Ottawa City
Aug./Sept. 2004

The outsource sourcebook

The butler did it. So did the laundress and the personal shopper. They took on those chores most of us never get around to. And we have their numbers.

Everybody has one-the one friend whose life seems in perfect order. Sure, she (or he, but let's use she for now) is at work for most of her waking hours. Yet somehow she finds time (and energy) to take on home-improvement projects, organize dinner parties, alphabetize her CD collection, hand-wash her delicates, sign up for a Thai cooking class, and attach a Polaroid to each boxed pair of shoes lined up neatly in her closet. She's the same friend who doesn't know what it means to have dust bunnies hopping out from under furniture or piles of magazines stacked so high that they double as coffee tables. And dammit, she never forgets to call you on your birthday. Let's be honest. We hate her.

No need to feel inadequate. Outsource! There are plenty of people out there happy to take on any task, errand, project, or chore for which you no longer have time. In fact, the more hectic our lives become, the more services pop up to help us achieve work/life Zen. What's that? You say you're too busy to chase them down? Aren't you glad you can outsource that task to OCM?

Except for that one annoying friend, we all get overwhelmed with stuff: let's call it the modern human condition. If you weren't aware that declutter is an active verb, perhaps it's time to make an appointment with a personal organizer-an expert who can improve the way you use space in your home, create filing systems for wayward paper, and set your topsy-turvy basement, garage, or closets to rights.

Consider Rent-a-Wife (749-2249) a multi-tasking service that can organize cupboards and basements, help with a move or renovation cleanup, or even serve and bartend at your next dinner party.

Aroundtoit (271-0311, www.aroundtoit.biz), an organizing service based in Kanata, offers a wide range of help, from "home staging" (preparing your home for resale) and post-move organizing to simple solutions for controlling chaos in kids' rooms, playrooms, kitchens, and pantries.

And Mary Ann Buckley, owner of Why Wait-Organize (294-6496, www.-whywait-organize.ca) says she can help relieve the stress of packing and unpacking by sorting through belongings and offering storage solutions. In addition to the typical spring-cleaning and paper-purging jobs, Buckley has been called in to sort through a lifetime of belongings of an elderly woman who was moving into a nursing home. Whether it's hanging pictures or getting furniture to an auctioneer or the Salvation Army, there is help for the organizationally challenged.

If you were a guest at the Château Laurier and you needed your dry cleaning picked up, your daughter's birthday gift delivered by courier, and two tickets to the ballet, you'd call the concierge. What about a concierge for the rest of us? Gofer Errand Services (295-1058, www.gofor.ca) wants to be just that. They're that extra set of hands you need to get through your everyday to-do list.

For Capital Concierge (823-6349, www.capitalconcierge.ca), a company that got its start booking tee times, finding tickets for sporting events, and arranging furniture rentals on behalf of busy professionals moving to Ottawa, the leap from relocation service to personal concierge made sense. Today the company responds to requests for help in almost every area of people's lives. So whether it's a short-term gym membership or personalized travel arrangements, its motto is: If you can dream it up, we can do it.

Speaking of dreams, do you dream of a magic word that can make your mountain of laundry disappear? There is one: laundry service. (Okay, that's two words.) Many local laundromats, such as Britannia Cleaners & Coin Wash Ltd. (2648 Priscilla St., 726-0284), offer a handy wash-and-fold service. Others, such as Gladstone Laundry Land (714 Gladstone Ave., 234-5675), will even pick up and deliver your load. Chances are, the socks will come back in matching pairs for a change-talk about a dream come true!

Let's say you've been invited to a fabulous black-tie wedding but can't take a moment out to run around town shopping for a gown. Or maybe you've landed a great new job but have no time to pick out the wardrobe to match. Holt Renfrew feels your pain. Ottawa's most chi-chi department store recently introduced At Your Service (238-2200 ext. 2258), a complimentary personal-shopping service designed to offer fashion expertise and image consulting to its time-pressed customers. After an initial meeting, Holt's personal shopper can save you hours of browsing by filling a private suite with all the items to suit your style. It's like being in an episode of What Not to Wear-minus the catty comments about your existing wardrobe.

