Is Hinching a huge backstep for feminism?

I recently read an article about the rise of cleaning-related instagram accounts, being a huge backstep for feminism. This is my two cents on the matter.

I’m a proud feminist with a cleaning account on Instagram, which some might see as a complete oxymoron, as if housework is all together ‘anti-feminist’.

The Stats

To be fair, there is good reason to be concerned. In 2016, the office for national statistics published a report finding that women completed almost 60% more of the unpaid work, than men. Infuriatingly, one report in 2014 shows that as women earn more than their partners, men in certain areas do less and less housework the more their partners earn! The only exception to the rule was cooking, a job that the men in question haven’t categorised as ’emasculating’ within their culture.

Societal Pressure

Many of us are raised believing childcare and housework is a women’s responsibility. We’re taught to attach the cleanliness and tidiness of our home to our self worth, and it’s less-common to find men attaching their self worth to their home in this way. Societal pressure to keep a clean home is widely felt by women.

Not only do we have the glass ceiling to content with, there’s also the sticky floor. In order for us to have successful careers, use our time wisely and fairly and avoid the ‘sticky floor’, we need to fix this. We have to make a change!

My Story

I’m the main breadwinner in my household, working longer hours, with a longer commute than my partner. Even so, it’s been a uphill struggle to get him to realise I simply won’t ‘put up with’ doing more than my fair share of the housework. It’s been a painful struggle to get to a point where jobs are shared fairly in our home.

#ItsNotMyHouseworkItsOurs

As it stands, I have a small Instagram following of 6000+ followers, (small in comparison to the ‘cleanfluencers’ out there)!

It’s important to me to ensure that my voice is heard. I strongly encourage women to PUSH BACK in their own homes, and share responsibilities fairly. Cleaning is NOT ‘women’s work’ it’s for EVERYONE. Influencers in this field have a responsibility to share the same message, in my opinion, and most of them do that very well. Mrs Hinch makes it clear that her and Jamie are both cleaning the house. The organised mum method is all about everyone pulling their weight. Cleanfluencers are not dragging women back into the 50’s, despite what some people say.

I encourage my followers to use their voice, to say no and to push back. To step up and be heard when sharing the responsibilities out. Be strong! I’m using my voice to urge them to PUSH BACK, don’t put up with it! ❌ #ItsOurHouseworkNotMine

If both partners are working, both paying the bills… Then one should never let their partner tell them they are helping the other, with THEIR housework. They should ask their partners to correct themselves, every single time. They are not helping. They are simply doing exactly what is expected of them.

(Any mums reading this raising boys… Make sure you raise them for modern life so their girlfriends don’t have to.) 🙏

Stay at home mums and traditionalists

If you HAVE used your voice, and you have chosen to take on all of the domestic duties yourself, I respect your choice. If have chosen the domestic roles as solely your own. Then you fill your boots. There’s no judgement here. I have endless respect and admiration for stay at home parents and people that take on roles of their own choice.

Does being a #Hincher make me any less of a feminist?

All of us, male or female, are allowed to share and enjoy the little things in life. We’re all mopping our floors anyway, so what’s wrong with us making that into a bit of a party and sharing your buffting dance online? 🎈🎉

Does it make me any less of a feminist? NO. Am I taking a huge backstep for feminism? NO. I encourage my followers to push back and share jobs equally, I work hard and I clean hard 🤣 Just like my boyfriend does.

Are cleaning influencers helping our mental health?

Learning the art of cleaning is the latest trend taking instagram by storm! Since the tail end of 2018 there’s been a huge rise in the number of cleaning blogs and instagram pages like mine. Interestingly a common theme and talking point within the cleaning community is mental health and anxiety.

The Trend

Some of the most-popular images shared by cleaning bloggers are what I would call ‘organisation porn’. Well-styled images of perfectly organised cleaning cupboards, neatly folded clothes or cloths and plastic tote bags folded into tidy triangles (aka carrier bag samosas).

What is it about these images? Why are they so satisfying to look at? I decided to do some research and I learned that there is positive psychology connected to organisation and cleanliness.

The Facts

In 2010 The University of California published a study, in which they tested 30 couples for stress hormones. Those who described their house as messy or chaotic displayed increased levels of cortisol, a steroid hormone produced in response to stress. The same study also found that women were more adversely affected by clutter than men. I also found three other studies supporting the idea that cleaning is good for your mental health linked in a ‘Psychology Today’ article here.

