Jun. 22--Nothing ruins a lazy summer day like knowing that lurking somewhere on a honey-do list are friendly reminders to cut the grass, paint a room or clean the garage.

For the least motivated in our midst, the list gets ignored while weeds grow and laundry piles up. And even the best-intentioned do-it-yourselfers can wind up spending the entire weekend doing chores.

One Chesterfield County businessman is trying to free up people's time -- for a fee, of course.

Bill Maslink owns Homelink. The company offers what he calls a "one-stop-shopping approach to home improvement and maintenance."

Homelink, with an office on Midlothian Turnpike, performs services from housecleaning and lawn care to more complex jobs such as remodeling, roofing, plumbing and electrical work.

Maslink has a staff of about 10 to do the maintenance and lawn-care work and coordinates with subcontractors for the more complicated jobs.

The contractors' work is billed through Homelink, and the company takes full responsibility for the work, he said.

Maslink started the company last year after he lost his corporate job.

A self-professed home-improvement buff, he said the business made good sense because it provided a needed service. Maslink uses the smaller jobs, like housecleaning and lawn maintenance, to find the bigger work.

"Customers already know us, they see us every week, so when a bigger job comes along, I want them to think of us," he said.

Maslink said his client base is mostly in the Midlothian area, but he has customers in Short Pump and Richmond. He wants to expand and is looking for partners to open more offices around the Richmond area.

Strange's closes store

Strange's Florists has closed one of its two Midlothian Turnpike stores.

The store, west of Chesterfield Towne Center near Alverser Drive, closed about two weeks ago when the lease on the space expired.

Three employees have moved to the Strange's store at 8100 Midlothian Turnpike, near Buford Road. Strange's has four locations in the Richmond area.

"It was our weakest location," said William J. Gouldin Jr., president of Strange's.

Renmark resale

Richmond-based design firm Renmark & Associates has opened a consignment shop.

The shop, which takes up about half of Renmark's 2,300 square feet of retail space on North 25th Street in Richmond's Church Hill, opened last week.

Renmark specializes in residential and commercial interior architecture and design. Its new shop sells traditional and contemporary furniture and accessories.