Be honest. Being chosen as matron of honour can cramp a busy girl's style. Just add up the time dedi-cated to planning the wedding shower and stagette, not to mention searching for gifts and scheduling all those    spa appointments-you haven't had this much  to do since your own wedding! Sue Thompson and Jennifer Rennick of Jester Creative Events (799-6635, www.jestercreative.ca) are a girl's best friend's—best friends. These professional event planners can handle everything from custom- designed invitations and decorations to catering and shopping. They even offer a service called "Perfect Pampering," a customized gift such as a home-cooked meal or home spa treatments for the bride-to-be (or for a new mom, a sick friend, or anyone else you think deserves a little pampering). You see-even TLC can be outsourced!

Perhaps you're one of those people who look forward to reading the tabloids at the grocery-store checkout. We can't help you. But for those who dread the weekly trips to the supermarket, there are several ways to save time and avoid the aisles. Web-savvy shoppers can log on to The Country Grocer (731-6883). Simply register at www.thecountrygrocer.com, add the items and quantities to your virtual shopping cart and, for a $10 fee, someone else will pick and pack your order and deliver it to your home. For a more personal touch, Deb Riauka (325-7555) runs a shopping and delivery service called Groceries...to your Door.  Her customers, many of whom are elderly or recovering from surgery, pay a fee of $14.95 (plus eight per cent of the total grocery order for seniors and ten per cent for others) for the service. She'll run other shopping errands as well, including buying clothing and delivering items from the drugstore.

It's just a fact. The first thing to go out the window when we're pressed for time is healthy eating. But Bryson Farms (647-3456, www.brysonfarms.com), a certified organic farm, has a fresh idea that redefines the term convenience food: weekly organics delivery. Not only will they deliver fresh and exotic produce to your door every week, you don't even have to be at home to receive it. Customers can leave a cooler with ice packs in a predetermined shady location around the back of their house or apartment, and the order will be waiting there after work.

Another easy option is to join the Byward Fruit Market Organics Club, where a box of seasonal organic produce (twenty, thirty or forty dollars'  worth) is prepared for you each week according to your preferences (no kiwis please!). Members can pick up their box of fresh produce from the store when they do their regular shopping (36 Byward Market Square, 241-6542) or have it delivered for an additional charge.

Picture this: while you're at work, your personal chef is shopping, chopping, cooking, and cleaning to prepare ten delicious meals for your fridge and freezer. That's two weeks' worth of answers to the "What's for dinner?" conundrum. Tim Stuart of Chef Chez You (736-5922, www.chefchezyou.com) offers this custom-cuisine service to Ottawa residents. Sure, he'll cater your in-home dinner parties, but professional couples and busy families are starting to take advantage of personal chef services as a workweek solution-and it's not just for the rich and famous. Two can dine for two weeks for $300, and that includes the cost of the groceries (add $85 per person for each additional family member). Chef Ken Harper of Chop Chop Catering (795-8409, www.chopchop.ca) offers a similar service for his clients at $200 plus the cost of the food. Menus are customized after a quick consultation, leaving you with just one task: choosing what to eat first.

Personal chef Monique Vermeulen-Choueiri of Home Gourmet (769-2080, www.homegourmet.ca) has added a service for people who are tight on time but love to cook. She will plan and prepare dinner menus for the week, shop for the ingredients, and deliver them to your home along with the recipes. She's like the modern mom's secret elf.

Many catering companies make take-home meals for busy professionals and time-starved families. Thyme and Again Creative Catering and Take Home Food Shop (1255 Wellington St. W., 722-6277, www.thymeandagaincatering.com) publishes a monthly takeout menu in advance so that you can plan to pick up your favourite meals, deserts, dips, and dressings. It's the perfect solution for an impromptu dinner party with friends, as well.

Passion in the Kitchen (1200 Bank St., 731-2228, www.passioninthekitchen.com) caters to everyone in the family with vegetarian entrées and a different kid-friendly menu each week, such as lasagna, roast chicken, or homemade chili, complete with veggies and  fresh-baked bread. Both caterers offer mouth-watering desserts, but for special occasions, customized birthday cakes can be delivered to your door from the rural-Ottawa bakery Three Bakers and a Bike (774-0544). Sisters Lule, Patricia, and Leza have been layering on the frosting for the past twenty years. They probably won't mind if you say you baked it yourself.

