Welcome to the Forest Retreat House!
House Rules Transcript
When you step into the house, please kick off your shoes. We're a no shoe house so that we keep the energy (and the floor).
To turn on the fireplace, simply click on the top button behind the fireplace and it should only take a minute to ignite. Then click it off when you are done.
As a green house, we put all vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, coffee grinds, etc. in the compost. Once it gets full, you'll just walk to the back of the property and toss it on the ground so it goes back into nature and replenishes the earth.
When you fill up the trash can, (the small Rubbermaid) you'll just tie it up and take it to one of three garbage cans outside. When you leave, you'll take those out to the front of the road and they get picked up every two weeks.
To turn on the Wolf stove, just hold down the button until it ignites, and turn to the temperature your prefer.
The oven is even more simple. You don't have to light it. You just turn it to the setting you prefer. Once this red light goes off, it's completely preheated. When you're done, just turn it off.
All interior lights are incandescent and on dimmers. You can change the settings throughout the house to achieve the vibe that you want.
To adjust this mid-century overhead light, which is very fragile, simply use the weighted ball.
The dish disposal is very simple. Simply press the button to the right of the sink and turn it off when you're done.
For the dishwasher, everything can go inside of the dishwasher aside from knives, (all knives, but a butter knife), any wood (bowls, utensils, cutlery), and any of the copperware.
For the dishwasher, you simply load in your soap and close the soap container. Press ‘normal’, ‘start’, and close the machine. There will be a red light.
In the communal kitchen, the only thing we ask is that you wash up after your own dishes. Make sure to help yourself to anything and cook for yourself at any time. The space is for everybody.
To operate the speaker, it's very simple. The beautiful thing about it is you can unplug it and it's cordless. You can take it anywhere on the property you'd like that reaches Wi-Fi. Press the ‘On’ button until it turns blue. Then on your phone, under Bluetooth, you'll find ‘Mega Boom’. Connect to ‘Mega Boom’ and you can play the speaker anywhere you'd like in the house.
Because we are off the grid and on a very small septic, use as little toilet paper as possible. Nothing can go down the toilet - no diapers, women's sanitary supplies, etc. Nothing but toilet paper,
For hotter water in the shower, simply press the button next to the faucet and turn it to the left.
Your indoor towels are all located underneath the sink in the guest bathroom, along with washcloths and hand towels. You can find additional towels in the dresser.
For the sauna and the outdoor amenities, please use the towels located on top of the dresser.
The black towels next to the dresser are for the river. When you get back, you can throw them over the ledge outside to dry.
To conserve water, use your towels as often and as many times as you can. Throughout the house, there are hooks to dry them on.
When your stay is complete, simply take off all of your pillow cases and sheets and place them in the wicker baskets in your room.
We have a wonderful central heat. You'll never need to use the air conditioning. That's the beauty of living in the pines. But to operate the heat, click the ‘heat’ button on the thermostat and adjust to the temperature you prefer. I suggest keeping it 60 degrees overnight and 65 degrees during the day. When the weather is appropriate, feel free to open up the doors to get real forest medicine.
Every room comes with your own travel size Biomat. To operate the Biomat, plug it in and press power. Then turn the timer on to the time you prefer. Feel free to leave it on for up to 12 hours so you can come and go as you please.
Adjust the temperature as needed. In the summer, I always keep it at the lowest temperature so I don't get dehydrated.
There's also an in-house BEMER mat, which is wonderful for getting to the micro circulation veins to go and pull out all of the toxins and detoxify your body, especially if you're going to be using the sauna or any other cleansing. To operate, lay out the mat and press power. Start by pressing ‘P1’, which is the very first setting that's available. If you have the setting too high, you'll find yourself detoxifying too quickly. Then press ‘Start’. Once you press that, go ahead and press start and lie down on it. Once the timer is up, the machine will beep and turn off.
To turn on the infrared sauna, simply press ‘on’. Set the infrared sauna to a comfortable temperature, I personally prefer to keep it at 120 degrees, but if you're the person who really needs to sweat, you can turn it up as high as you'd like. 150 degrees is usually a good marker. Depending on the weather, it takes about 30-60 minutes to warm up. In the evening, you can turn on the light within the sauna. It is on a timer and will turn off on its own.
In the outdoor spa, we ask that you keep the toilet lid closed at all times so the pines don't fall into it.
You can follow the old log path all the way down to the creek. Follow at your own personal convenience. They stepping pieces are old and wobbly, so make sure to be very careful while you're on them. Down at the end of the creek, you'll find a bench where you can meditate.
All that we ask before you leave the house is that you leave it nicer than you found it. You put your trash downstairs in the trash cans and you remove your sheets and towels and put them in the little baskets.
If you have any other questions, just refer back to the site or the book for the Wi-Fi where we in detail go through everything you need to know about operating the house to enjoy your stay.