Getting certified in green cleaning will benefit me for the rest of my life. I was affected by the wildfires in Malibu and almost had my house burned down. My house was completely filled with smoke and it is still a process of getting everything back to normal. Driving around Malibu so many homes are burned to the ground, foundations are filled with toxins, and the air is very polluted. Green cleaning cannot only improve the quality of my life but also my community. 

My work environment is a high school where my cleaning practices are affecting hundreds of students everyday. There has been many outbreaks of the flu virus in the school because lots of the custodians do not have good cleaning practices.  Using green cleaning products would be highly beneficial for the schools because it is cost effective. In the Malibu schools lots of parents try to sue the district, so by having green practices it reduces liability. 

Having my first child has really changed my life forever. I am so hyper aware of everything he does. Now I really have to be concerned about how I clean the countertops and wash his clothes. I did not realize that common laundry detergents have chlorine in them. I now have learned that I can go outside to my lemon tree and use a lemon as a cleaning agent. I also learned to have minimum exposure to metals around children. 

I grew up in a poor town in the Philippines, I was never taught about green cleaning and green products. My family would just use what was readily available. Through all this knowledge I have learned I can teach my family members who are here in the states and also my family who are still in the Philippines. Such simple things can be used for green cleaning. Just boiling orange peels can be used as a green air freshener. Green furniture polish can be made from olive oil, lemon, and vinegar. It is so easy to look up green companies by going to the IJCSA Green Cleaning Directory located here: https://www.ijcsa.org/Green-Cleaning-Services

Green cleaning has changed my life for the better and hopefully it will change you life for the better too!