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Health & Fitness

Shameless Self Promotion/A House is not a Home

Summer in New England, hey itsn't that a Barry Manilow tune? Anyway, I digress. With all of the news stories, and the uncertain times we live in, rather than post another blog about blah blah blah, I decided to share with you a review that a client recently posted about her experience of working with me. I find that sometimes it's best to receive.

"In simplistic terms, I hired John Patrick (“JP”) to help my family (myself, two young boys, an aging smelly dog and a perfectionist husband), prepare for a move from a 2500 square foot apartment into 1500 square feet across town.  That is the simple definition. The reality is slightly more complicated.  With one week remaining until move date I realized that in order to meet my deadline and save my marriage, I was going to have to relinquish some of my control freak nature and call in help.  Wanting to paint a realistic picture of the situation I posted a manic job description (see here) on TR.  In less than two hours I received a half dozen bids. Yes, JP’s bid came in the highest. Yes, I was tempted to hire a lower priced option. I sent JP a follow up email voicing my concerns. His response solidified the fact that he was a pro, and a pro was what I needed for my job. In his email he also promised a solid knowledge of vintage clothing, willingness to swap celebrity gossip and the ability to get along with kids, dogs and husbands.  Hired.  If anyone is still reading at this point, I’ll sum up what JP did for me in the only manner of brevity I am capable of, a bullet point list: 

  • Assured me there was no need to panic. 
  • Surveyed apartment, quite literally packed to rafters and didn’t a)turn on his heel and leave or b) give me a lecture on how no one needs a shoe box full of Sharpie pens. Just a sampling of our home’s contents: a vintage clothing collection, a non-vintage clothing collection and shoes(!) too of course. More art and office supplies than Dick Blick himself. Enough Legos to build life-size replicas of the Seven Wonders of the World (or at least two of them). Hot Wheels and track to pave roads connecting all the Seven Wonders. Seven bookcases loaded with ten-pound “coffee-table” books. And more...much, much more. 
  • Helped me weed through what was coming, what was being donated and what would be going to storage. 
  • Called in two young and tireless enforcements, fetched boxes from Home Depot and then packed those boxes. 
  • Followed my obsessive color coded packing box and labeling system. 
  • Did walk-through of new apartment with me in which he pointed out every single issue that I would have doubtlessly overlooked.
  • On move day JP acted as coordinator, directing movers on placement of (over 120!) boxes in our new home. 
  • Advised me on decor in new home, even insisting I buy the “disco ball” pendant light in our dining area that has received compliments from every person to set foot in the apartment (you were so right JP). 
  • Joined me for shopping trips to Home Depot, The Container Store and Ikea (and hauled back our purchases). 
  • Provided me with his two assistants who tirelessly assembled furniture and unpacked boxes. 
  • Gave me the number for a new hair colorist. 
  • Carried my very smelly, wheezing, drooling, overheated dog in his bag on a very hot day. 
  • Played countless rounds of Sword Fight on WII Sports with my three-year old. 
  • Allowed both my ice cream covered, sugar high children to swing like monkeys from his limbs in the middle of a rain storm. 
  • Drank margaritas with me and offered life advice. 
  • There’s much more, but really, no one is still reading this are they?! 

Would I recommend JP? Absolutely. Everyone’s lives could benefit from a dose of his professionalism, his positivity, his endless energy and his ability to make even an impossible situation possible (and kind of fun to boot). 
Sincerely,
Mrs Caedlighe Paolucci
Battery Park City, NY"
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