TikToker cleans homes for free

Brut America

She's offering free cleanings to those who need them most all while educating people on the link between mental health and cleaning. Meet "Not the Worst Cleaner."

Transcript

00:00Imagine this is your bedroom. You haven't slept in it in over 15 years.

00:04This is the home of a sweet older woman that is currently struggling mentally and physically.

00:07It's so much harder than you think to reach out for help.

00:10On most of my videos and my content, I get the comment a lot.

00:14All these people are just lazy. They don't care.

00:16They could just easily get up and clean.

00:19And I mean, the short answer is no, they can't.

00:21People don't want to live like that at the end of the day, but something is stopping them.

00:24Meet Brogan, aka Not The Worst Cleaner.

00:27Online, she's teaching her followers about the link between mental health and cleaning.

00:32Offline, she's a psychology student who's offering free cleanings to people who need them most.

00:37I feel like cleaning was such a taboo subject for a lot of people.

00:40It's something that we believe we should know how to do.

00:43It should come easily. It shouldn't be a big deal, but it's a huge deal for a lot of people.

00:49Right down to our brain chemistry, cleaning and clutter

00:52and living in environments like the ones that I clean can really, really affect people.

00:57Mental health does not discriminate.

00:59There's no rules stating you aren't allowed to battle depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc.

01:03And it doesn't make anyone any less deserving of help.

01:06Initially, she tried fundraising to get cleaning companies to help the

01:10hundreds of people reaching out online.

01:12But when costs became unsustainable, she decided to do it herself.

01:16When I had this woman reach out, I knew I had to do it.

01:20I have three small boys at home and this woman also had three small kids at home

01:25and they were the exact same age as my boys and they live in my area.

01:29She sent me photos and I thought I couldn't imagine my kids ever living in a state like that

01:33and how it must affect the children as well.

01:36So that was the first home I did and getting to see their reaction and the kids reaction.

01:41It was like a lightbulb moment for me.

01:43I knew that this was what I was meant to be doing.

01:45This was what I was going to be doing for a very long time.

01:49This free cleaning was definitely one that completely shattered my heart.

01:52This is an extreme hoarder case with a lot of mental health issues behind it,

01:55as it's very clear with the toilet paper hoarding.

01:57She had been using the toilet paper only to fold it up and place it in a pile to reuse.

02:02So if somebody has something like depression or even myself with ADHD,

02:05I'll go through these phases where everything just seems a little more overwhelming,

02:10even really simple tasks.

02:11And things like cleaning, it's not going to be the first thing you're

02:14going to want to do when you're not in the best headspace.

02:17It's something that can easily, you know, build up.

02:19So when it does start to build up,

02:21it becomes more overwhelming and people just don't know,

02:23you know, how to start tackling it.

02:25And that's when it grows to the state of the home that I clean.

02:28Whenever I go in for one of my free cleanings,

02:30I always do an initial walkthrough to analyze the main problem spots

02:33and figure out exactly where to start.

02:35Every home I go into is so different.

02:37And every homeowner is also different as well.

02:39Sometimes I'll go in and they will just say, you know,

02:41throw everything out.

02:42I don't care.

02:43I just want to clean space again.

02:45And then sometimes they will, you know,

02:46start saying don't touch anything on that wall.

02:48And don't touch anything on that wall.

02:50It all depends on the situation.

02:52But at the end of the day, I just want to make it livable for them

02:56and have them be comfortable.

02:57I want to make sure when I leave these free cleanings,

03:00they have everything they need to continue basic upkeep.

03:02And at the end of the day,

03:03they always know that I am here if they need me to ever come back.

03:06These folks are judging themselves so much themselves.

03:08They don't need any outside judgment.

03:11So I come towards it with a place of just compassion and love

03:16because I don't believe anybody should live like that.

03:18And I don't believe anybody should feel the way they do at the end of the day.

03:21It, you know, takes one or two days of my time to change their entire lives.

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