With influencers like Mrs Hinch showing us how it’s done, we take a look at why cleaning has become such a phenomenon
WORDS: FRANCESCA WOODSTOCK. PHOTOS (MAIN POSED BY MODEL): GETTY, SHUTTERSTOCK
With spring in the air, we’ve all got the cleaning bug, but watching other people perform mundane tasks, such as folding, colour coordinating their book shelves and creating the perfect pantry, seems to give many an odd sense of satisfaction too. Recent years have seen a huge surge in social media influencers, but these days Instagram and TikTok are awash with so-called ‘cleanfluencers’ – people who share videos and pictures of themselves cleaning, organising and tidying up online.
From Mrs Hinch to Marie Kondo, perhaps watching these masters of the trade tidying up gives us the motivation needed to spark joy in our own homes. Whatever it is, we have become a nation obsessed with cleaning hacks. Woman meets one lady who dishes the dirt on what it takes to become a cleaning sensation…
‘CHORES CHANGED MY LIFE’
Nicola Rodriguez, 46, is the Essex House Dolly, from Brentwood, Essex.
Tucking a crisp white sheet tightly under the mattress, I smoothed out the bedspread, neatly stacked the cushions, then stepped back to admire my handiwork. There was nothing like a perfectly made bed – and I should know. As the Essex House Dolly, I’m a professional at decluttering, reorganising and maintaining the home. But interior styling isn’t just my profession, it’s a passion!
From the age of 11, I could be found rearranging my bedroom, moving furniture and putting up pictures. Although I didn’t know it then, I suffered with anxiety, my mind constantly racing at night, and I had an overwhelming need to double-check things like plug sockets being switched off. Tidying up and organising things felt like a way of calming the chaos in my mind.
At 25, in 2002, I became a mum for the first time, and during the endless sleepless nights, I’d watch interior design shows like House Doctor on TV. I knew it was the career path I wanted to follow, so I enrolled in an Open University course and, in 2006, I qualified as an interior designer.
I started working with friends and relatives, helping them style their new homes or freshen up a bedroom, but after having my second child in 2010, I took time out to concentrate on being a mum.
Life was full of ups and downs. My son was diagnosed with autism, I went through a divorce, and in 2017, at the age of 40, I was diagnosed with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
Although the diagnosis was a shock, it made sense. Creating order had always helped
