This week on Women on the Verge: Lisa tackles the DIY project that's been haunting her for YEARS - installing a key lockbox after approximately one million lockouts. What starts as a simple solution spirals into drilling brick, phoning friends with actual upper body strength, and confronting the harsh reality that teenage boys are now stronger than us.

From ADHD quirks and expensive Uber trips for spare keys, to discovering the hot handymen of Abbotsford Bunnings, this episode is part home improvement tutorial, part existential crisis about getting old and weak. Spoiler: The lockbox is up, the combination is not set and we're both getting kettlebells. Maybe.

TL;DR: Lisa drilled some holes, solved her key crisis, and we're all getting ripped now. Obviously.

KEY POINTS DISCUSSED

The Great Key Lockout of 2025

• ALL spare keys AND actual keys locked inside at once = $100+ Uber from parents an hour away… and tears.
• Why Lisa finally installed a wall-mounted combination lockbox - thanks Whataspp group
• The combination number *might* be 6969

Drilling Into Brick: Reality Check

• Wall plugs are essential (screws don't just go into brick, Vergens)
• Drilling into brick requires actual muscle - Lisa had to phone a friend
• Lis and Lisa realise they're concerningly weak and need to get ripped
• Perimenopause strength chat: cottage cheese, degenerated discs, and kettlebells that never move

Critical Intel

• Hot handymen hang out at Abbotsford Bunnings on weekdays
• Take your drill bits INTO the store and ask for help sizing them
• Being the only adult in the house at night is nerve-wracking (Lis is known to lock herself in her bedroom)

🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES

Products Mentioned:

• Wall-mounted combination key lockbox (Amazon—we hate you but also thanks)
• Wall plugs (available at your local Bunnings)

Skills You'll Need:

• How to drill into brick (requires: drill, correct drill bit, wall plugs, and someone with actual upper body strength)
• How to change a combination lock code (Lisa will Google this. Eventually.)

Places Referenced:

• Abbotsford Bunnings, Melbourne (hot handyman headquarters)
• Any Bunnings (for all your DIY therapy needs)

THE VERGE TAKEAWAY

Skills are one thing. Strength is another. We need both. And also community. Because no woman is an island, especially when she's trying to drill into brick at 45.

Next Episode: We'll either have six-packs or more cottage cheese opinions. Probably both.

Got a DIY disaster or a skill you're scared to tackle? Message us! We'd love to fumble through it together.

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Remember Vergens: You're not losing your mind. You're just living on the verge.