Mrs Hinch aka Sophie Hinchliffe has given a whole new meaning to cleaning. She has amassed a loyal following of 3.2m, prompted a 25% surge in sales of her go-to disinfectant Zoflora, and sold 160k copies of her book Hinch Yourself Happy within a week of its launch. Her book poses a simple philosophy that much of the nation has adopted: cleaning eases anxiety. Sophie theorises that following familiar rituals such as hoovering and polishing brings about a sense of control and accomplishment, as well as taking your mind off daily stressors – and science backs up her claims.
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A 2015 study from the University of Connecticut found that people gravitate towards repetitive behaviours during times of stress since it gives you feelings of control, while a 2010 study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found that females living in a cluttered home showed higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol, proving that ‘tidy space, tidy mind’ is a totally legit concept.
It’s not hard to see why, or how, people are finding peace in housework. The idea, dubbed the Hinch Effect by Mrs Hinch, makes for an accessible escape in an age of coronavirus, Brexit and climate change concerns; where the nation’s problems are out of our hands, the cleanliness of our homes is not. Some members of Mrs Hinch’s Hinch Army even bill a methodical cleaning session as meditative.
As for Mrs Hinch herself, she credits cleaning as her coping mechanism for panic attacks. “I was never cleaning because I was panicking about my house not looking perfect,” she said. “I just found that by cleaning I could calm myself down if I felt a panic attack coming on.”
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How does this work? Psychologist Iris Martin tells us panic attacks originate from the unknown, while housework and cleaning offers comfort in familiar ground.
To surmise, if you’re feeling anxious or stressed, put aside some time to detox your home and you’re guaranteed to feel better. Hinch yourself happy.
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