Save time on household chores with these handy apps.
If you need a little help getting through your chores at home, or are finding it difficult to find an efficient handyman, these wonderful service apps will send someone to the rescue – pronto. With a few additions to your phone or tablet, save time on tedious spring cleaning, food shopping, DIY or even feeding the cat.
Handy
The aptly named Handy will quickly despatch a courteous handyman – from electricians and plumbers, to builders and decorators – to tackle whatever you want. You simply book out the number of hours that you need on a day this suits you, any time from 7am to 11pm. Depending on where you live you can often make an appointment at fairly short notice, particularly if you only need them for an hour or two. Prices are reasonable, but vary on who you need and for how long, and on where you live.
Handy.com
Mopp
If you’re in the mood for spring cleaning, ask Mopp to spruce up every corner of your home. The website offers a very specific options of what you would like to have cleaned so that you can choose exactly what you want beforehand. If you book more than once then they will ensure that you get the same cleaner each time, but you can use them as little or often as you like. Up to 24 hours beforehand you can also reschedule for free. Prices start at £10 an hour.
Mopp.com
Gousto
Food delivery website Gousto offer ten new recipes every week, from which you choose three. They then deliver all the ingredients that you need in the right measurements so that you can concentrate on the fun of cooking rather than the hassle of tracking down the ingredients. Sample dishes include parsnip risotto, Waldorf-style chicken salad, Persian lamb cous cous, and Asian salmon with beetroot. The ingredients are seasonal and fresh, and you end up cooking interesting food outside your standard repertoire. Boxes for three meals to serve two people are £34.99.
Gousto.co.uk
Urban Massage
Working around London and Bristol, Urban Massage will pop over to offer you a range of tempting massages – from Thai to Deep Tissue – for one to two hours. They work seven days a week so if you have a stress emergency then you’re almost guaranteed to get a therapist when you need them. There is no mess as the masseurs bring their own tables along. Having a massage at home also has the heavenly attraction of being able to fall asleep immediately afterwards. Prices vary between London and Bristol.
Urbanmassage.com
Fantastic Services
Hyper-efficient Fantastic Services can come over to your house to perform a wide range of tasks – from walking your dog, to gardening, to clearing up after the builders, or putting up flat pack furniture. They also offer more heavy duty work including plumbers or electricians for a day’s work. No job is too small, which brings the joy of having someone along to take care of all the fiddles that many handymen are not interested in. They operate around Oxford, Bristol and London at the moment, but there are plans to expand. Current offers include two gardeners coming to tend the garden and pressure wash any suitable surfaces for £75, and deep carpet cleaning of your living room for £27.
Fantasticservices.com
Hello Fresh
Hello Fresh pride themselves on delivering very high-end ingredients so that you can make dishes such as Moroccan-style steak, wild mushroom and tarragon risotto, and chickpea and spinach curry at home. You have a weekly choice of classic, family or vegetarian boxes rather than picking out individual recipes like Gousto. Recipes generally take less than forty minutes to prepare. The classic box for two people eating three meals is £39. Anyone planning on a diet this spring would be well-served to sign up, and the generous portions allow for many tasty leftovers.
Hellofresh.co.uk
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