In my mind, it is absurd for a cleaner to be dirty and unkempt. I have always thought cleaners should be cleaner. I would not feel confident asking an unkempt cleaner to clean my house even if they clean well because I would think "charity begins at home." You cannot love me your neighbor more than you love yourself. So, if you are unkempt and dirty, you are not likely to make my space really clean. Even if the surfaces are cleaned well, you will probably leave a bad odor behind.
Ghandi said we must be the change we seek in the world and that does not have to be a philosophical concept. As cleaners, the change we seek is cleanliness. We want the spaces we clean to actually be clean, to look clean and to smell clean. How can cleaners "be" the change they seek? Be clean, look clean, smell clean.
