I hated housework now I’m a cleanfluencer!

Harriet Knock, 23, from Devon, used to hate cleaning, but now she’s a cleanfluencer!

CLEAN SUPREME

Piling the dirty dishes on top of one another, I just had no motivation to get them done.

I hated housework and with a seven-month-old on my hands, I just didn’t have time.

This was the first time I’d lived away from home and I didn’t know where to start.

Although my parents tried to get me to be domestic when I was a child, I just had no interest and so I never learned.

When I first gave birth to Freddie, now three, myself and my partner Luke, 25, lived with my mum.

It worked for us, but we needed our own space.

However, when we moved in and Luke went to work, my depression and anxiety bubbled to the surface.

And with that, the housework piled up.

I didn’t really know how to do the laundry properly or get rid

of germs, and so I just didn’t.

‘It’s a bit of a mess in here,’ Luke would laugh when he got home from work, but neither of us wanted to do it.

It’s safe to say, neither of us had an interest in hovering the floors or scrubbing the oven.

But then, one day, I heard of this new influencer everyone seemed to be raving about – Mrs Hinch.

Looking at her account, she wasn’t the usual beauty or fashion guru that girls raved about, but a cleaning one. She actually likes cleaning? I thought to myself as I watched her do a clockwise clean of her lounge. It just didn’t make any sense to me.

But following her account, I was hooked.

As she dusted with Dave the Duster and sprayed Zoflora all over her house, I had an urge to clean.

Doing all the dishes and putting on the laundry, I followed Mrs Hinch’s tips to achieving a clean and tidy home. ‘Wow, it looks amazing in here,’ Luke smiled one day, surprised at how clean our new house was. And he wasn’t the only one. I loved the look of the house and I felt all the better for it.

Just doing small bits around Freddie’s sleeping patterns, I was able to clear it all away in a few days.

And whilst I hadn’t been depressed since moving into the house, having it clean massively reduced my anxiety.

But not only that, I knew in order for me to be the best mum I could to Freddie, I needed to step up and stay on top of the housework.

And so, following a few more cleaning accounts, I learnt how to disinfect everything properly and make it a safe and clean environment for all of us.

I always thought I would hate cleaning, but popping on a bit of music and buying a few handy products, I found myself really enjoying it! And my house was dazzling as a bonus!

‘It gives me something to focus on that isn’t Freddie,’ I admitted to Luke.

Since giving birth to him and leaving my previous job as a carer, he’d been the only thing on my mind.

And whilst he was my world, cleaning gave me a sense of identity that wasn’t just being a mum.

And that’s when I decided to start my own account.

To begin with, it was just a bit of fun, to keep me on track with the cleaning.

But overtime, my following grew, and people seemed to like my content online.

So, by the time I had my second son, Edward, now one, in February 2019, I seemed to have found my own place in the cleaning sphere of Instagram.

Although I was no Mrs Hinch, I was definitely part of the Instagram family.

As a full-time mum to two

Cleaning the house gave me a new sense of identity

little ones, I knew how hard and stressful it could be.

Spring cleaning the house every day wasn’t an option.

And so, that’s when I came up with #onetaskaday.

It does what it says on the tin. Every day, I encourage my followers to take on one thing, as it does make the world of difference.

It can be as small as a load of laundry, but it really helps to stay on top of it all.

Once my Instagram account started to gain a following, I wanted it to be realistic.

I love Mrs Hinch, but when she first started, she didn’t have a child – other than her dog Henry – so I wanted to show busy parents that it’s OK if your house isn’t as clean or tidy.

Instagram allows you to showcase the best version of yourself, but I want my followers to know it’s not all sunshine and sparkling windows.

I still suffer with anxiety, but when I pull out a cloth and start scrubbing, it slowly fades away.

When my anxiety is bad, cleaning gives me something to focus on.

Being able to share my cleaning tips and tricks has been amazing and I’ve got to work with some fantastic brands along the way.

I’ve worked with ADDIS Home, 1001 Carpet Care and Teal Trunk just to name a few. fe w.

Although I used to hate cleaning, it’s been an exciting and grime reducing journey for me.

Today, I have 27K followers and Mrs Hinch has even shared me on her Instagram account!

I never expected my account to grow the way it has, but I couldn’t be more grateful.

Working with brands on ads and collaborations is now my full-time job, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Not only does it help my anxiety and mental health, but it means I get to be at home with my boys and watch them grow.

For as long as I can, I’ll be whipping out my rubber gloves and cleaning my house for the world to see.