Donegal Woman profiles The Cosy Cleaning Company, a TY mini company that is bringing creativity and colour to kitchen chores.

Kitchen cleaning products are very rarely described as pretty or cute – they’re just practical. But five Donegal teenagers have set out to make chores that little bit more enjoyable. They have designed two products to be launched as part of their Mini Company, called the Cosy Cleaning Company.

The young entrepreneurs in the Loreto Secondary School team are Claire McGettigan, Emma O’Donnell, Katherine Kelly, Laura Crossan and Clodagh Gibbons, all aged 15 and 16. Their aim is to make cleaning stylish – so we won’t dread doing it so much.

The Cosy Cleaning Company founders

The business group has two products so far. The first is ‘The Cosy Cleaning Cottage’.

Claire McGettigan describes the concept: “This is a wee house made from a scrubber a cloth and a sponge. It’s enclosed with a poem saying “I’m a little cottage who wants to help you lots so if you open me up I’ll scrub and wash your pots” It’s available in many colours.”

The second product is called ‘Dressing Up Liquid’ which is an apron for a washing up liquid bottle. This also comes in many different colours.

This was a homegrown idea, Claire explains: “We came up with this when one of the members of our team were in their granny’s house and were doing the dishes. She noticed the sink was very cluttered and was trying to think of a way to improve this. She came to school and explained how she thought if we could think of a way to improve this it could become a fabulous product for all householders.”

Dressing Up Liquid

The products were developed through trial and error. The Dressing Up Liquid was born from a light bulb moment, Claire said.

“Emma, the one with the sewing machine, got to work. We messed about with colours and patterns and got the perfect design.”

Cosy Cleaning Company

The company are keeping costs low, at just €3 for The Cosy Cleaning Cottage and €3.50 for The Dressing Up Liquid. They have gained experience in pitching their business plans at the Donegal Enterprise Competition at the beginning of the month. They are now building confidence for their next business competition, where they expect to ‘clean’ up against their competitors!

Visit www.facebook.com/cosycleaningcompany to learn more about the products and where to get yours. Keep an eye out in SoLo Letterkenny for the company’s first retail launch this week.