Living Fair

Resourcefulness and Resources for Petowners

Maybe election coverage and the verbal judo between Hilary and Barack is on your mind. Maybe who wins the Democratic nomination takes a backseat to how the national economy is doing and your ever dwindling monthly budget. Today, the Fed Chairman, Bernanke, told the House Financial Services Committee, "The economic situation has become distinctly less favorable” since the summer. No disrespect implied however, it's not too hard to see why. A cripplingly expensive war, oil prices at upwards of $3 a gallon, further inflationary pressures, slow job growth, a severe mortgage lending crisis and a credit crunch--it's time to get the Mr. Fix-it's in fast.  Over the span of just eight days in January, the Fed slashed rates by 1.25 percentage points — the biggest one-month reduction in a quarter century. Economists and Wall Street investors predict the Fed will cut rates again at its next meeting on March 18. As interest rates continue to fall to inspire investment, we're all more cautious. We should be. 

Like you, I like finding a good deal. I'm reading Pennysaver more than I used to and I save money where and when I can. Take my dogs. They're like my children. I adore them.  I've been searching for high quality monthly flea repellent and heart worm medicine on sale and never can find it. My vet sells it for far far more than I can pay for it--big markup there.  If you own a dog, you know. It's very, very expensive stuff.  My Laborfair.com dogwalker, smart, sassy and in-the-know girl that she is, told me about a mobile low cost vaccination clinic for pets. This past weekend, I gave it a try. Every weekend, VIP Petcare Services travels in a van to popular pet stores throughout the Bay Area and gives affordable vaccinations and GREAT discounts on heartworm tests and popular medications. ICheck out their website for a complete list of clinic locations. I saved $50 on a full year's supply of Frontline and Heartguard--- and got a FREE heartworm test for....

Don Pablo Picasso      and  Don Diego Rivera.

Laborfair's team mascots and all-around office comedians.

It's a good deal. Here's to petcare that's fair! Jenna

Hairnet's for Trees. I've been there.

Holiday season, wreaths on the door, way too much recycled Christmas music on the radio--it’s that time of year again-run for your life! I'm always feeling out of time or out of money this time of year--that's one of the biggest reasons we created Laborfair--find affordable, quality help fast! Last Christmas, determined to save time, my partner imposed a perfectly measured NET of Christmas lights on our evergreen beauty rather than taking the time to make hoop-skirts of color in his own tribute to creative, organized chaos.  He's an artist, he makes me gorgeous jewelry and beautiful wood sculptures, so this was a travesty. The result? Seen from distance, the tree was pure perfection, lights distributed in perfect equilibrium. If you have ever hung holiday lights on anything, perfect equilibrium is unattainable. It looked bizarre. Up close, an abomination. Wrapped in a straight jacket hairnet of lights, she was confined and unhappy. I protested audibly and we both laughed hard at ourselves. 

How can our lives be so hectic we can’t enjoy the creative process of lighting the holiday tree? It felt definitely incongruous with childhood memories of an evening spent untangling green electrical cords, changing burnt out bulbs and re-positioning lopsided lights all warm inside from Applejack and Dark Rum eggnog. Thankfully, the net returned to its cardboard box and went back to Walgreens. 

Perfection has a place--but not in my life.  I enjoy the "good enough" that yields memories and wonder.This year, I have coordinated holiday clean-up and pack-up through Laborfair. I'll save the time in the aftermath.

At Laborfair, we are true believers that “DIY” is overrated, except when it comes to creativity and self-expression.

Peace. Be well. Be Merry.

 

 

What to tip for labor this holiday? We asked.

The holidays are fast approaching and we all know what that means. Get the decorations out of the garage; decide on your annual holiday gift-giving budget and feel anxious about what to give your favorite provider. Is it cash, a gift certificate, a sweater? What amount of money or kind of gift? Take a deep breathe. It’s not as hard as it seems.

A gift, at its most basic, is a gesture of gratitude, a heartfelt appreciation for a job well done. Your choice will reflect the level of personal relationship you have with your service provider and your budget. As a mom, you probably have a favorite babysitter or a regular childcare provider or housekeeper. These individuals work in your home regularly as trusted, dependable and quality care providers, however, you might not know their preference, tastes, and/or hobbies or what is an appropriate amount to tip.

In order to help answer these questions, we conducted an informal survey of participating consumers and providers about holiday tipping habits at Laborfair (http://www.laborfair.com). Poll participants unanimously agreed upon the three most popular methods for tipping during the holidays: cash, gift certificates or a small gift. Users also provided some guidance about the best way to share each of these holiday gifts.

1). Cash: A gift of cash is always desirable and always welcome. As part of the Laborfair survey, full-time childcare providers and housekeepers overwhelmingly indicated a preference for cash. Housekeepers recommended a range of tipping between $30-50 (depending on frequency of cleaning) while childcare providers suggested a tip ranging from one week’s pay to a one-time gift of $200. It’s always nice to personalize a gift of money by adding the envelope to a gift bag that includes a scented candle, homemade cookies or holiday candy.

