Lottie Mather is a TaskRabbit client based in the United Kingdom. She and her partner just purchased their first home in Bristol and hired Taskers to help with the move. When she’s not working as a marketing and PR freelancer, she is a knowledgeable nutritionist and enjoys all things related to food, wellness, and home decor.
While we never expected to move during a pandemic — and definitely hadn’t planned for it — my partner and I recently bought our first home during lockdown. It was a journey after a winter of disappointments with sellers pulling out, deals falling through and homebuyer survey reports so bad they were keeping us up at night, but eventually our dream home became available and we eagerly made an offer.
Fast forward five months and we found ourselves signing contracts and preparing for a move while the world was continuing to navigate the new normal of social distancing and everyday PPE. With my partner back at work full-time and most of my waking hours spent trying to secure more freelance projects, the prospect of moving had become quite daunting. For the few hours a day that we weren’t working, we were packing up our flat, creating Pinterest boards for every room in the house and searching on Gumtree for pre-loved goodies. Our new 19th-century Victorian terrace had a bag of charm but was in need of some TLC, so our list of DIY tasks was getting longer every day. Thankfully, once we’d lugged our worldly belongings across Bristol during a British heatwave (who’d have thought it!?), we found a wonderful Tasker, Peter S., who came to our rescue.
No Task is Too Small
To get started we divided up our DIY list into two categories: tasks that needed to be done asap and tasks that could wait until we were more settled. We then added the most urgent ones to my to-do list in the TaskRabbit app. From there it was smooth sailing and really easy to book our Tasker by adding a few more details and selecting the date and time for each task. Peter instantly stood out from the other available Taskers for a few reasons: he could cover all our needs, had glowing reviews, was badged as an Elite Tasker, and was super responsive. When he arrived he was well equipped, full of energy, and ready to tackle the to-do list I had ready for him.
Task #1: TV Mounting
First things first, my partner had to have his new 65” TV mounted in the living room that, according to him, “takes gaming to a whole new level.” He bought it off a friend for £250, which I have to admit was a bargain despite it being far too big for our cosy living room and straying heavily from our eclectic, artisanal Pinterest board theme. Because of how large it is, it was important to get it mounted and off the floor to clear up space and give us a cleaner aesthetic.
We already had the bracket and screws for the TV, so Peter got to work finding the perfect spot for it on the wall and measured up the space using his tape measure and spirit level. He then drilled the bracket to the wall with his electric drill and double-checked the placement before attaching the TV to the bracket. It took about 45 minutes for Peter to mount it, leaving him plenty of time to move on to the TV in the bedroom. For this one, we needed a unique bracket, so we ordered one from Argos the night before and Peter kindly collected it for us on the way to our house. This TV was much smaller and easier to hang, so it only took him about 30 minutes the second time around. Not only was the end result great but we really appreciated Peter’s attention to detail. Having the TVs so properly mounted not only took gaming to the next level, but it also took the space to a new level as well.
Task #2: Light Installation
The more pressing task on our list was updating the lighting. One of the first things we fell in love with about the house was the period features like the ceiling rose and archway, both of which were crying out for some good lighting. We had plug sockets that were held together with tape (do NOT try that at home!) and we didn’t feel comfortable using them, so Peter first checked the wiring and replaced the sockets with brand new versions which we bought from the hardware store.
Being such an old house the wiring wasn’t in the best shape, but Peter persevered and did a fantastic job getting our new light fittings up and running. He started by taking down the old lights, then connecting the new light fittings before hanging them securely. He even worked out what extra elements were needed and bought the items for us from the hardware store, which was hugely helpful. Having this task completed and off our to-do list was a lifesaver. We were able to prep for other projects that required the lighting to be up to par while Peter worked on getting it there. Now that it’s complete we can enjoy (and see!) all of the charm our new home has to offer.
Celebrate the Done
Peter was a friendly face amongst the craziness of the last few weeks, and having his help made our move not only less stressful but more enjoyable. He helped to make our new house quickly feel like a home — and in the midst of all the chaos of a move, took a lot of the pressure off. We’ve been able to relax and enjoy the joy of buying our first home without having to tackle the to-do list that comes with it alone. Thank you Peter for helping us make our space feel like home and for allowing us to celebrate that feeling of ‘done.’
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