“Dirty Earl” Baker
When Coleen Galano saw the ad in NEWS On the Green for “Dirty Earl’s Cleanup LLC,” the name grabbed her. So, she called the phone number in the ad and now “Dirty Earl” Baker cuts her grass.
“That’s why I chose that name, because it makes you laugh,” said Baker, of Masury.
“I love him,” Galano, of Masury, said of Baker.
And, Baker loves his customers. So much so that he tells them that, if he gets to talking, and they need to do something else, they can just walk away. He won’t get offended, he said.
“I never shut up.”
Baker formed his company a year ago after he retired as a truck driver, but needed to earn a few extra bucks. He cuts grass and cleans up yards, but doesn’t do landscaping and prefers smaller yards. He’ll cut up trees, but doesn’t cut them down. He also works for house flippers to clean out possessions left behind and demo interiors down to the studs.
Baker calls himself “a Chuck with a truck,” meaning he’s not highly skilled. He’s also not fast. But he is conscientious, he has insurance and he works cheap. Sometimes, he’ll skip the money and accept trades and barters. That’s how he got some of his mowers, he said.
“I enjoy messing with all the mowers,” he said.
The Hermitage native caters to Baby Boomers who can’t take care of their yards anymore. Being a Baby Boomer himself – he’s 64 – Baker understands these people.
“They all been cheap,” he explained. “They been cheap all their life. They were raised by people out of the Depression.”
Baker said he loves working for himself. He can work when he wants, and still make the activities of his five grandkids. When it’s nice out, he gets to work outside, and he enjoys the exercise.
If he had known he’d have this much fun working for himself, he would have started his business sooner, he said.
“I’m having a blast, I really am,” he said.
Cleaning out homes isn’t always such a blast because some people leave behind their entire lives. His advice to older people: get rid of your stuff now.
“Your kids don’t want your stuff,” he said.
Baker likes to stick close to Brookfield and Masury and has about as much work as he can do, but he’s not above marketing himself. He recently created a logo that emphasizes his white beard and beat-up straw hat. You can see it on his truck and will soon see it on T-shirts.
Baker said his needs are simple.
“All I do is this and five grandkids,” said the father of two daughters.
Call Baker at 724-813-0092 or email him at dirtyearlscleanup@gmail.com