2). Gift Certificates: These are always welcome by providers, but they are much harder to personalize. It’s difficult to know which stores your nanny or housekeeper might patronize. Laborfair asked polling respondents to share some of their favorite stores: Gap, Old Navy, and Macy’s earned top billing. Additionally, if you know what your provider likes to do for recreation or as a hobby, then gift certificates from smaller, more specialized stores might also make sense.

3). Gift: A purchased gift is a nice holiday gesture because it shows that you have a sense of a person’s interests, style or hobbies. Purchase a gift they might normally have found for themselves but would consider an extravagance. Polled participants mentioned their favorite gift items as a manicure and pedicure at a local salon, basket of seasonal food items, and the highly coveted extra paid day off.

The holidays are a season of generosity, both of spirit and material wealth. If you have more, give more. If you have little, give little. Finding a meaningful way to express your appreciation is the most important part of gift giving.

Jenna Raby

Some socially conscious gifts for fair minded folks.

Listed below are some online sites to shop for socially-conscious gifts, including fair-trade chocolate, coffee, household items, and environmental furniture. I'm not just telling you the products here are fabulous. I know. I've bought and enjoyed items from every one of these socially conscious companies. Who doesn't love chocolate or having a gorgeous piece of hand-crafted furniture--all the while knowing you have put food on someone's table with your purchase? Buying fair trade products supports conscientious producers in developing nations all over the world so you can feel good about your purchases. Remember, more than 4 billion people make less than $2 a day. Wow. We can help change that this holiday season. Most or all of the items available on the websites below are certified fair trade. This means that the workers who produced them were paid a living wage in safe working conditions.

Global Exchange Online: http://store.gxonlinestore.org/index.html: Global Exchange, run by my friend Kevin Danaher, an iconoclast to be sure, is an excellent organization, truly committed to helping change the world through its Green Festival and the products it has on the website.

Grounds for Change (coffee and chocolate): www.groundsforchange.com: Yum, fair trade coffee. It's delicious and there's chocolate here too.

Ten Thousand Villages: www.tenthousandvillages.com/home.php: I love this company. They buy potholders, napkins, placemats, hair accessories and beautiful furniture--all made in sustainable ways in developing countries.

Tropical Salvage: www.tropicalsalvage.com: Run by another friend of mine, Tim O'Brian, this Portland, Oregan based sustainable furniture company goes above and beyond conventional environmental practices. Innovative, to be sure, Tropical Salvage actually reclaims and recycles beautiful tropical hardwood by mining them where for centuries caches of large, species-diverse trees have laid buried by volcanic eruptions. They salvage trees felled by floods and landslides caused by Indonesia's annual intense rainy season. Once mined, the beautiful wood, centuries old, is hand-crafted by indigenous craftsman into beautiful wine cabinets, book cases, stools, dining tables, armoires etc. You name it.

Go ahead shop till you drop and maximize generosity.

Jenna

What’s Fair? Laborfair announces Bay Area first quarterly Wage Report

How much to pay for a job well done is a concern and frustration for just about everyone who wants and needs household, personal and family care. As our name suggests, we help you as the consumer make informed decisions about what is a fair hourly wage for your job request.

At Laborfair we create a transparent marketplace that ensures both consumers and providers are fairly charged and compensated for work performed.

Rate Guidance:

Our rate guidance table (visible in the What's Fair section of this blog) can be used as a benchmark for average hourly rates per category in your local area. Use this to help you determine what is the fair wage for your job. The information is a summary of real time data collected across our site on September 22, 2007. Of course, your agreed-upon rate with the provider varies depending on the specifics of your job. We will release these quarterly.

These numbers clearly show that savvy consumers can save money by contracting directly with a qualified and experienced service provider. At the same time, the report gives us a unique window into what people in business for themselves are earning as a living wage instead of what they would earn as a minimum wage at a larger company or agency. The report also highlights some interesting variances around the Bay Area in the costs of services by region. For example, the average fee charged by a handyman on the Peninsula is $33.68 while San Francisco is much less at $22.15. Hmmm, interesting. Other averages across big categories here at Laborfair are:

• Child Care: $19.24/hour
• Housekeeper: $17.83/hour
• Handyman: $25.75/hour
• Adult Care: $17.00/hour
• Gardener: $17.37/hour
• Painter: $22.29/hour

So, now that you are getting your house or apartment in shape for those holiday parties, you know what it might cost you. Enjoy, Jenna

Ten Easy Tips for Greening Your Abode with Laborfair

At Laborfair, living green can be easy as well as feel good. It's a fun challenge to make your home align with your values. Check out these 10 tips on how to "green" your home and use laborfair service providers to help you make it happen:

