the handywoman
by jeanne charters

As a person who is a certifiable klutz in both home and lawn maintenance, I was intrigued when I was asked to interview “The Handywoman”. Long suspecting that I choose to remain repair challenged out of laziness, I hoped to be proven wrong during this interview. Perhaps this “handywoman” would be an Amazonian brute-ess, a Herculean muscle maid, a tool-belt toting Goddess obviously better endowed to perform guy stuff than I.

Rita Babraitis and I met at a local coffee shop. As she approached me, I was struck by her friendly smile, her attractive face, her fit but slender stature. “My God,” I mused. “She’s no bigger than I am.”

Rita looks like a younger Elaine Stritch, that actress who stole the musical “Company” several years ago. Her hair is short and stylish. Her blue eyes twinkle with intelligence and humor. She’s one of those people in whom you feel you can invest instant trust.

I asked her what kind of work she does. She laughs, “Lots of people ask me that question. My answer is ‘whatever needs to be done’. I do a wide range of tasks like painting, staining exteriors and decks, hanging draperies and paintings, lots of gardening things and lawn maintenance. Mowing, weeding, mulching, pruning. I winterize and summerize houses to make sure that their heating and air conditioning systems can work as efficiently as possible. Remember, in winter, warm air wants to get out of the house and cold air in. Proper insulation in attics and window stripping of windows are critical chores in saving money, especially with the escalating price of oil.

I’ve installed mail boxes and even have made an inexpensive bed frame. I do light electrical and plumbing work, but I think it’s important to know my limitations and when a licensed electrician or plumber needs to be called. I advise clients that if they need to call in a licensed professional, they should call 2 or 3 people and get estimates before contracting for work.

One advantage that I think being a woman brings to my customers is that I tend to be more meticulous than some of my male counterparts. I clean up after myself. I don’t splatter paint on baseboards without cleaning it up.”

I asked Rita how she learned to do her trade. “I grew up in Massachusetts. My father was very handy. I found that, while I enjoyed my mother’s kitchen, I enjoyed my father’s workshop just as much. He could fix anything; and being from New England, the family philosophy was never to throw anything away if you could fix it. I helped my dad renovate houses and realized that fixing things is much like cooking. If you can follow a recipe, you can fix nearly anything. It’s a step-by-step process.”

When I asked her about whether lacking the “bull” strength of a male was a disadvantage to her, she replied, “Not really. It’s all about leverage and having the right tools to do the job. With leverage, you can move the world, so whether you’re using a wrench or a crowbar, just using that extra leverage is all that’s necessary.
My favorite tool is my power drill,” Rita said as though describing a new pair of shoes. “When I used to have to drive screws into wood by hand, I’d end up with blisters on the palm of my hand. Now, it’s just zip, zip, and it’s in. I just love my power drill.”

Rita studies her craft intensively. With over 10 years of Consumer Reports in her bookcase, she is often hired by people to shop for and select large-ticket items like automobiles and appliances as well as smaller things like toaster ovens and power tools.

The Handywoman has had years of experience in management positions and spent 12 years at Carolina Day School as their summer program Director and as a teacher and coach, but she best loves fixing things. When asked for advice to other women looking to start their own business, she quotes German poet and philosopher Rainer Maria Rilke. “What is within surrounds you.”

“Look around your life”, she advises. “Look at the magazines on your night table, the clothes in your closet, the things you love to do. Then try to figure how you can turn your interests into a service to your community. I recommend a book called “Do what you Are” (discover the perfect career for you through the secrets of personality type) by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron Tieger.”

In an effort to improve my decidedly putrid green thumb, I asked for some gardening tips.

“Start with seeds in your house about 8 weeks before you can plant them outside. Keep them on a timer under a fluorescent light for 14-15 hours each day. Putting them on a windowsill just doesn’t give enough light. The fluorescent light should be about 2 inches over the plants. Keep them watered. Talk to them. Plants are just like people. They require air and light and water to thrive.”

Rita believes in study and research and recommends to any woman (or man) who wishes to improve her or his own home-maintenance skills that they read books on pertinent subjects and then, just follow the recipe.

Rita has inspired me. Perhaps I really can learn to fix things around myown house and yard by having the right tools, reading the right instructions and following the recipe. If not, I now have another option, the one I’ll probably take. I’ll call “The Handywoman”, Rita Babraitis at 778-0511.

TIPS FROM THE HANDYWOMAN
1. Carry a burning incense stick around your house near the windows and outlets. If it wavers, you have an air leak.
2. Be sure your attic is sufficiently insulated. If not, buy bags of insulation, rent a blower and do it yourself. It’s fun.
3. Use window stripping or clay rope around windows. If you choose to use tape, do not use masking tape.
4. Prune bushes in the winter, except for spring-flowering shrubs like azalea, rhododendron and forsythia.
5. Know how your furnace works. Be sure to change filters every few months.
6. Layer 3-4 sheets of newspaper under mulch applications. It will keep weeds from poking through and is less expensive than landscape fabric.
7. Get your lawn soil tested at the County Extension Service. They’ll send it to Raleigh for analysis so you’ll know appropriate products for your soil. AND IT’S FREE!
8. For decluttering paper around the house, get a file cabinet for important papers and a wastebasket for junk.
9. Use boxes and baskets to organize projects, crafts and pictures. Go through them when you have time.
10. Compare prices, quality and repair records on the internet, at your library or in consumer magazines before buying.