I have been cleaning for my living for roughly 20 years. It is gratifying work because the results are instantaneous. Running my own residential carpet cleaning business was doubly gratifying because I also went home with money after every job. No waiting 2 weeks for a paycheck.

Since cleaning is what I’ve done for the majority of my adult life I know quite a lot about it. That is why you’ll see a lot of content about cleaning on this site. Not because I particularly enjoy it but because I have a lot of knowledge about it to share with the world.

My Time In The Cleaning Business

I spent 16 years in the carpet cleaning industry. And I spent about 4 years working as a janitor for various school districts and one commercial janitorial company. I enjoyed being a janitor for the most part. I got to work alone, at night, listening to music and podcasts. Then, when all of my work was done, I could hole up in my closet and read a book until it was time to go home.

I found the carpet cleaning business to be just the opposite of being a janitor. I had to interact with people all day. It was noisy with the extractor running constantly. And there was no downtime; it was just go-go-go until the job was done. I found it stressful and unfulfilling.

It was unfulfilling because it was meaningless. I wasn’t helping anyone in a meaningful way. Nor was I creating anything to offer the world. I was just cleaning up other people’s messes and then coming back to do it again.

I suppose it fine if that’s what you feel that you have to offer the world. And I did for a long time. But since 2016 I have felt that I could do better. And so I try.