o mostofus,cleaningis a
(sometimestiresome)ritual
that’sjustpartoflife.So
whoknewtoiletscouldbe
ontrendorthatZoflora
wouldbecomepartofthezeitgeist?
It’sallpartofthephenomenonthat’s
seeingcountlesswomendiscover
thatgettingtheirhomestolook
flawlessis a cheap,enjoyable
andsatisfyingwaytomake
themselvesfeelgood– and
lookgoodonInstagram.
Thesocialmediaplatform
is awashwithclean-home
hashtags,picturesof
favouriteproducts,sparkling
kitchensandorderlyhallways.
Inpart,thistrendstems
fromdeclutteringgurussuchas
MarieKondo,whosephilosophyboils
downto,“Discardeverythingthat
doesnotsparkjoy.”
Butforthoseofuswhose“Kondo”
homeswouldbeleftemptyshells,a
moreaccessiblehouseworkheroine
hasemergedin SophieHinchliffe,an
Essexhairdresserbetterknowntoher
2mInstagramfollowersasMrsHinch.
Shecallshercleaningcupboard
Narnia,hasnicknamedherMinky
cleaningclothMinkeh,andhas
prompteda 25%upsurge
in salesofold-school
disinfectantZoflora,as
sheshareshacksand
talksusthroughher
favouritecleaning
routinesin
herimmaculate
@mrshinchhome.Inthe
processshehaslaunched
a wholenewmovement
thatusesthepowerofcleaning
tosoothethesoulandcalmanxiety.
Hernewbook,HinchYourself
Happy, posesa devastatinglysimple
philosophy– thatfromdustingto
vacuuming,followingfamiliarrituals
whencleaningcanmakeusfeel
we’veachievedsomething,and
thereforefeelultimatelyhappier.
Sophiehasbeenrefreshinglyfrank
abouthowcleaninghelpshertodeal
withanxietyandcontrolherpanic
attacks.Manyofher#mrshincharmy
followerscreditherwithimproving
theirmentalhealthtoo.
Whilesome
commentatorsare
horrifiedatthe
ideaofcleaning
beinga serious
“thing”for
women(aren’twe
stillstrugglingto
betakenseriously
beyondthehome?),
forfansit feelslesslikea
retrogrademovementandmuchmore
liketakingbackcontroloflife.
LeadinglifecoachCaroleAnnRice
(realcoachingco.com)explains,“Weall
needorder– andourhomesshould
nurtureusandbea placeofrefuge.If
thereis clutter,dirtandmessiness,we
can’tgatherourselvesorfeelin control.
“Sowhenwehavetidiedor
cleaned,wefeelwe’vemadesense
ofmayhem.A breathoffreshair
runsthroughus– orderis resumed
andcontrolgained.”
Sowhetherit’sthemindful
flowofa methodical
cleaningsession,the
ritualoftickingoffjobs
ona to-dolistorthe
satisfactionofseeing
youreffortspay
dividendsimmediately,
cleaningreallydoes
havethepotentialto
improveyourwellbeing.
AndasCarolepointsout,
“Afterall,if wecan’tfeelstableinour
ownenvironments,thenwhencanwe?”
MrsHinchhasclearlytouched
somethingdeepinthenation’s
psyche,sow&hmethertofindout
morewitha goodcleanchat...Theglamorous
MrsHinchhas
becomea cleaning
guruonInstagramTheHinchhalfhour
I’llwritea list,seta timeronmyphone
andI’mgoodtogo.I’lltickthingsoffand
it motivatesmetogetgoing– I’mlike
a whirlwind.If I’vestillgotsometime
lefttodomorejobs,I’lladda couple
ofcheekythingstomylistjusttogive
myselfanextraspringtomystep.Theclockwiseclean
Thebeautyofthisis thatyoudon’t
missanythingandit doesn’tfeeltoo
overwhelming.Walkintoyourroom
ofchoicewithyourcleaningbasket.
Starttoyourleft(that’syour 12 o’clock),
workyourwayaroundtheroom(1,2, 3
o’clock)andthenendupbackwhere
youstarted,havingcircledtheroom.Fresh’n-upFriday
Simplygoaroundeveryroomin thehouse
andwritedowna maximumof threethings
in eachroomyou’dliketogetdone,and
takethelistwithyouasyouwork.There’s
nothingbetterthanwakinguptoa lovely
freshhouseona Saturdaymorning. >>Mrs Hinch’s
favourite cleans
Top Tip
Turnandrefreshyour
mattresseachmonth.Pour
bicarbonateofsodaintoa
floursieveandshakeover
yourmattress.Leave
fora fewhoursthen
vacuumoff.Top Tip
Cleanyourfabricsofaby
mixing2 capfulsoffabric
softenerandoneofAriel
liquid*withwarmwaterin
a bowl.Wringtheclothas
muchaspossiblebefore
scrubbingaway.Move over mindfulness – sweeping,
scrubbing and spraying are the new ways
to find peace and inner harmony...
in the know
I always find doing something I love,
and doing it well, gives me a real boost.
You can release so much of that anxiety
and worry with a solid cleaning sesh.