Hi! Thank you for visiting our website. We hope you find something useful here, whether you are looking for Services, Products or Cleaning Tips through the Blog. If you have clicked here, you probably want to know who GreenItUp! is and how we got started.
GreenItUp! was founded in June 2010 in Columbia, SC, by Teresa Smyrl Plaag. The business relocated in January of 2011 to Fairfax, VA, after Teresa, her husband Eric (a historian and writer), and her two black cats, Frankie and Verna, moved there for personal and professional goals.

Teresa grew up in Columbia and received a BA at the University of South Carolina in Religious Studies and English. She taught English at a Catholic high school after graduation. After teaching she worked as a technician in a corporate environment.

Teresa, whose first words were “that dog,” loves animals. Her cats are like her children, and she is truly excited when clients have animals to keep her company while she cleans. She is an insatiable reader and a devoted fan of Spaghetti Westerns. Her heroes range from St. Francis to Rambo. She has come to believe completely in the wisdom that “sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand.”

GreenItUp! is the result of Teresa’s desire to do something she loves. She loves to cook and clean and is not afraid to admit it! When she decided to create a cleaning business, she knew it had to be a “green” one to protect her own personal health and to make a difference for the health and well being of the families she would take on as clients.

Teresa, who has always been a clean freak, began experimenting with making her own cleaning products early in 2010 in a space in her back room that her husband referred to as her “meth lab.” She had always used commercial cleaners and was skeptical that homemade, non-toxic ones would not work as effectively as their commercial equivalents. Not only was she surprised at how well they worked, but she also discovered that they are such a pleasure to use. The essential oils that she adds will make your home smell so good and fresh. You cannot get these results from any commercial cleaners. Teresa knows this is something you would want for your own home, whether that would be through buying her products, hiring her to clean, or through tips and recipes on her Blog.

Teresa hopes to have a “green” Bed & Breakfast near Skyline Drive one day. In the meantime, she hopes to help you reduce your carbon footprint a little and make your home healthier for you, your family and, most importantly, your pets!

Happy Cleaning!

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