There isn’t much that makes me want to throw myself off a bridge more than the thought of having to do anything around the house that involves a tool box and an instruction manual.

I don’t know about you, but whenever WE attempt to “DIY it” (bless our stupid little hearts), what begins as ambition and the belief that we’re capable human beings, somehow morphs into frustration, self-doubt and two adults fantasizing about throwing stuff at one another.  

On the other hand, whenever we decide to do the reasonable thing and pay someone to come and put us out of our misery, I always wind up eyeball-deep in price comparisons and Yelp reviews, only to have my company of choice inform me that their first available time slot is 3 Tuesdays from now between 5 & 9pm.

*Word to the wise, anyone who has kids hates the hours between 5pm and 9pm. We often refer to this window as ‘meltdown-o’clock’ – which is exasterbated by trying to cook dinner, clean up, do bath time, and implement bedtime routines… kill me now*

Anyway, last week – 2 weeks out from my due date – I decided it was time to get some shit done around the house (I know, impeccable timing, right?).  

So off to IKEA we went. We needed big time storage solutions since we’re losing our guest room to an infant in t-minus 1 week and mama’s on a budget. As always, we left with exactly what we needed (and some… damn you consumer mind-tricks!)

CONFESSION: I am a closeted IKEA junkie.  Those Swedes understand organization and reasonable pricing like no others and I fucking love them for it. Their wordless instruction manuals on the other hand are good for nothing but kindling fires (both literal and figurative ones).

Anyway, being very round, very motion-restricted, and very hormonal, we decided to just bite the bullet and arrange to have everything assembled and installed by actual professionals who know what the hell they’re doing and who won’t cry when the Allen Key inevitably falls out of a screw for the 18th time.

Oh and did I mention it was Easter weekend? ‘Cuz it was.

Enter Toronto-based startup, Jiffy On Demand.  

The guys over at Jiffy had contacted me and asked me to do a service review for them a while back and I thought: HA! Perfect time to see if they really can stay true to their promise of “taking the hassle out of home maintenance”.  

In case you haven’t heard of them, Jiffy On Demand is a mobile app that allows users to simply select the service for their specific need, and connects them with a vetted and insured professional to get the job done. The real zinger with these guys is that you have the option of setting your own timeframes including, “in a Jiffy” (a.k.a. right now, a.k.a. omg I just locked myself out of the house in the dead of winter and I need a locksmith – like, yesterday).

Well, what can I say, they pulled through – big time. I was able to set everything up (on Good Friday, no less – ‘cause that’s how I roll), requesting furniture assembly for the next morning at 10am.  I was even able to set the parameters of, “I need you out by 1pm… because NAP TIME!”.  So said, so done.

Jiffy dispatched 2 lovely gentlemen from Eureka! Furniture Assembly who were punctual, considerate, speedy and who even brought their own little vacuum to get rid of any mess they made during installation (men after my own heart). They were out by 1pm, my son got to have a nap, and Anthony and I didn’t have to get into a domestic dispute over drawer placement.

After the job was done, I was automatically billed through Jiffy and was sent a follow up email making sure that I was pleased with the work done. Pleased?? I FRICKEN’ LOVE YOU, JIFFY.

So with Spring around the corner (at least, so they say… I’ll believe it when I see it), home maintenance SZN is officially upon us – because of that, Jiffy on Demand is offering to hook you Rebels up with $25 off your first service with them. Just arrange your service, use Promo Code: REBELMAMA at the checkout, and BOOM! Sanity/marriage saved. 

Featured image via IKEA Germany’s “Silent Messages” print ad campaign by Grabarz & Partner.