Shelton's Janitorial began with a mother fighting to rebuild her life and create a safer future for her children. Every mile since then has been earned through faith, hard work and the courage to keep going.
I founded Shelton's Janitorial in 2013 while living in Marysville, in Yuba County, because I desperately needed a way to support my children and rebuild our lives. I was living with chronic PTSD after abuse, and I had spent two years experiencing homelessness and trying to find my way forward. My family had been pulled apart, and I was determined to build a stable life where my children and I could be together again.
For a time, the trauma took away my voice. I shook from the stress, could barely speak and had forgotten the strong, independent woman I had always been. I had been broken down, but I was still there—and little by little, I found myself again.
There was no big investment, polished office or easy beginning. There was simply a mother who knew she had to keep moving. I cleaned because it was honest work I could do well, and because every job brought me one step closer to the life my children deserved.
I founded the company while living in Marysville, in Yuba County. My first job was waitressing, and I cleaned houses on the side while working to support my children and rebuild our lives. I saved my waitressing tips and used them to buy a little red Volkswagen Bug. As the cleaning work grew, mop heads, mops and brooms stuck out of its windows because the supplies would not fit, but that little car meant progress and freedom.
After cleaning houses, one of our next opportunities was cleaning construction trailers for a CAL FIRE project in Camino. Caring for the shared, working and living spaces helped move Shelton's Janitorial from residential cleaning toward larger and more demanding accounts.
See the project photographs →Residential customers led to commercial janitorial work and multi-location accounts. Every new client required us to learn, prove ourselves and keep raising the standard of what our company could do.
We earned our first government contract—a milestone that opened the door to more demanding facilities and showed how far a company built from nothing could go.
One project included cleaning the DFAC, which had extremely high ceilings. It was my first time working from a scissor lift, and I was scared to death. I learned how to operate it safely, worked through the fear and got the job done. I often took on work before I had every answer, but I believe God brought me through and, by His grace, showed me each next step.
At Travis Air Force Base, our work took us 90 feet into the air to clean inside a hangar. The job demanded courage, attention and teamwork, and it became another example of learning what the work required and seeing it through.
We worked in tightly controlled, high-security areas during a building remodel at Beale Air Force Base. I learned exterior soft washing for the first time and expanded our experience beyond new-construction cleaning to include remodel cleanup. The project taught us to adapt, respect every security requirement and see the work through.
Completing work inside Grocery Outlet marked another step into large commercial spaces and showed how far the business had grown beyond its residential beginnings.
We launched Airbnb turnover cleaning and property-management support. For about three and a half years, our team has cared for three Airbnb properties, preparing fresh, guest-ready spaces with consistent attention to detail.
I completed the cleaning of a 216,000-square-foot building three separate times for an Army Corps of Engineers project. I had gone from homelessness and struggling to speak to standing inside a massive military project that I had completed through determination and work.
Today, our family- and women-owned company is trusted by local homeowners and businesses and can assemble a team of more than 10 people for larger projects. We remain committed to honest work, dependable service and better futures for our families.
I know what it feels like to be broken down and to need someone to give you a chance. Today, I help women get back up, recognize their strength and build independence. I want Shelton's Janitorial to keep becoming a better, stronger business so we can create more opportunities, pay people well and help women support their families without having to depend on public assistance.
I made a decision that the people who broke me down would not determine the kind of person I became. I learned from what I survived, and it made me stronger, wiser and more compassionate. Instead of carrying forward the hatred I experienced, I chose to remember the few people who opened a door for me when I desperately needed one. Their love, encouragement and belief in me led to the next door, and then the next. Through every opportunity, I felt the love of others and the grace of God guiding me forward. Today, I choose to hold those same doors open for other women—to offer the dignity, hope and opportunity that helped me rebuild my own life.
I did not rebuild alone. My parents helped me in every way they could, and I formed deep friendships with good people—many older than me—who helped me see a different kind of life and learn new ways of making decisions. In time, I found a wonderful man, built a loving relationship and welcomed a baby at 40. What began as a fight to survive grew into a life surrounded by family, friendship, faith and love.
Every space deserves care, and every person deserves dignity and respect. Shelton's Janitorial was built from scratch, and I will never forget the people whose kindness helped us take the next step.
Tell us about the space you need cared for. We would be honored to earn your trust.