I’m late to the party.

The hinching party, that is. I’ve been vaguely aware of Sophie Hinchliffe, aka Mrs Hinch, for a fair while now, but until a few weeks ago I’d never taken much of an interest in the biggest cleaning sensation since British national treasures Kim and Aggie.

I got a copy of Mrs Hinch: Hinch Yourself Happy for my birthday a few days ago (not a passive-aggressive hint, I might add – I had mentioned wanting to read it!) and I read the entire thing in a couple of days. The book covers Mrs Hinch’s most popular cleaning methods (everything from her approach to cleaning to ways to tackle specific household chores), alongside an insight into her life and how she came to be the queen of clean.

I knew very little about Mrs Hinch, and I was very surprised to discover she is pretty much my age! Despite coming in as a total hinching beginner, I loved reading about her life, what makes her tick and her struggles with anxiety, and it makes total sense to me that she finds cleaning a way to settle her anxious mind and take back control. It took me a short while to get to grips with all her lingo (she names her cloths and cleaning tools!) but now I feel well acquainted with Minkeh, Dave, Sharon and the rest of the family. There’s also NOTHING nicer than hearing someone talk about what they love, and even though I’m not quite as enthusiastic about Mrs Hinch as vacuum cleaners and cloths, her excitement for cleaning really is infectious.

Now, anyone reading this who knows me is probably wondering what the hell I was doing reading a book about cleaning. I’m not the tidiest person, and while I don’t let things get dirty, I’m not someone who spends an hour a day in rubber gloves (not least because I’m allergic to dust, and I don’t love coughing up a lung or soothing my irritated eyes every time I want to wipe down a surface). But, having said that…

… I LOVED this book. Mrs Hinch seems like a lovely person, and it’s an incredibly soothing read. I love that she gives step-by-step instructions for each task, whether it’s unblocking a drain, freshening up curtains or getting mud out of a carpet (NEVER try to do it when the mud is still wet!). I had also clearly picked up some degree of hinching by osmosis in the last year or so, because I’d already converted to Zoflora, but I’ve come away from the book with a whole list of cleaning products I want to buy – and unlike most ‘influencers’ (even though the term makes Mrs Hinch cringe), everything she recommends is an absolute barg.

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Mrs Hinch is famous for her immaculate grey and white home, and while she acknowledges that it’s not to everyone’s taste, she makes an excellent point that it just doesn’t matter. It makes her happy, and that’s how everyone should feel in their own home. Who cares if nobody else likes your eclectic array of ornaments or your clashing colour scheme or that retro bathroom suite? If it makes you smile when you look at it, that is more than good enough. It made ME smile reading how much joy Mrs Hinch gets from her own home, and it made me excited to kick my own home into the same shape.

So, why the hell am I breaking my blogging hiatus by reviewing a book about cleaning?

Hinch Yourself Happy got me thinking a lot about hygge. Cleaning is something we all do, and the immense amount of joy it brings to Mrs Hinch made me wonder if it might be an easy way to help me calm my chaotic mind. For about a tenner, I can get all the essentials she recommends (may as well do it properly, right?), and the benefits are twofold: firstly, I’ll end up with a lovely clean, fresh home. Secondly, it might bring me the mental peace I’m so desperately seeking. It IS satisfying to admire your efforts after a big cleaning session, and there are so many tiny, quick, easy tasks in this book that I think will give me a little boost, and to be honest I’m itching to get started on spritzing my curtains, cleaning my washing machine and karate chopping my cushions.

All in all, I can’t recommend this book enough – and with Christmas just around the corner, this would make a brilliant gift for anyone moving into a new home, looking to freshen up their current living space or even anyone with anxiety who might benefit from a productive, therapeutic activity. I was also thinking… how good would it be if Mrs Hinch could create a curated hamper of all her favourite products to make life easier for total newbies like me? I’d buy one!

Have you read Mrs Hinch: Hinch Yourself Happy? If so, I’d love to hear what you think!