Celebrating National Cleaning Week

Although this isn’t the first year for National Cleaning Week, it is REDLEE/SCS’s first year to really participate in a big way. The past two years have sharpened our focus on the people who do the hard work of cleaning offices, kitchens, conference rooms, restrooms, and all the other spaces we use on a regular basis. We have always known they did amazing work, but now the spotlight shines brighter on them.

If we remember some of the wilder times of the past two years – the national toilet paper shortages, the hand sanitizer rationing, not knowing what we all could do to protect ourselves in the beginning – janitors all over the world continued to do their job through all of it. They could not “work remotely” like so many of us.

I still remember our company having to draft a letter explaining our employees were essential workers in case they were stopped during the shelter in place orders. They faced many of the same unknowns that healthcare workers faced – going into a space with a confirmed case of COVID-19 and their job was to disinfect it and make it safe for others to return. The information changed constantly, sometimes by the hour, on what best practices were, what people needed to do to protect themselves, and yet cleaners remained steadfast in doing their work.

This week is about celebrating cleaning (because it does help us live healthier lives) and the people whose job it is to clean for others. Many of them work long hours during the day and then head out again at night to do their cleaning work to take care of their families.

Now that it feels like we are getting closer to living our “normal” lives, and many of us returning to the office, let us celebrate National Cleaning Week by saying “thank you” to the cleaners who have always been there, quietly making sure we have a healthy place to spend our days. I hope you will follow along this week as we celebrate our people and their hard work.

Sincerely,

Christi Redfearn

CEO of REDLEE/SCS, Inc.