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Christina Ritger, owner of The Convenient Gourmet, provides an in-home, personalized chef service. Whether you just need someone else to take over the meal planning and cooking, you have dietary restrictions or you simply want to achieve a healthier diet, let The Convenient Gourmet show you the way.
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Lycourgos "Akis" Koliopoulos, co-owner of We Do It 4 U Laundry Services, and his manager Corde Gray will pick up, launder, fold and deliver your laundry for an extremely affordable rate.
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The Polished Pineapple is a high-end cleaning company specializing in commercial properties. OwnerMorgan Munroe and her team stand behind their work.
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Local mom and business owner Caroline Fornshell knows the struggle all too well. The average American spends 1.81 hours per day tackling household chores. If you’re a parent or a caretaker, add another 1.43 hours to that for 3.24 total hours. With three young children, a husband who often travels and her 60-hour work week, she uses a strategy of hiring outside assistance wherever she can to keep her life running smoothly.
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Irma Olga Juc, is just one of the smiling faces you'll be greeted by at We Do It 4 U Laundry Services.
We probably all want to prioritize life’s richest experiences: time with our families, exploration and travel, discovering exciting and satisfying new pastimes and hobbies. But life’s daily grind has a way of interfering with our higher callings.
Research from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics finds that Americans spend 1.81 hours per day in household chores, and parents and caretakers can add another 1.43 hours to that number. Tally that with hours spent at work and commuting between home and job, and dreams of writing the next great American novel or hiking in the Blue Ridge next weekend go right out the window.
Local mom and business owner Caroline Fornshell knows the struggle all too well. With three young children, a husband who often travels and her 60-hour work week, she uses a strategy of hiring outside assistance wherever she can to keep her life running smoothly. “People get so stuck when they’re not asking for help, or they think they can’t afford help. I can maximize my effectiveness at home and at work. If I can find others who help support me, then I can do a better job at everything I touch.” The Fornshell family calls upon the aid of grocery shoppers, dog walkers, housekeepers babysitters and personal assistants in some way every month.
Myriad businesses around Williamsburg help busy families outsource some of their most basic tasks and reclaim precious time. Laundry services, meal delivery, personal shoppers and house cleaning professionals are ready to step in, and for less money than you might think.
Laundry is an endless chore that might even possess supernatural powers of regeneration. If you’ve sacrificed too many Saturdays to the service of washing and folding, it might be time to bring in the professionals. At We Do It 4 U Laundry on Monticello Avenue, they’ll come collect your dirties and bring them back fresh and folded. Cost is assessed by weight: your first 30 pounds of laundry cost $21 with additional pounds ringing in at 70 cents each.
Yiorgos “George” Koliopoulos co-founded We Do It 4 U Laundry with his father, Lycourgos “Akis” Koliopoulos in 2013 to serve students at the College of William & Mary. Today, their client base is much broader. “Our residential customers range from single parents with three or four kids to high-powered executives. We serve low-income families and high-income families. Elderly and disabled people say that our service allows them to live in their own homes rather than entering an assisted living home. If you think about it, you’re probably spending four to five hours a week doing laundry. That’s time in your week you’re getting back. Once we get peoples’ business that first time, they’re spoiled,” Koliopoulos said.
Taming the dirty clothes pile is only the first step up the Mount Everest of household labor. Many families find value in bringing in housecleaning reinforcements on a regular schedule. Lisa’s White Glove Cleaning Services is a licensed and insured Williamsburg company that makes the dream of having the whole house clean on the same day a reality.Starting at $37 per hour, a White Glove maid works on bathrooms, floors and the kitchen counters, giving homeowners a chance to organize a junk drawer, clean out the fridge, or finally wash the dog. Owner Lisa Hood said, “We are here to make life easier and offer a service. I can help people and give them a break from their busy lives. Freeing up time for people to spend with their families is rewarding for me, too.”
Business owners working long days might dread the tidying-up at closing time. The Polished Pineapple specializes in cleaning commercial spaces where sanitation and health are top priorities. Owner Morgan Munroe understands the value of bringing in a little extra help. “The less you have to do, the more you can enjoy the life that you want. If there’s somebody you know and trust who can help, then you can focus on the things you really need to be productive in,” she said.
Hunting and gathering are chores that have dogged mankind through the centuries. Though walking through the produce section pushing a cart is far less stressful than hunting mastodon with a spear, it’s an hour of drudge work nonetheless. Many Williamsburg markets, including Wal-Mart, Harris Teeter and Publix, offer personal shopping services where items from your online shopping list can be checked off by an efficient store employee while you use the time to do anything else. Third-party apps, like Instacart and Shipt, fill the same need. A one-time fee or a years’ subscription might be well worth the value of having time returned for your own productive use.
“Having groceries delivered has definitely paid for itself in convenience. It has made it easier to maintain our homeschool schedule since I don’t have to spend time at the grocery store. Even more important to me, though, is that it is an immense help when I am having back pain. I also recently started having hip pain, so someone else lugging the heavy water bottles to my door is a lifesaver,” says Rachel Minnie, a mother and home educator.
Gathering groceries is one thing; getting supper on the table is another challenge entirely. For working families, the hours between school dismissal and bedtime are confoundingly short. Private chef services take the weight of dinner off your mind with options for all kinds of households: seniors who have done a lifetime of cooking for other people or busy families shuttling kids from scouts to soccer and every extracurricular in between.
Christina Ritger, owner of The Convenient Gourmet Personal Chef explains the benefits of having some help in the kitchen. “Cooking can be a stress for people; bottom line. That’s where I come in. All your meal prep and shopping are done by me. I come into your kitchen and prepare your meals for the week, package them and provide heating instructions,” she said.
The benefits reach beyond mealtime. Bringing in a personal chef can introduce unexpected flavors, help with new eating plans and work around allergies and sensitivities. She charges $350 for a week’s worth of meals for four, plus food costs.
For those who think the price sounds high, Ritger said, “Think about all the money you spend eating out each week at a restaurant or at a drive-through. A meal for two at a restaurant, plus wine, can easily cost $100. Convenient Gourmet meals can be ready for you in your own home and be so much healthier,” Ritger said. “Think about how much your time is worth.”
At the end of the day, it’s a question of where you want to focus your presence. Offloading just one small duty can open the possibility of setting a new goal for the year. “Maximizing every minute is the name of the game,” said Fornshell. “I’m always thinking about how to problem solve with all the available resources. If I’m not at work, I‘m with my kids. I pull in people when I need them so that I can be the loving mom that I want to be.”
Harmony Hunter is a writer and occasional outsourcer from the Tidewater region.
Lisa’s White Glove Cleaning Services · Find them on Facebook · 757-903-9106
The Convenient Gourmet · convenientgourmet.com · 757-206-9100
The Polished Pineapple · Find them on Facebook · 757-284-5590
We Do It 4 U Laundry · wedoit4uservices.com · 757-509-2909
