That was the thinking behind Philipp and Laura Muessig’s decision to start a club in Minneapolis 19 years ago with four friends. They hoped to save money and to make sure they saw one another once a month. Their club, which usually meets for a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon, has since put in a concrete walkway, cleared out a garage and cleaned viruses off a computer. “With six people, we found ourselves tackling projects we might not do ourselves,” Mr. Muessig said. “It’s always satisfying to just dive into a project and later say, ‘We did that?’ ”

In Tampa, Fla., Maria Garcia-Gutierrez started the Home Improvement Team, or HIT, five years ago after buying a two-bedroom bungalow that needed work. When her mother suggested she round up some friends to take turns working on one another’s houses, she doubted they would go for it. “But none of us could afford to pay anyone to come do the work,” Ms. Garcia-Gutierrez said. Five years later, HIT meets one Saturday a month, and usually 10 to 16 people show up. “We’ve developed so many friendships; it’s really drawn the neighborhood together,” Ms. Garcia-Gutierrez said. Before every meeting she sends an e-mail message to about 175 people in her neighborhood association to let them know about the project. “We’re like a bunch of vampires,” she said. “We like to suck up new blood.”

Each January, the Monroe co-op’s members meet for dinner to pick dates for the year. They work one Saturday a month at a different family’s house, from March to September, except in August, when they go on a short trip together. “It takes a real commitment,” Daniel Davidson said.

The co-op’s success hinges on its firm schedule and detailed assignments worthy of an army general. A month before September’s work party, Mr. Riedel, the host, started planning, buying paint and gathering tools. A week before, he sent everyone an e-mail message listing the day’s 11 jobs and asking them to bring garden tools. The Riedels made sure to select large projects they preferred not to tackle on their own.

Image The group breaks for lunch. Credit... Stuart Isett for The New York Times

The group has stayed small for a reason. With one meeting a month, only a limited number of chores can be addressed.

To those who want to join, they offer the following advice for starting a new group:

Begin by inviting friends to an initial meeting and decide how much time to commit, what kind of work should be done and how often to meet.