October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month — get ready to start seeing pink everywhere! For the month of October, some organizations donate part of their profits from pinked out items to Susan G. Komen or other cancer awareness and treatment societies.

Second only to skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States. Knowing the symptoms, self-examinations, and screenings with your doctor are of vital importance to the prevention and fight against breast cancer. Because this cancer is so prevalent, The American Cancer Society doesn’t just want you to know what you can do to help fund research; they feel it’s important for you to understand how you can help on a more personal level..

Clean and Simple Partners with Cleaning for a Reason

At Clean and Simple, we’re proud participants in Breast Cancer Awareness month; however, our involvement doesn’t stop with raising awareness. We are partnered with Cleaning For A Reason, a nonprofit organization that provides free home cleaning services to women who are going through cancer treatments. Clean & Simple has been partnered with Cleaning For A Reason for years— we always have a warrior woman we are cleaning for on our schedule.

Cleaning For A Reason was started by Texas cleaning company owner Debbie Sardone. Debbie was once notified by a prospective client that she would not be able to afford the cleanings because she had to undergo cancer treatment. At that moment, Debbie decided she there was something she could do to help this client and others like her; going forward, she made it her company’s policy to give free cleanings to anyone going through cancer treatments.

As word of her mission spread, so did the free cleanings. Before Debbie knew it, more than 1200 cleaning companies had joined the movement. Today, these companies with a heart have donated more than $10,000,000 worth of cleaning to women who are too busy fighting the battle against breast cancer to worry about cleaning.

Cleaning for a Reason Lifts Spirits

There are testimonials from women who are fighting the fight of their lives and received cleanings from one of the many partners across the country who work with Cleaning For A Reason. These show exactly how important this service is to those women who are in the middle of cancer treatment.

From Jaimie in Texas, “Thank you! Thank you! She already called me and my first cleaning is this Wednesday, which happens to be my surgery day! It will be super nice to come home to a clean home!!!! Thank you! Thank you!”

Patients who have experienced a clean from Cleaning For a Reason partners will tell you the physical and emotional relief that they feel to not have to worry about the cleanliness of their home.

Imagine that you’re going through cancer; naturally,  your friends and family want to come and spend time with you during your recovery. But the thought of allowing people into your home causes you stress— after all, your home isn’t looking like it normally does. You just don’t have the energy you need to get up and clean to your usual standards. Thanks to Cleaning For a Reason, these women know their home will be the place of comfort and health it has always been while they concentrate on the more important task at hand.

Giving Back Just Feels Good!

One of the benefits that people who partner with Cleaning For A Reason experience is a tremendous sense of satisfaction in knowing that they are making a painful situation a little bit more bearable for someone else.

Maria Roberts from Wisconsin says, “I've been with Cleaning for A Reason for 5 years now and I enjoy doing what I do and will always believe that my extra hands have helped someone and put a smile on their face and a sense of relief.....I've had my cleaning business for 17 years and couldn't wait to join this wonderful foundation and offer my services.....”

Clean and Simple is a charter member of Cleaning For A Reason. We are proud to give back to the community in Snohomish County, Washington. In fact, Clean and Simple goes even further and takes nominations each year from the friends and family of cancer patients and chooses a person to give one free year of cleaning to.

If you know someone or are someone, who could use cleaning services while undergoing cancer treatments, contact Cleaning For A Reason to be matched with a cleaning service in your area. Clean and Simple knows we cannot fight this fight for you, but we can make it just a little easier to recover from.