Cleaning

Now, to anyone who knows me this won't come as much of a shocking revelation, but I don't consider myself much of a housekeeper.

Yes, I do my own cleaning, washing and ironing, but it's not something that I relish and enjoy - I do it because I have to.

So I couldn't quite get my head around the latest social media stars who love cleaning and share pictures of their newly polished sinks, for example.

Don't get me wrong, I love a clean sink as much as the next person, but I wouldn't have dreamed of taking a photo of the areas I've cleaned to post on social media, and not just because my cleaning prowess would be negatively critiqued by all and sundry.  Up until this point, I figured that nobody would be interested, but it appears that my assumption would be wrong.

I read an interview in a Sunday paper with Sophie Hinchliffe, AKA Mrs Hinch, who is a superstar in the world of cleaning.

She has a loyal band of followers - the Hinch Army or Hinchers - the verb 'to Hinch' means to clean, and areas that have been cleaned are dubbed 'Hinched'.

Even as a non-fan of all things domestic, I couldn't help but warm to her, and she imparted some interesting hints, tips and short cuts which I may try out.

She mentions various products, and I do use some of the same stuff, perhaps just not as effectively.

But even I can't deny the joy I get from treating myself to a new dish-washing brush or wave-shaped sponge, which I always thought was a little bit sad to admit!

In the spirit of sharing the knowledge, Helen's Handy Hint to deodorise and clean the inside of your microwave without using harsh chemicals, is place half a lemon in a dish of water, heat on full power for three to five minutes to create some steam, remove very carefully as contents will be hot, and then wipe out the inside of the microwave with a cloth, et voila!