#208: Everything Cleaning (Friday, December 24)

Growing up in Jamaica, you're raised to clean your own house. In fact, Saturday morning was typically the time for chores in most Jamaican households, the day when school uniforms were washed, the floors were cleaned and the furniture dusted. Even though I grew up with a helper, I remember many a Saturday spent on all fours with a coconut brush shining the tile floors until they reflected the ceiling above them. As a woman, you were expected to know how to do these things.

In the US, cleaning services are much more accepted and widely used. There is less shame for a single, professional Caribbean woman to use one. LOL. Even so, I hadn't thought of using a cleaning service until I met Aubrey Bryan, owner of Everything Cleaning. After all, this was someone coming into my personal space. Should I hide my important papers? What if they came back and robbed me once they knew that I was a single woman living alone? Should I do a pre-cleaning so my place wouldn't look so bad? Would I have to provide the cleaning products? Should I pay by the hour or by the job? So many questions...

Thankfully, as the name implies, Everything Cleaning knew the answer to, well, everything. LOL. There is literally a cleaning package for any service you can imagine: preparing for a party, cleaning up after a party, moving out of, or into, an apartment, outdoor cleaning, window cleaning, carpet removal, laundry...the list is endless.

The only unfortunate part? It's only in NYC. So check out Everything Cleaning at www.younameitwecleanit.com and drop 'em a line if you need a good cleaning (the new year is just around the corner).