Cleaning is one part of it. The second part of this craze is the number of these influencers talking openly about their mental health. According to The Mental Health Foundation, talking about your feelings can help you to stay in good mental health when you’re feeling troubled!

My Experience

I suffer with anxiety myself. In December 2018 I started to suffer greatly with anxiety and started to experience feelings of agoraphobia for the first time.

I found joy watching Mrs Hinch shine her sink, it was oddly satisfying for me, I couldn’t get enough! I soon found Charlotte’s page and many others, like Mancleany and Serenehomelife for example and I began to notice a pattern. Many cleaning influencers were talking openly about mental health, managing anxiety and cleaning their anxiety away.

Following these influencers has given me focus, motivation, and helped me to stay organised and clean at home. This is positive for my mental state of mind.

More importantly, it has connected me to others who can relate to my mental health experience, I now have many impartial people to speak to. Sometimes I don’t want to burden my loved ones with the way I’m feeling, to say anything but ‘i’m fine’ can be difficult. Whereas, It’s easy to talk to strangers and truly be yourself without guilt or shame.

Now I know that cleaning your home is proven to be good for your mental health, as is talking about your problems… it makes sense. The combination of both things (cleaning and talking openly), is positive to take part in, and positive to watch.

We have a mental-health epidemic in the UK. The rise of the cleaning influencer, in my opinion, after looking at the research, can only be a positive thing.

Thousands of people claim to feel saved by Mrs Hinch, and the research backs this up.

Of course the cleaning craze is by no means a cure, but people are finding positive coping mechanisms and sharing their stories. Cleaning and sharing is helping people to ‘get by’ and take positive steps for themselves while their mental health is under strain.

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#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek

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#EcoHinching – Small Changes Add Up To Huge Results 🌍

Use the hashtag #EcoHinching to be in with a chance of winning

The Best Image will be chosen and a winner announced on the 12/05/2019

How To Enter 🏆

Upload a photo to your instagram grid with a caption explaining one thing you do in your home in an attempt to be environmentally friendly, use the hashtag #EcoHinching to be in with a chance of winning! 🏆📷

Why are we doing this? 

After the recent ‘Climate Change The Facts’ Documentary with David Attenborough, climate change is at the forefront of our minds. The documentary empowered me to believe that no matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world. You’re never too small to make a difference. 💪

The climate is changing so why aren’t we? There is no planet B.

@anahardesign

You don’t have to be perfect (or anywhere near perfect!) We want to celebrate many people making just ONE small, realistic change. If everybody made one of the below changes, just imagine how that could add up to create a huge impact.

👊Small changes add up to huge results! 👊

With the help of the wonderful accounts listed below, we’ve teamed up to see if we can encourage other Instagrammers and hinchers to make one easy change to their routines:-

@greanercleans, @littlemissdarlingx, @girl_upnorth, @serenehomelife, @mrs.m.cleans, @lesswastestillglam, @TheOneCoCheshire, @lavana_cosmetics @hubbleandbubble, @beanandboy, @fauveldn

Some Ideas For Your Entry:-

  • Try cleaning sometimes with just cloths or water (no product). Maybe try an e-cloth
  • Swap out wipes and replace with washable cloths
  • Use a washable, reusable duster
  • Reuse plastic bottles that can’t be recycled (great for watering plants!)
  • Replace empties with recyclable cleaning products
  • Use chemical-free products such as TruWash and Tincture
  • Buy products produced in the UK, such as Astonish
  • Use bamboo cotton buds
  • Use biodegradable bin bags
  • Cut down on Beef and Lamb consumption, or purchase from local farms who use traditional farming methods.
  • Recycle carefully
  • Only buy what you need
  • ‘Pop’ your wax melt out instead of using a cotton pad. Light the melt for 30-50 seconds and press down at the corner, it should pop right out.
  • try a natural alternative to scent your cushions instead of tumble drier sheets

Nobody is born ‘woke’

I’m a hincher and a huge fan of Mrs Hinch, and my Narnia! Hinching has seen me through one of the toughest times of my life and I continue to enjoy it. As time goes on, I’ve spent some time researching and learning about the products I’ve chosen to ‘hinch’ with, and sadly the research is sadly making me realise that I could cause harm to our planet, if I don’t make some changes.

I love my cleaning trolley don’t get me wrong but after watching ‘Climate Change The Facts’, I can’t help but notice it really is overflowing with ‘back-ups’ of products, products that are not ecologically-friendly.

