Jon Wood from AllStar Cleaning has seen his fair share of clutter and nasty messes in his nearly 20-year career as a professional cleaner.
“Oh my gosh, I’ve seen it all,” Wood says. “The worst is people who’ve moved out of condos or houses who’ve had pets that haven’t always let them out, if you know what I mean.”
Wood, who is gay, has been in the cleaning business for nearly two decades and in that time he’s worked in commercial buildings and houses. AllStar Cleaning, now three-years old, is Woods’ third cleaning business.
The freedom to be his own boss led Wood into the business of cleaning houses.
“It was the freedom to make my own choices of my time, and not have to punch a clock,” Wood says. “It was really about owning a business.”
Wood, originally from Pennsylvania, has been in Atlanta for 23 years.
“Twenty-some years ago, I was in-between jobs and a girlfriend of mine was getting ready to have a party and needed help with cleaning. While doing that, I thought, ‘Wow, I could get into doing this. I could make money doing this,’” Wood says.