Professional housecleaning is nothing new, but you might be surprised to learn that many home-service providers will also look after a variety of other household chores, small repairs, and gardening projects. Time Savers Home Care (786-1080, www.timesavershomecare.com) is a family-run business specializing in housecleaning. But if you need help with lawn care, painting, or outdoor jobs, such as clearing leaves or window cleaning, this husband-and-wife team will look after it.

When Randi Jensen, a self-proclaimed "high-tech divorcee" found herself looking for work, she knew two things: she wanted to help people, and she didn't mind getting her hands dirty. She soon discovered that not only was she handy with plumbing, carpentry, electrical work, and painting, but her clients seemed to feel more comfortable with a female fix-it person around the house. The result is Jill of All Trades (852-5950, www.jillofalltrades.ca), a household repairs and renovations service that caters to women and the elderly.

Canadian Homeowner Services Inc. (860-1822, www.can-home.com) bills itself as the CAA of home repair (including cars, pools, decks, fences, lawns, and gardens). Rather than struggling to hire different trade specialists for different jobs or playing what owner Ray Gagne calls "Yellow Pages Russian Roulette," his company gives its members one number to call and then arranges all repairs and maintenance services-everything from the very small (bathroom-tile repair) to the very large (new bathroom installation).

Busy schedules can result in neglected gardens or-worse-garden dreams unrealized. Trim Garden Design and Rescue (613)-843-1919, www.trimgarden.com) will prune your hedge, dig that flower bed you've always wanted, or turn your tiny balcony into a colourful garden oasis. In case you're curious about the rescue part of the name, let's just say they have been known to don snorkel and flippers to retrieve a flower bed from a flooded garden on the Ottawa River.

The relationship between pets and their owners is often fraught with guilt. Whether Shadow's walks are cut short because you're late for work or it's been ages since Puddles paid a visit to the groomer, furry friends don't always fit into busy schedules. Fun Fur All (762-5429; a web site is in the works) offers a variety of "in-home pet-care solutions." In addition to the basic feeding, walking, and visiting for cats and dogs, Michelle Stromberg is happy to visit with rabbits, gerbils, guinea pigs, and hamsters. She can also provide your house with a "lived-in look" (bringing in newspapers, mail, and flyers; watering plants; etc.) to deter burglars while you're out or away. Finally, she offers Pet Limo Service ($28) for trips to the vet or groomer or for picking up items from the local pet store.

Linda's Pet Services (225-9459, www.lindaspetservices.com) offers a similar service: in-home cat sitting, daily dog walking, and pet taxi service. She'll even bring along the nail clippers!

Concierge Home Services (523-9441, www.conciergehomeservices.com) knows pets love to see a familiar face. It combines pet sitting with housecleaning services, so when you go on holidays, you can trust the same person with your keys to keep your pets purring and your home sparkling.

Computers and home-office help

If you work in an office, you've probably come to rely on the computer guy-that technical wizard who lives at the other end of a four-digit extension, just waiting for your computer to freeze or an important file to disappear. When it comes to your home computer, you can spend hours trying to get rid of the latest virus or upgrade your software. Wouldn't it be great if computer guy made house calls? Nerds on Site (1-877-696-3737, www.nerdsonsite.com) is a technical-support service now available in many cities across Canada. So whether you want someone to set up your home Internet connection or hook up your Palm Pilot, help is on its way-in a bright red vw Beetle nerdmobile!

If only we were paid by the hour for all the work that goes into job-hunting! Let someone else research your chosen industry and find the words to sell your accomplishments. Positive Punch (231-1213) is a professional resumé-writing service that specializes in it, government, and professional resumés to help you get noticed-they'll write the cover letters too.

Then call a bike courier such as Gary Watson Cycling Courier (594-1166) to deliver your application or business documents across town the same day. You'll have the peace of mind of knowing your package was delivered by hand without having to stand in line at the post office or manoeuvre through traffic to get it there.

< return to portfolio