Where to find miscellaneous occasional help at home?

[woolworthsbaubles]

I live in a medium sized town although I've spent most of my life in cities. I have long-term medical problems and occasionally need extra help of the sort cleaners don't usually provide if they're not there anyway, and I need people to be there on specific days or times. Sometimes it's things that take a couple of minutes like taking the bins out, others might need a couple of hours like waiting to take in a delivery, very occasionally a whole day. Friends in London suggest TaskRabbit because it's usually the sort of thing that specialises in - but that doesn't operate where I am, and likewise the sort of agencies I'd phone up if I was somewhere bigger, and have used in the past, aren't around.

Care.com has various cleaners and people among whom the good ones are usually about 10-15 miles away, and quite expensive (I can get decent cleaners who are based nearer by) and they are looking for regular slots that fit into an existing schedule. Carer agencies have seemed rather intrusive in their approach when I've phoned them up to enquire, as compared with cleaners, and in any case I am not looking for personal or nursing care. On Gumtree the people who advertise are mostly agencies, and I'm pretty wary of putting ads for anything on there other than selling furniture as all kinds of scammers hang around there, and fewer people look on there for jobs than used to. (Again I'd expect higher chances of finding decent people in a big city on there.)

I need someone to be around in the house alongside me during the day, for a day or two when some building work will be happening. I wouldn't need them to do more than keep an eye on things I can't, and be a responsible seeming individual the builders might assume to be a relative, and at the very most maybe put some laundry in the machine and take it out again. It's the sort of thing that a lot of people would have friends or relatives do for them, but I don't know very many people nearby, and the few that are work full time or otherwise wouldn't be suitable. I thought of house sitters, but of course they want longer durations and a place to stay over.

Somewhere there must be a way of finding responsible people who'd be happy to help with things like this and who speak good English and understand specific instructions. I am only about 20 miles from a major city as well, not totally out in the sticks.

Do places like women's institutes know of things? But I am expecting to pay people rather than go on a waiting list to get help from a charity.

OP you might be better off re-posting this in chat?
But one thing that springs to mind is have you looked on the websites called 'people per hour' or 'task rabbit'

Or, advertise at a local university or college?

Are you in a university town? Try a student?

Or put a card up in local newsagent or library noticeboard asking for a "home help"?

Do you have the local network website 'nextdoor'? Have a Google and see if it's active in your area. Also, lots of places have local chat/news sites. Or how about local churches? Could a priest/vicar put you in touch with someone? Random ideas...hope it helps?

Where abouts are you? Www.extra-help.com (I think that’s them? Google extra help!) provide this kind of stuff but it’s not a national chain.

I clicked my own link and it doesn’t work! It’s www.extra-help.co.uk

Also consider advertising in the sits vac of 'the Lady' - I think its readership still includes the sort of person you might be after, for some flexible home help!

Have you tried AgeUK Housekeeping Services? They charge by the hour, and you don't need to be 'old' to use their services (also do gardening in our area).

Lots of mentions here of sites I've already looked at (including one I mentioned in my initial post as not operating in the area)
It is not a university town. In any case I would prefer someone older than a college student.
If I could to afford to employ someone full time, I would certainly be looking at the Lady.
This leaves only small ads in shops.

Another idea - put an advert out on indeed with your specific needs in the advert. You will her loads of people not suitable replying to fill their job centre quota, but I’ve always recruited from there (I used to own a care agency)

New site called student works matches random tasks with student community, also holds payment in escrow so not awkward.

Still growing so it will depend where you are as to whether they service your area yet.

For ad hoc days and times I think you are going to have to look at someone who is not working or looking for work but wouldn't mind topping up their income. So most likely to be a SAHM or a student.
I doubt anyone actively looking for employment would be able to take on minimal, ad hoc hours especially on a long term basis

For a SAHM you could advertise on a local mums page on fb, we have one in our city which is a large Facebook group but people often post non baby related stuff so you get a lot of local knowledge from it. For a student if it were me I would consider asking for an advert to be put out to nursing students, they have a large intake and a lot of them are older so always looking for ways to supplement their income inbetween an ever changing course schedule. They also have an interest in working with people with long term conditions and are all PVG checked.