Handyman Memberships

Monthly membership for two years now — two hours a month, same tech every time. He knows the house better than the home inspector did. Last visit he replaced two cabinet pulls in the kitchen, anti-tip on the new bedroom dresser, and a smoke detector at the ten-year mark. The list never feels long because nothing piles up.

Honey-do membership for my parents' house. They are in their seventies and the list never gets shorter. Four hours a quarter, the same tech each time, the list lives in a shared note. Picture hung in the hallway, anti-tip on the bookshelf in the guest room, sticky kitchen drawer, three light bulbs in the vaulted ceiling, two grab bars in the bath. Mom calls him by his first name.

Priority-response membership saved us in February. Front door deadbolt sheared off on a Saturday morning, kids inside, lock would not throw. Texted the dispatcher at nine, technician was on the porch by eleven with a replacement and a temporary plate. Without the membership we would have been waiting until Tuesday on a regular booking.

Honey-do quarterly half-day on our older Wallingford bungalow. Plaster walls, original 1928 trim — the tech showed up with longer-shank toggle bolts that work in plaster over lath. Eight items on the list, all eight done, photo report at the end. The half-day-with-specialty tier is exactly right for an old Seattle house.

Monthly multi-property tier — main house in Ballard, rental in Greenwood. Same tech handles both. He keeps a running list for each address and we get a one-page summary each month. The rental never sits with a sticky lock or a chirping detector longer than four weeks. Tenants do not even have to ask.