‘Cleaning was just easy for me’

Published 9:00 am Wednesday, April 28, 2021

After cleaning homes of her aunts and grandmothers for extra cash, Cayleigh Thompson soon realized that she could turn her side job into a full time career.

Now the owner of CayCay’s Housekeeping is looking to expand her business in New Iberia and service the people of the Teche Area. Thompson credits her niece, Norah, for the genesis of her businesses’ name, something she’s always called her aunt Thompson.

“She coined the term for me and it stuck,” Thompson said. “And it just works and some of my clients call me that.”

Originally from Anacoco, Thompson has lived in Lake Charles for the past seven years, but in November of 2020, Thompson, her husband Rory and their corgi dog, Sherlock, moved to the Teche Area where they’ve settled down in a place that reminds her of her home.

“It’s nice. The people are nice. It reminds me of home,” Thompson said.

Now the three are enjoying their lives here and Thompson said she is looking forward to working with new clients in this area and building relationships that can last for years to come.

“I like having people in my corner,” Thomson said. “And for the most part, my clients have always been in my corner and I’m always in their corner.”

Before living in New Iberia, Thompson moved down to Lake Charles to live with her sister in 2014 and while living there, she cleaned houses and after talking with Angela Hoff, owner of Haute Couture Salon in Lake Charles, Thompson said Hoff paid her rent and bills as she cleaned Hoff’s salon and house for the first three months she moved there.

Joining a local church and meeting people, Thompson said it just picked up from there when she told people she cleaned houses and she was able to build a strong clientele in Lake Charles. Thompson learned in her early 20s that she enjoyed the independence of working on her own schedule and as a person who considers herself to be organized, she felt this was the best career for her.

“I also probably have a touch of OCD,” Thompson joked. “Cleaning was just easy for me, which surprised my mother because I hated cleaning anything growing up.”

Thompson offers to clean someone’s home once every two weeks, coming in, tidying, cleaning and disinfecting. She also does more deep, detail cleaning of someone’s home.

“I also offer some organization,” Thompson said. “If someone’s closet or pantry is completely out of whack and they don’t know where to begin, I’ll offer it or just do it.”

Currently, Thompson and CayCay’s Housekeeping starts off at $90 for up to two bedrooms and it’s her gauge for square footage of someone’s home. Before she begins her cleaning, Thompson likes to meet with her clients.

“I like for people to know who is coming to their house and I like to know who’s house I am going to,” Thompson said. “I like to know my clients and I have a personal relationship with my clients.”

It takes typically five hours for Thompson to get a house cleaned. During that time, she likes to put background noise on to help focus more.

From stripping the bedding and washing it, to dusting room by room and then getting to work on the floors and whatever else needs to be done, Thompson has a process, one she enjoys.

“Disinfect the services after you get done with the dusting and then you do the floors,” Thompson said. “It’s a process but I have my process.”