When I was young, my mother had a friend who was also our next door neighbor. As I recall, she was the only grown-up who let me call her by her first name, Esther. My sister and I played with her two children until we moved several blocks away. The ladies talked often on the phone, but we only visited with them every three months or so. Esther would invite us for dinner and after we ate, my mother would give her hair a “home permanent.”

These days, most women leave their coiffure to the professionals.  But the idea of neighbor helping neighbor is having a bit of a resurgence.

Case in point are five friends who live in York County, Virginia, who customarily get together to have lunch and sit around for a gab fest. Jenny Hicks, Lori Janousek, Lisa Kistler, Karen Langslow Smith and Stephanie Thompson are like many moms who don’t work outside the home. They work hard to maintain a household, chauffeur their children and keep everyone well-fed.

Collectively, they have 12 children and all have husbands with demanding careers. They met either through their children’s schools or at neighborhood gatherings. They’ve been supporters of one another through good and hard times and have built solid friendships.

In 2008, the ladies had a conversation about tackling larger projects in their homes. Clutter, lack of organization, minor repairs and decorating always seemed to be on the back burner. They realized each of them had some home improvement jobs they wanted done, but lacked the inspiration or know-how to do so. Jenny suggested they give one another a hand - but that’s where the conversation ended.

A short time later Stephanie contacted her friends and encouraged them to take action. She volunteered her own home as a starting point. They met and stained Stephanie’s fence, making short work of what she considered an “overwhelming” project. Since that day, they have met twice a month to work at one of their homes, and then have lunch together when the work is done.

The crew has done a number of projects: wallpaper stripping, room painting, cleaning and organizing attics and garages, raking leaves, painting outdoor furniture, ripping up flooring and remodeling a kitchen and bath. They have received help from their husbands with installation of light fixtures, laying tile flooring and taping wall trim before the ladies paint.

These experiences have brought the entire group closer. They have christened themselves the ”Git R Dun Gals,” because that’s just what they do. More importantly, they have built strong relationships. As Jenny put it, “It’s been a blessing, not only to have help with our projects, but to have the bond of friendship. We are there for each other - like sisters, we love each other.”

If you would like to create a home improvement group, check out the Git R Dun Gals’ hints for success.

TALK BACK: Would you want to participate in a home improvement group? Do you know of anything like this in your neighborhood? Post your comments below.

Posted by Sharon Walker

Tags: git r dun gals, Home Improvement

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 6:00 am and is filed under Home Improvement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.