Many of the products I chose to purchase are non recyclable and contain harsh chemicals ⚠️ I’ve simply not been concerned with the ecological impact of my cleaning products before now. Remember nobody is born ‘woke’ and we can all learn as we go!

I love looking at images of people’s Narnia’s, but it’s time for me personally to make a change and fight the urge to stockpile and hoard cleaning products.

From now on I will try to make some changes. I will take ecological concerns into consideration when purchasing cleaning products… without judging others for their choices! I’m a hincher through and through, I’m not perfect and don’t claim to be. I don’t think I can live without my CIF stainless steel or my Bloo flower burst so let’s just take this one step at a time eh!? Let’s celebrate every small step that people make towards a cleaner more sustainable world! 🌍

Astonish V Method – Bathroom Cleaner #HendyHeadToHead

Both the ethical claims and performance-based claims of these two products can leave people wondering… What’s the difference? That’s where I come in! With my #HendyHead2Head I break it down, step by step…

Pricing

Method – 276ml per £1 spent 👎

Astonish – 750ml per £1 spent 👍

On the surface, it appears as if the Astonish product offers far greater value for money, however, many of my followers claim that Method products last an extraordinary amount of time!

This could easily be due to the fact that Method bottles contain 828ml, whereas the Astonish bottles contain 750ml. Naturally one will last longer than the other and give you a false perception of value. Personally, I’ve found that you need to use the same amount of each product to achieve the same outcome. Therefore Astonish offers far greater value.

Ethical and Ecological Claims

Recycling

  • Astonish bottles can be recycled 🌏This includes the trigger head. Unfortunately I can’t find any information to let me know that they have also been made from Recycled plastics
  • Method bottles are ‘cradle to cradle’ certified – made of 100% recycled plastic and are easily recyclable 🌏 They have the edge over Astonish on this one

Cruelty Free?

  • Astonish – Cruelty free 🐇
  • Method – “Cruelty free”. Yes, Method as a brand are cruelty free, however, they are owned by SC Johnson who do test on animals. Astonish have the edge on them here.

Production

  • Astonish – Manufactured in the UK 🇬🇧
  • Products are made in their “clean, green factories” in Belgium, France and the US with the large majority of UK products being produced in europe. As a UK customer, Astonish win for me here.

Use of Chemicals

All cleaning products contain chemicals both natural and synthetic, that’s what gives them the ability to clean.  So whilst we never compromise on cleaning performance we do our best avoid the use of harmful chemicals in the process.

Astonish

‘powergreen technology’ elegantly and effectively combines non-toxic, naturally derived and biodegradable ingredients into advanced formulations. all of which have been independently tested to deliver powerful cleaning.

Method

Astonish Performance…

My Thoughts on Astonish

The good:-

After using Astonish Bathroom cleaner I’ve noticed something that truly set’s it apart from other bathroom products… the shine! It leaves taps and sinks noticably shinier than other products (including Method). After watching some instagrammers visit the Astonish factory I came to learn that the bathroom cleaner contains deionized water, so this could have something to do with that! The scent is not my favourite, but it’s pleasing, it smells ‘clean’ and it’s not overpowering.

The bad:-

The biggest downside to this product is the weak trigger. You need to use a fair amount of effort to spray this around the bathroom, a tiny amount of product just sort of plops out in one small spot. It doesn’t foam up much due to the lack of power in the mechanism. I also find that the bottle looks too similar to the mould & mildew blaster, making it easy to pick up the wrong product.

Their claims…

  • Dissolves soap scum and pesky stains
  • Sparkling clean finish with less scrubbing
  • For use on Showers, tiles, glass, tub
  • Pine Scent

Method Performance

The Good:-

The trigger on this product is more effective and easy-to-use, it also makes a satisfying sound! The spray of the product is further and wider. It’s fairly easy and quick to use as you don’t have lots of suds to wash away, it’s great for a quick spray, wipe and rinse.

The Bad:-

I find the scent of these products overwhelming, similar to ammonia. I also prefer a sudsy product to help me with a tougher clean.

Their Claims…

  • Makes Short work
  • Removes soap scum and watermarks
  • Streak free shine
  • For use on Non-porous hard surfaces, tested and recommended by VEA for use on vitreous enamel

Summary

I put these products to the test in my bathroom. I tested the performance, the suds, the ease of use, the scent and the finish, and I came to my conclusion! Have a look at my story-highlight to see them in action, and see my final decision based on everything we know.