, you can get a movie group together in just a few steps. Movie clubs are a great way to communicate with friends and meet new people while exploring and discussing (hopefully) good films. What's more, being part of a movie group can help you stay motivated to learn about things going on in the world as well as your own backyard. If you can't find a group in your area, maybe it's time to start one!
Spread the word.
Start with 3 friends—all movie lovers ask each of them to invite 1, 2, or 3 others, who are also movie lovers. It is much easier to start a movie club with two or three people who already have some connection. It's not important for everyone to know one another though; in fact, it's fun if all of you don't. After you meet a couple of times, you can grow the club at your own pace. (Or not.) Alert friends, family, and coworkers that you’re starting a Transition movie club; be sure to mention your expectations. Start collecting e-mail addresses or other forms of contact. Your goal should be between 5 and 15 people, so everyone gets a chance to speak. New to the area? Post a flyer on the community board at your local bookstore or library.We've made a template for you, check it out! The flyer announces the time and place of the first meeting and any other relevant information, such as whether refreshments will be served. Deliver copies of the flyer to local bookstores, and put them up on community bulletin boards at grocery stores, churches, etc. (CAVEAT: Please be aware that broad advertising of movie clubs can result in the occasional bad apple that can single-handedly ruin the discussion openness and tone. Do this with caution.) The Transition asks that if you post flyers that you also document where you put them so you can remove them and take them down after the date has past. It is in the best interest of all Transition Contributors to do this so our organization continues and strengthens the positive view of the work we do in our local communities. Posting about your event on websites like Meetup, and Craigslist are highly effective as well. We highly recommend these methods over flyers as it reduces paper waste.
Go over the ground rules via e-mail.
You should definitely allow the group to make most decisions, but if you have certain requirements for the club (for example, if you you can only meet on Thursdays), you should set them out ahead of time.You’ll want to give people an idea of what to expect: how often you’ll meet (once a month is typical), how long the meetings will be (about 2 to 3 hours usually does the trick), and any other need-to-knows. Some groups even rotate their host.
Decide on the tone and theme of the club.
Once you have a group assembled discuss the interests of each attendee. Are you a die-hard permaculture buff? A shameless survivalist? Or interested in technological unemployment? Decide whether the club would prefer to focus on one genre or have a free-for-all in our Movie Vault or Online Store (we've organized some of the titles in order of what Phase you belong to currently to make it easy for you and your group), and set the tone, too: a scholarly meeting of the minds, a reason for a get-together, or something in-between. Deciding on the club's orientation is very important, if you make this decision at the outset, you'll know who to invite and what films to watch.
Figure out the best time for everyone to meet.
Coordinating busy schedules can be the toughest part of this process, but finding a good slot will boost attendance down the line. Most clubs meet during the week: mid-morning, lunchtime, dinner, or early evening. For others weekends work best. Still, all clubs end up working around jobs, childcare, travel, even difficulty driving at night. (After dinner, when younger kids have gone to bed, is a popular choice.) You can use NeedtoMeet to take the guess work out of what works for your club. Something to consider: Will the time of the gathering warrant a meal (hello,potluck!), snack, or just refreshments?
Pick a convenient location.
If you feel comfortable inviting people into your home, you can have at least the first meeting at your house or apartment as long as you have enough room. Lots of groups take turns at one another’s homes. If you want to remove the pressure to entertain, you can usually reserve space for free at community centers, libraries or churches, or you might try to get a bookstore to let you hold your meeting there.You can even ask for a discount at one spot if you’ll be meeting there regularly. Ideally if you can find someplace convenient where you can hold regular meetings, the better it is for your group and the more likely people will consistently attend. If the people you are interested watching films with are too far away to meet up with regularly try having your movie club virtually using Rabb.it, Skype, or Google Hangouts instead!
Prepare the meeting space.
Make sure the meeting space is clean and inviting. Check to make sure the restrooms are properly stocked even if you are at a public location (if they are short on anything or the restroom is a mess you can inform an attendant before your club convenes). Most importantly, make sure you have enough chairs, and set up refreshments.
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