Jill Harness

Freelance Writer

Jill is a contributing writer with over a decade of experience writing on home projects. She specializes in DIY and gardening topics and has written for Hunker and Lifehack.

LinkedInPersonal website
Portrait of Jill Harness
Portrait of Jill Harness

About

Growing up with a father who owned his own construction company and multiple rental homes, Jill learned from a young age when to DIY a project and when to call a pro. This knowledge proved useful when she moved into a fixer upper in Santee, California, and soon found herself replacing vanities, hiring termite exterminators, repairing drywall, and more. 

While long interested in gardening, she wasn’t particularly gifted with caring for plants until the pandemic, when she found time to revitalize a strip of weed-filled dirt beside her driveway and establish a large succulent garden. Now she’s working to revitalize her entire dirt patch of a yard. 

Jill has a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University, and has written about home topics for over ten years on sites such as Hunker, Encyclopedia Britannica, Mental Floss, and Neatorama. 

Quick facts

Location
Santee, CA
Education
San Francisco State University (2005)
Expertise
Home Improvement, gardening, landscaping

Highlights

  • Written home improvement and lifestyle tips for Hunker and Lifehack 

  • Hands on experience repairing and improving her own home

  • Enjoys gardening and landscaping

Published work

Articles
When you find yourself asking, why is my outlet hot?, you probably need an electrician. These tips can help you identify the source of the problem.
Deck problems can crop up when you least expect them. Luckily, you can fix many of the most common issues with decks on your own without expert assistance.
Understand the standard outlet and light switch height in America and how Electricians and ADA guidelines vary in this regard.
Both soda blasting and sandblasting use agitating media to clean or prepare surfaces for coating. This guide explains their applications and differences.
If your light switch won’t turn off, try these troubleshooting tips to identify the problem before contacting a local electrician.
The cost of porcelain countertops is affected by many factors, primarily the material's type (tile or slab) and finish, as well as your counter’s size and shape.
If your plugs are sliding out halfway after you insert them into the outlet, this is a fire hazard. Learn how to fix loose outlets in your home.
Here’s how to get rid of armadillos humanely to keep your yard free from these burrowing insect lovers whether or not they’ve already moved in.