No-Hassle Laundry
Schedule free pickups and drop-offs by launderers in your area using Seamless-like web portal Spotless City (spotlesscity.com). Cost is per piece for dry cleaning and by weight for wash-and-fold. The online-ordering system, which currently serves twelve neighborhoods in Manhattan and Brooklyn, even lets users input special-care instructions or request rush service. A citywide expansion is in the works.
Alcohol on Demand
Talk about bottle service. The three-month-old Booze Carriage (boozecarriage.com) ferries beer, wine, and top-shelf spirits straight to your doorstep—and within an hour. The stock is sourced from nearby stores ($20 minimum); pinched-for-time party hosts can also order five-pound bags of ice ($2.99). Deliveries are currently limited to Manhattan below 91st Street but will soon extend to 116th Street as well as select areas in Brooklyn and Queens.
Flora at the Ready
May start-up the Sill (thesill.com) trades in hardy, hand-potted plants cultivated to survive even the most challenging of city environs—cavelike lighting, desert-dry air, and extreme temperatures. Choose your price point (under $50, $50 to $100, or over $100) and pot preference (terra-cotta or artsy ceramic), and the Sill will hook you up with a jade, haworthia, pothos, or other plant requiring minimal maintenance. Select parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan below 96th Street only.