Known in social media as Aurikatariina, Finnish professional cleaner Auri Kananen was recently invited to the Presidential Ball in Finland on 6th December 2024. She attended in a dress in her signature pink colour, complete with a dishcloth fabric purse and Scrub Daddy earrings. Auri was invited because she is famous for cleaning peoples homes for free on YouTube and is sponsored by cleaning companies.
What many people may miss about Auri Kananen is that as well as being a YouTube mega-star, she brings a lovely non-judgmental attitude towards mental health. I was quite surprised that she had such a sensitive attitude in her videos, but when I read a bit more about her I learnt that she has previously worked in a volunteer role in crisis help lines while she was studying and working as a cleaner and has also experienced some mental health challenges of her own.
Auri does all her cleaning for free for people unable to clean for themselves, filming the entire process and posting it to social media while keeping the person’s identity completely anonymous. In her videos she shows herself cleaning kitchens, bathrooms and floors that are covered in rubbish and dirt, often relishing the challenge, while in the voiceover she describes the situation that caused the home to be in such a state. Sometimes she describes the tragic circumstances that have led to the home being in such a bad state, for example explaining how a sudden death, illness or job loss has triggered depression in the home owner and prevented them from keeping their house clean. She is able to describe the mental health challenges of the home owners in a very respectful and understanding way, totally without judgement. In one episode she went so far as to explain that everyone needs help sometimes and that there should be no shame in asking for help and encouraged everyone to take the step of asking for help with cleaning.
I think Auri has a lovely, unique way of being positive and excited about cleaning challenges that really resonates with viewers, and I highly recommend you watch her videos for some satisfying before and after shots. But what is also important about her videos is the reminder that poor mental health can cause problems not just in your head, but can cause very real and physical problems when a person with poor mental health no longer has the ability or energy to keep their house clean. It’s wonderful that people in the world like Auri can be there to support a person with a mental health challenge. Often the transformation that takes place in the home environment has a huge positive impact on the mental health of the owner.
If you know someone in Finland who has problems with cleaning their house, Auri is always on the lookout for new places to clean so do send her a message!
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