So you stalked every available listing on Zillow, made an offer, and finally bought your dream home. Congrats! You’ve now entered your home project era.

“Your life has now to be balanced with being the head maintenance person of your house,” said home repair expert and social media darling Mercury Stardust , who is the Wisconsin-based author of “ Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair ” and host of the “ Handy Ma’am Hotline ” podcast.

Affectionately known as the Trans Handy Ma’am, Stardust doles out DIY advice to a TikTok and Instagram fan base that numbers in the millions and is working on a new book about the first year of homeownership. As a relatively new homeowner myself, I spoke to Stardust to map out what that first year of upkeep should look like and how it

See Full Page