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| Photo provided by Two Boys & a Bucket |
They went from set dressing to scrubbing toilets, and they’re loving it.
New York City transplants Elliot Montague and Matthew Rebula are the co-owners of Two Boys & A Bucket, a cleaning service based out of Echo Park in Los Angeles. While these two offer typical services from vacuuming to cleaning countertops, Montague and Rebula aren’t your typical cleaners. They are a striking duo, standing tall, lean and often times clad in matching attire.
Beyond that, they are friendly and amusing, emanating tongue-in-cheek humor.
The two met while coincidentally working long hours on various film sets in L.A. They began working in the art departments of these sets and realized they both had an affinity for keeping things tidy and pristine—to an obsessive degree. They bonded after several encounters and eventually discussed the idea for the company over dinner one evening.
“We just worked really well together, and we worked long hours together with very little pay well together, so it was just kind of this intuitive thing,” says Montague. “I had never owned a business, and Matt had never owned a business, so it was very new for both of us.”
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| Photo provided by Two Boys & a Bucket |
The two built the business from the ground up and quickly attracted customers through word of mouth and positive online reviews.
Heidi Leonard has been a client of Two Boys & A Bucket for six months now and agrees that Montague and Rebula are a cleaning dream team. She discovered them through Yelp, having spotted great reviews for the company while doing a search.
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| Photo provided by Heidi Leonard |
“They conduct themselves and run their business in a way that inspires confidence and loyalty,” she says. “Both the quality of their work and the professional way in which they conduct themselves is impressive.”
Two Boys mentioned that they come across various pets while cleaning in peoples’ homes. They believe Angelinos have a very special attachment to their furry companions.
Leonard—like many of their other customers—has dogs, which are an important part of her life. She appreciates that Montague and Rebula treat them well.
“The best thing about Matt and Elliot is something beyond a clean house,” she explains.
“I really appreciate that they are both nice people to have in the house when I’m home and they are good to our dogs.”
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| Photo provided by Heidi Leonard |
“There are times when I need to be away on a day they’re coming to clean, and I’ve come to be comfortable having them at our house when I’m away,” she continues. “I’m [not] worried about the house or material things, but I need to really trust someone to be careful not to let our dogs out, and to be kind to them.”
The two are also applying their film smarts to a project related to their business. They are creating a web series based on their experiences cleaning and their interactions with clients.
Leonard will continue using Two Boys’ services and says that she will definitely tune in to their web series when it is released. She describes that at the heart of a successful series are characters with whom individuals want to spend time and repeatedly invite into their lives; for her, this applies to the duo.
“[Elliot and Matt] are smart and easygoing and interested in the world,” she says. “They also have a unique window into how people live. I can only imagine the weird and strange—and no doubt comic—things they have seen in peoples’ houses, [mine included].”
The boys released the teaser for their web series and will soon use it as part of their fundraising campaign for the show. They have many of the episodes conceptualized and plan to start filming late this year or early next year.
*The video components were shot at Montague's and Rebula's houses.