My Life with Clorox – Honorable Mention, 9th Annual Essay Contest

By Jasmine Davis

my life with clorox - 2011 essay

Since I was born, Clorox Wipes have always been in my life. From the time I learned to walk and talk, if my mom was cleaning, I remember her using Clorox. I learned a lot from my mom, so later on, when I was older and able to use Clorox myself, I would do exactly what she did: wipe the counters, clean my bathroom and my bedroom, sanitize the dishes and anything else I could get my hands on. I’d found something that I enjoyed: cleaning.

Most people don’t enjoy cleaning. I often hear people say to me, “Oh, I need to take you home to my house,” or “Why do you like to clean so much?” I can say that not only do I like cleaning, but refreshing spaces with Clorox takes my mind off things, like when I’m stressed out about bad results from the hospital. Clorox Wipes reveal in me the cleanliness and pride I take in things. Most people have something they do that makes them happy, and cleaning is my “thing.”

Every other weekend, I go to Wal-Mart or any other grocery store and buy liquid Clorox and Clorox Wipes unless I already have them. I use other cleaning products as well, like dish detergent, Tide, Snuggles, and Dawn, but for some reason, Clorox, to me, is the best. When I’m finished cleaning with Clorox, the rooms feel and smell clean. I can tell if I haven’t cleaned a room with Clorox.

I’ve always made sure that everything is clean, although since I’m getting older, I’m more cautious about dirt, especially in the hospital where I receive dialysis three times a week. In 2006, my kidneys shut down, and I had to go on dialysis. You’d think that the hospital would be a clean place, but from my experience, it’s the opposite. When I first found out that I had to go on dialysis, I was emotionally, physically, and spiritually weakened by the news. My mom made sure that I was fed and clean and that my room was wiped down with Clorox. One time I was admitted to the hospital, and the staff said that they’d cleaned my room. My mother went into the room before me and came and told the nurses it wasn’t clean. She immediately started wiping counters down and showing them the filth. She kept on cleaning until the cleaning people came back. We both watched them as they cleaned. I have to thank God that I have my mother, because without her, I’m pretty sure that I’d be even sicker than I am now. She speaks up in my defense, and she keeps my life and spaces tidy and clean.

Every time I go into the dialysis unit, I have Clorox Wipes in a small bag with some clothes that I change into, and before I get on my machine, I wipe down whatever I might touch, like my dialysis chair, my television, my hospital phone, and the visitor’s chair. When I have surgeries and am very weak from all the medicines the surgeon has given me, my mother comes and she wipes down whatever I can’t do.

People might say that I’m a neat freak when they see me with my Clorox Wipes, but I don’t care. I’d rather people feel that way about me than get sick from so many germs and bacteria. I’m not like regular kids. When I use Clorox Wipes, I’m transported to a whole new world. I know that I can’t control my kidney disease, but I can control what kinds of germs and bacteria are around me by wiping them away with Clorox. My immune system is very weak, and I do whatever I have to do to make sure that I don’t get sick. Clorox Wipes have been in my family for many, many years. They’ve been on many journeys with me—journeys when I was happy, sad, or angry—and I plan to use them in the future.