Trusted Residential & Commercial Cleaning Services

My name is Gosia Baran, I am the founder of Helping Hands Cleaning Services. In 1999 I moved to Chicago from my birthplace in Poland after falling in love with the United States and its opportunities, and with my now husband, Tony.

I found a job in a law firm in downtown Chicago and in 2000 I got pregnant. My pregnancy, like most, was no easy feat and working full time through my pregnancy only increased the challenge, as you can imagine. Finding the time and energy to keep a clean home was out of the question despite my love of having a polished floor, sparkly bathrooms and a spotless kitchen. Between my difficult pregnancy, working a full time job, and my husband working long hours, we decided to hire a cleaning service. Wow, it was an experience I’ll never forget!

The woman who came to clean was wearing a tank top and VERY short shorts; it was a hot summer, however I did not appreciate seeing her bottoms. She brought her own cleaning towels, which were “her husband’s old t-shirts” (I am not kidding you)! I had to provide all of the cleaning products and had to train her how to use them all. I was shocked that that was the standard for the cleaning service we hired. I had them clean my house until my son was born.

Six weeks after my son was born, I returned back to work. I was gone from 6:30am–5:30pm and managed to clean my own home to my liking as well. Unfortunately, this meant that I spent my weekends washing floors, scrubbing the bathrooms and cleaning the kitchen while my baby was sitting in his playpen. It pained me as I felt that I barely had time to spend time with him.

Then 9/11 happened and I got laid off from the law firm and that was the moment that Helping Hands was born. I promised myself that I was going to create a high standard cleaning company that not only delivers quality cleaning but also free time and peace of mind to busy families like my own, and that gives opportunities to immigrants like myself.