Every Lemon Fresh Cleaners franchise is locally owned by someone who genuinely loves serving their community. Gabby of Grand Rapids, Minnesota shares her story on going from licensed mortician to cleaning franchise owner and why she believes cleaning is so much more than a spotless home.
Hear it from Gabby:
“Hi to all our new followers!
I’m Gabby Gile, the owner of Lemon Fresh Cleaners in Grand Rapids. Some of you newcomers may not know me very well yet, but our OG clients, I’ve probably spent more hours cleaning some of your houses than my own over the last two years. I’ve genuinely loved getting to know you through our regular visits.
So, I thought I’d (over)share a little about myself and how Lemon Fresh came to be.
From South Dakota to Grand Rapids
We moved here from South Dakota in 2022. I’m a licensed mortician and work originally brought us north, but the trees, lakes, and recreation made us stay.
After I had my first baby (who never slept!) I realized I needed a career that didn’t require leaving the house in the middle of the night. I wanted more flexibility and fewer phone calls at 2 am.
Around the same time, I was struggling to find a reliable cleaner for my own home. Eventually, I realized I had a pretty great opportunity sitting right in front of me.
Generational trauma made me the cleaner I am today. KIDDING. Kind of?
Generations of Natural Cleaning
My grandma was the head custodian at my school for decades and boasts that she had some of the whitest diapers in town when her kids were babies.. ya know, before cloth diapering was considered “crunchy”.
And my mom had me tagging along to her cleaning jobs before I was even in kindergarten.
I also spent many years of my adolescence redoing cleaning tasks that didn’t quite meet my mom’s holiday-hosting standards. No one was inspecting the baseboards that closely, but here we are.
In high school, I cleaned regularly for my great-grandmother and flipped hunting lodges in the Pheasant Capital of the world. In college I picked up clients during summer breaks, and apparently never escaped my destiny.
Oh yeah, I also have two college degrees, and I clean toilets for a living. I promise my parents are proud.
My time working in funeral service made me even more detail-oriented. You only get one funeral, so you have to get it right. That mindset has followed me into everything I do: notice the little things, care deeply, and don’t cut corners.
I’m also very much a “mom’s mom”.
You never need to apologize to me for the delayed text, the crumbs on the floor, the loud toddler, or the fact that your house looks like people actually live there. I don’t judge. I know what it’s like to clean all day and still feel like nothing is clean. I’ve been there, and it’s my greatest pleasure to take something off your plate.
I’m sentimental and probably will start shedding a tear when I think about the little hands that will be splashing in the tub that I’m cleaning.
My Personal Life in Grand Rapids
As a person, I’m part Martha Stewart, part Morticia Addams.. a little bit wine country, a little bit rock ’n’ roll, if you will. And HYPOTHETICALLY, if you needed to move a body and clean up the evidence, I’d be quite qualified.
I love good food, making my home cute (and functional), and doing pretty, domestic things while listening to podcasts about true crime, weird science, and conspiracy theories.
I’m partly crunchy, with a side of Diet Coke. I’ll use natural cleaning products, but I still need to use the same brand of mascara I’ve been using since 2011.
I love psychology, astrology and would consider myself a self-improvement junkie. I like doing things with intention and effort. It makes life feel special, and it’s one of the ways I show people I care and they matter.
My integrity doesn’t let me half-ass much. Besides cleaning my own house, obviously.
I also love music, probably the same stuff your parents or your pretensious college boyfriend listened to. And I am definitely peeking at your record collection when I dust your shelves.
Meet Mr. Lemon Fresh
Mr. Lemon Fresh, Dan Gile, is a familiar face to some of you. He’s an integral part of the operation and keeps our laundry clean, our bags stocked, and our beds with the tightest hospital corners I’ve ever seen. Thank you, Marine Corps.
He probably sees your husband at Wednesday night men’s league and your grandpa at the American Legion meetings.
When he’s not behind the scenes at Lemon Fresh, he works at Northview Bank as an Assistant Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer and serves on a couple community nonprofit boards.
Our Lemon Tree is Growing
Our little boy, Dash, is the best mess maker and loves getting into Mom’s cleaning supplies. He learned his colors by sorting our towels and loves lemons almost as much as his mom.
He’s also going to be a big brother in November.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations—you’ve officially unlocked the hot goss. I haven’t announced my pregnancy anywhere on Facebook yet.
The Real Cleaning Magic
But more than anything, Lemon Fresh is made up of our amazing cleaners.
We have such a wonderful group of women who are hardworking, dependable, and genuinely enjoy helping our clients. They show up every day ready to give their best. I’m constantly proud of the care they put into their work and how they represent our company when I’m not there.
They’re tremendous humans. Many of them are moms, too. They understand that they aren’t just cleaning houses, they’re leaving people and places better than they’ve found them.
And that’s really what Lemon Fresh is all about.”