1. Get a High-Efficiency Showerhead and call a plumber to install it inexpensively.
2. Recycle Water in Your Bathroom: did you know there are these great devices which allow you to reuse sink water for flushing your toilet?
3. Compost--that's right, turn your food scraps and lawn trimmings into food for your plants. Most gardeners on Laborfair know how to do this so just ask.
4. Purchase Green Power From Your Utility--ah, green power, cool.
5. Improve the Efficiency of Your Existing Hot Water Heater--the handyman and the insulated water heater, save money and time.
6. Use High-Efficiency Outdoor Lighting
7. Replace High-Use Indoor Lights with Compact Fluorescents or LEDs
Consider compact fluorescent bulbs or LED bulbs for those non-dimmable circuits (especially for holiday lighting). They are true energy misers, and will last for as long as you live in your house.
8. Load Up the Washing Machines
Make sure you run dishwashers and clothes washers only when their full. Better yet, invest in a front load washing machine that pools the water instead of filling the entire basin. Energy star appliances really save.
9. Drive Smarter: I love this one. You don't need to get on the waiting list for a Prius or invest in fuel cell technology to drive smarter. Drive at (or near!) the speed limit, keep your tires inflated, make sure oil and air filters are clean, and step on the gas / brakes carefully.
10. Avoid the Daily Waste of Fast Food and Shopping
Use reusable shopping bags whenever you go to the store. Say "No Thanks" when the pharmacist or grocery store clerk tries to put your one or two items in a bag.

How did you make your home green? We'd love to hear your suggestions and comments on your favorite tips.

The Rinse Cycle and Leather Pants

At Laborfair, our goal is to connect people looking to hire household or personal help with those looking for work in a fair, trusted, and responsible way. We don't believe the world needs more employment agencies but we know finding good quality responsive providers isn't always easy. People, well, they are not products, they don't perform always the same way every time your invite their services. Indeed, everyone's view of the accuracy and excellence of a job completed varies based on subjectivity. For example, I love the fact that Irma cleans my refrigerator weekly and throws out any food that is slightly "suspect". I marvel at how she meticulously folds the toilet paper into corners on the dispenser like they do at the Ritz Carlton or dare I say, one of nasty Queen Leona's former establishments. This could be way too intrusive for some, and very very welcome by others. I am a bit less thrilled about Irma's bizarre inclination to hide my bathrobe from me--I have realized this twice now, both times on a cold, fog-filled morning once out of the shower, shivering, mildly wet and annoyed. Or perhaps the time she washed my leather pants in an effort to clean them (I promptly cursed all hearty combinations of New York slang appropriate to lament the demise of my clubbing leathers and made the mental note never to leave any article of clothing slung haphazardly over a chair again). Well, I guess anyone would have an issue with that. But, you get my point. People are people and it's important to be clear about what you do and do not want done. While contractual arrangements can be part of any good employment arrangement, they're not always completed, we don't always follow that level of detail. Beyond a personal checklist which I recommend highly for housecleaning, childcare, gardening and handymen interaction, I recommend posting a review. Reviewing a provider is a great way of being honest and even helpful to the provider with extravagant praise or constructive criticism. Just as restauranteurs read reviews of their food and service to tap the pulse of the public, providers can learn from your comments, well intentioned either way. Lastly, I can't stress enough how important it is to trust your gut feeling after you meet with someone you get from Laborfair or any other service--even if they come very highly recommended. It's up to you.

LaborfairSeasonsGreetings 2006

LaborFairSeasonsGreetings 2006

Originally uploaded by jenna_raby

This is our first Laborfair Christmas card. Fellow co-founder, Ben Picard, put this together with Jenna's help. We're accepting submissions for our 2007 Christmas post.

Green inspiration - the kind you eat

I read an article on poverty in America today, how Walmart and 7-11 are increasing inventory around cheaper food items as Americans get poorer--as a result there's more malnutrition and people eat far less fruits and vegetables. It really got me thinking--I'm happy I finally have time to write a blog. Absent of moral posturing, when I started Laborfair, I entered heart first, business pragmatism second. Ben Picard, my partner, and I designed Laborfair to be a profitable business that delivers positive social change. We looked around and noticed that the household service sector was inefficient--agencies charged an outlandish fee for their services while individual service providers made only a portion of the proceeds from their hard work. We conceived of Laborfair as a trusted and valuable communication service that delivers concrete social and economic value to our entire community of users: consumers, service providers, and the wonderful organizations throughout the Bay Area, that dedicate themselves to helping qualified people find gainful employment. I have a big list of why I love this company (after two years straight of singing praises, fighting for viability on a shoestring, and being passionate about our success). The takeaway? Fair prices for homeowners while individuals get far closer to living wage employment and some greens in the fridge. I'm proud of that.

Come on in. The water is warm.

Laborfair is the smart, easy and right way to find quality help ranging from a handyman to a personal chef. Laborfair was founded in 2006 with a mission to help independent service providers improve their career and life opportunities by connecting them with people in search of personal help. To achieve that mission, the company has created the premiere online labor marketplace for connecting people in search of personal help with those who can provide it in a way that’s fair, easy and financially rewarding for everyone involved.