How a gift for a grieving friend became a platform for communities everywhere.
When a close friend lost a loved one, we wanted to do something meaningful. As owners of a residential cleaning company, we were in a unique position to help — so we collected money from friends and family to gift house cleaning. The outpouring of love and support was so extraordinary that the family received bi-monthly cleans for an entire year.
Like many couples, we are wired differently. Jeremy thrives in building systems and Jodi has never met a stranger. But we found common ground in that moment: practical help matters. So often a feeling of helplessness exists when a loved one is struggling. For many, the everyday tasks are the most paralyzing during hard times. Providing this gift through house cleaning alleviated that helplessness for all of us who contributed.
When life happens, what a gift to know the toilet is clean and the kitchen floor has seen a mop.
As we reflected, we started dreaming about how we could make this more widely available. Jeremy put his software skills to work and built the first version of Cleaning Train in 2021. Jodi continued to make Cleaning Trains for folks who were caring for newborns, facing medical challenges, or navigating grief. Over and over the feedback from recipients and contributors was overwhelmingly positive.
We also discovered that our company was benefiting. Several folks continued as recurring clients after their Cleaning Trains had finished. Individuals were thrilled to have a practical answer to the “how can I help?” question. Recipients got the gift of a clean home at a crucial time.
Company, Contributor, Community: Win. Win. Win.
Running a residential cleaning company together was rewarding and challenging. It taught us what families need most when life gets hard. Now we are building Cleaning Train so that every cleaning company can offer this gift, and every community can rally around the people they love.
It takes two minutes to start a Cleaning Train. No account needed.