Cleaning - The unlikely new social media trend
Housework is the latest trend sweeping up followers on the internet, writes
If you’ve opened your phone in recent weeks to find videos of housework, you already know about the latest unusual trend to sweep the internet: Cleaning.
From your neighbour down the street to your cousin up the country, it seems everyone has suddenly become a domestic god or goddess.
The trend came to life on Instagram, thanks to Sophie Hinchcliffe, who rose to fame in mid-September where, as Mrs Hinch. She shared how she keeps her stunning home spick and span while remaining fun.
The newlywed 27-year-old from Essex, who is approaching one million followers, appeared on ITV’s This Morning after just a few weeks of fame, where she said she never expected her videos to reach such a large audience.
One day, I thought, let’s clean on my ‘Stories’ (on Instagram), but make it a little bit fun, a little bit quirky. From there, it’s just rocketed. I can’t quite believe it but it’s amazing,” she said.
One aspect of cleaning that has raised concerns is its relationship with mental health, but being house proud is rarely an indicator of an underlying issue.
“We can understand how some people can enjoy the distraction of having a functional task, like cleaning, to do as a form of temporary distraction from worries,” said Martin Rogan, CEO of Mental Health Ireland. “Generally, this will not be harmful.
“However, it can become unhealthy and should be addressed then. Obsessive cleaning can often be associated with poor self-esteem and may actually be a feature of depression, so it would be important to seek the advice of a GP to confirm that this is not a symptom of another condition.”
Sophie told This Morning that she is planning to visit Northern Ireland to talk to people who clean to deal with their anxiety.
“It’s a mental health charity that wants me to attend and talk to all the people there and just comfort them a bit and talk through why I make cleaning fun, really,” she said.
Like Sophie, Waterford mother-of-three Ellen O’Keeffe finds cleaning and mental health can go hand-in-hand.
“I got into cleaning during my first pregnancy, where I developed OCD, and I spent hours cleaning andre-cleaning my house,” Ellen said.
Thankfully, I have found a balance now and I find little and often helps me to keep on top of it.
Ellen has been inspiring Irish people to give the house a quick clean after her use of affordable products gained her thousands of followers on Instagram, including those with health difficulties who struggled with tidying their home.
“I have gotten lots of messages from people who, due to physical or mental health issues, had put housework to the bottom of their list and over time it had built up. Now, due to the cleaning movement on Instagram, they have found the motivation and the realisation that they can do it. They can tackle the jobs they once thought were unachievable. To think I could play any small part in it is truly priceless.”
She is quick to warn that social media can be a one-sided medium.
“It can be a daunting place to go if you’re having a bad day, so I try to always show the reality. Yes, I may have a shiny sink, but chances are I have Cheerios on the floor and a footprint on my TV in the time it took.”
The 26-year-old says her three boys, who are all under five, “are 90% of the reason I have cleaning to do”. She says her followers skyrocketed after she began sharing insights into her housework.
“I began to share more cleaning tips gradually over time. Suddenly it has become this whole thing. I still don’t know how or why it has happened to be honest. It seemed to happen almost overnight.”
Ellen regularly features products from discount shops and said she has heard of products selling out after she mentions them.
I’m not sure on sales figures, but I do know that there are several products which had sold out almost nationwide, like Scrub Daddy or Elbow Grease, so I would guess sales are up.
A number of retailers confirmed to us that sales are indeed up, and they say Ellen is to thank.
“Put it this way, we have been ‘cleaning up’, with our cleaning dept selling out fast,” said Mr Pricemarketing manager Laura Blighe.
“It’s similar to the fidget spinner demand of last year. Now cleaning products are the ‘it’ item and in demand. Who knew cleaning could be on trend,” she added.
Dealz, too, have been seeing cleaning products selling fast.
“The cleaning craze on social media has resulted in an uplift of sales across the cleaning range in Dealz,” a spokesperson said.
Zoflora has become one of our biggest sellers in the last few weeks, having almost doubled in sales, and the Elbow Grease is another product which has gone crazy. In fact, we’re selling five times as many since Ellen started using it!
While she enjoys using a broad range of supplies, Ellen says her products last her a long time.
“I very rarely go through a product in a week unless I have been deep-cleaning something like my oven that might take a lot of elbow grease — the spray, not the energy level.” Ellen says she hasn’t encountered negative feedback on social media, but she is critical of some remarks she has seen towards others.
“[Those] who criticise the fact that people find enjoyment in ‘watching someone else clean’ I find very belittling and totally unnecessary. The world would be a very boring place if we all liked the same things.”
With 25,000 followers and climbing, it seems most people agree with Ellen on that.
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