Handybook (Because Sometimes a Honey Do Is Really a Honey Don't)

Did you ever have a task hanging over your head for so long that it almost seemed insurmountable?  The kind of thing that should be easy to do but somehow it takes on a life of it's own and makes you miserable?

Well for the last month or so I've had two of them:  

The first was a monster armoire that needed to be moved from our second floor down to the first.  Having witnessed the movers carry this behemoth up the stairs when we bought the house, I knew my husband and I couldn't do it on our own.  It was huge, heavy, and needed to be maneuvered down a narrow staircase with two hairpin turns.  

So for six weeks it sat on our second floor landing while I wracked my brain looking for a solution.

The second was a giant mirror that needed to be hung over the fireplace in our den.  When I purchased it online I had no idea that it weighed roughly a zillion pounds.   While my husband and I might have been able to hang it on our own, it had the potential to be a nightmare.  (Hanging any picture with my husband is a nightmare.  We have one of the most solid relationships around but if you ever hear that we're getting divorced you can be pretty sure that a level and a stud finder are at the center of the dispute.)

So I did what any good procrastinator would do:  I propped the mirror up against the armoire and tried not to look at them when I walked past.

I know what you're thinking, "Why couldn't she just get on the internet and find someone to do this stuff?" And the answer is that I could have. I could have paid a fee and joined a website and read through lots of reviews to find someone who would meet my needs. Alternatively I could have used a free website and hoped that whoever I found was capable and trustworthy.

Instead I opted to close my eyes whenever I walked down the second floor hallway.

Then, in almost fairy godmother-like fashion, I was approached by the website Handybook.  It's probably worth mentioning that I'm frequently approached by companies asking me to review their products on`a casarella.  As you can probably tell from the number of sponsored posts that I've done (three in the last two years), I usually turn them down.  That's because I will never write about anything that I wouldn't be willing to write about unprompted.  Let me assure you, if I had known about Handybook before they found me,  I would happily have written about them all on my own.

You see, Handybook is a site that enables you to book pre-approved cleaners or handymen with the click of a button. Beyond that, they do all the heavy lifting (pun intended) for you:  they find the service providers, they do rigorous background checks, they schedule the appointment according to your needs, and they even handle the billing. 

Holy convenience, Batman!

So when they asked if I had any jobs that needed doing you can be darned sure that I said yes!

But I'm not going to lie.  I was still little worried.  This was uncharted territory for me and I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Apparently what I should have expected was greatness.  I kid you not.  These guys were fantastic.

After booking my appointment with Handybook I received a "Meet Your Handybook Professional" email with all of the relevant details and contact information.

Russ and Luis (henceforth known as my new best friends) were the professionals assigned to my job.

They showed up on time in their Handybook uniforms with all of the equipment they needed to get the job(s) done right, starting with the mirror.  I had set up a template of sorts showing them where I wanted it hung.  Using their own tools and supplies, they had the mirror up and straight in under five minutes.  It was exactly as I wanted it.  (Or so I thought, but more on that later.)

Remember my last post when I told you all about my improved photography skills?  Well, obviously this shot doesn't count, okay?   

Next they turned to the armoire.  Despite their obvious capability I kept blathering on about how heavy it was and how they didn't have to do it.   They assured me that they were fine.  Then they set to work removing the doors and shelves from the unit to make it less unwieldy.  Even the professional movers who brought the armoire up in the first place hadn't removed the doors.  Once they did that, they strategized the best way to get the unit down the stairs.  This was the part I'd been dreading, but they executed it brilliantly.  They got the armoire safely into my garage with no damage to the unit, the banisters, and most importantly, themselves.  (They also reattached the doors and shelves.)

But let me tell you about the best part.  While Russ and Luis were preparing to move the armoire, I decided to examine the mirror...

...at which point I determined that it was about four inches too high.

This, my friends, this is when my husband would have (justifiably) lost his marbles.  But Russ and Luis?  Do you want to know what they said when I told them??

"No problem!"

And that?  That is when Handybook earned a well-deserved spot on my bookmark bar.

Are you interested in learning more?  If you have a house that needs cleaning, IKEA furniture that needs assembling, or any other household tasks, click over to Handybook's website where you can read all about their company and book yourself an appointment today!

Please note that while I have been provided with product compensation for this post, all opinions are my own.