Our Values

The principles that guide all our decisions

The best thing about starting our your own company is that you can always do what you think is right, without drama or risking your job. Our priorities come from three simple values:

Solidarity

Standing together with our clients and each other, with a focus on mutual aid and support

We treat everyone with compassion, and absolutely no judgment

It's normal to feel awkward, guilty, and/or grateful about getting help with something so difficult, based on how often clients thank us or apologize after we clean. But the truth is that you're helping make our dream a reality. We appreciate and value you, and view you as an asset, not a burden.

We've also been there ourselves. Everyone gets overwhelmed and can't keep up with housework at some point in their lives, but we lived with undiagnosed ADHD for decades. It's been a life-long struggle. We don't want anyone to judge you, because it would be an even bigger condemnation of us.

On top of all that, we've seen worse. We've seen some very messy homes, and lived in even messier homes, but nothing in any house can compare to the messes that happen in a regularly in a commercial kitchen. Sonya once cleaned out a walk-in refrigerator in a restaurant that had been abandoned for two years. They left food in there. It's hard to shock us.

We're committed to accommodation and learning to do better

Most of our clients are neurodivergent and/or have another disability. We're happy to modify our services, communication, and scheduling to meet your needs. Your sensory needs are important, so let us know if smells, sounds, or textures are a concern. We tend to be on a similar wavelength, but we aren't perfect and always have more to learn. Please educate us how we can serve you better!

Worker welfare is a priority, and everything is shared by the workers

You don't have to worry that only a small portion of your payment goes to the workers, who may not be treated with respect. We keep expenses low to maximize income, and large investments are agreed upon unanimously. All the profits, responsibilities,and decisions are shared by the whole team. We also avoid supporting worker exploitation as much as possible, buy equipment manufactured by workers with fair pay and benefits, and never purchase anything from Amazon. Standing in solidarity with workers is a multi-generational obsession in our family, and we feel it's more important now than ever.

Sustainability

Working within reasonable limits so we can keep showing up in the long term, for you and ourselves

We work to minimize our ecological footprint

It might be faster to use disposable products, but we favor reusable materials whenever possible. We make our own cleaning solutions from simple ingredients we buy in bulk, and use equipment built to last. We also combine cleaning visits with errands in your area to reduce our carbon footprint. We're all pretty big nerds about biology and nature, so we welcome any questions or suggestions you have.

We put people before profits

This isn't just feel-good marketing talk. The weirdest thing about our business is that we're not trying to maximize profit. Our goal is a sustainable living, and not more, because we need a lot of time for self-care and getting distracted by cool things. This benefits you because our part-time schedule allows you more flexibility, but ultimately it's mostly for us. We'll also try to be mindful that you're not spending more than you can afford. If we can't do something ethically, it's simply not worth doing and feeling guilty about.

Preventing worker burnout is a priority

An employer that actually cares about avoiding burnout has been a lifelong goal, so it's important we do that for ourselves. In addition to not overpacking our schedule, nobody ever has to work a job if they're not comfortable. Anyone is allowed to take a break from working if they need it, and we take 1-2 company/family camping trips each year to recharge.

Safety

We may take it a little too seriously, but this is the one area where Sonya's autism won't compromise

Protecting your family, your pets, and our workers always comes first

Our eqipment is chosen with care to minimize risk. If any chemical is a problem for any person/animal in your household, let us know and we'll never bring it to your house to eliminate any risk of accidents. We handle every material safely, even if it takes longer -- removing drywall dust in particular is more complex than you might expect. Our workers always have adequate safety gear, and anything they need to work safely and comfortably is provided by the company.

We'll do whatever we can to make sure you feel secure

Your personal information is always confidential, as well as the services we perform. We're trauma-informed, and will respect any boundaries you want to set without judgment or intrusive questions. If you're not comfortable having one of us work for you for any reason, we'll respect your request and you don't have to explain. If you need more information about us to feel safe, we're happy to accommodate you.

If you are in an abusive situation and planning/attempting to leave, we can help provide cover to bring items/paperwork to and from your home. If you can plausibly hire a cleaning service, we'd be happy to come over and "clean" to facilitate whatever you need. For example, we can pick up papers from your attorney, come over and loudly explain the "contract" that you have to sign, clean for an hour, then go drop off your signed papers. We can also insist that you must leave the house while we clean, or that we only have a specific time (of your choice) available. Let us know what you need, and we'll do anything in our power to make it work. Please be careful that your communications aren't under surveillance; consider going to a public library and making a new email address to be safe. There will never be any charge for this, unless you need to pay an invoice to cover your tracks, in which case we'll set the money aside for you or donate to the charity of your choice. If anyone requests this kind of assistance, we'll likely remove this section of the web site for safety reasons, but know that this help is always available. For more resources, see Dane County DV Resources, but be mindful whether your internet use is monitored. This is something Sonya is extremely passionate about, and she absolutely understands how confusing and scary this stuff can be, and also how hard it is to know who to talk to that can actually help. She also knows that it's absolutely possible to get to a place where abuse is no longer a part of your life. If you're worried about your situation but not sure if it's unhealthy/dangerous, it's okay to bring it up anytime. Feel free to message us for specific help finding resources to help you.

If you read all that, thanks! We wish every company were run this way, so we wrote it all out to help normalize this way of doing business.