The Rise Of ‘Cleanfluencers’: Introducing The New Social Media Mavens Releasing Best-Sellers

JENNIFER LAWRENCE IN ‘AMERICAN HUSTLE’, 2013, REX FEATURES

With a brillo pad in one hand and and an iPhone in the other, cleanfluencers are the latest tribe of social media stars to attract millions of adoring subscribers and followers. Their USP? An ability to create a spotless, orderly home.

Netflix’s Marie Kondo may have given tidying cultural cachet, but these influencers have carved out their own niche in the world of “cleanfluencing” with their hints and tips on how to maintain the perfect Instagrammable home. We’re not talking about interiors advice, but rather decluttering and tidying.

Many of these clean gurus have amassed an army of loyal devotees in a short space of time. Take 28-year-old Sophie Hinch and her two million idolisers, who call themselves the “Hinch Army” or “Hinchers”. Her cleaning book became the second fastest-selling title ever on the Bookseller’s non-fiction chart this month and supermarkets are selling out of Zoflora thanks to an Instagram post that endorsed one of its products.

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Other leading cleanfluencers include the “Queen of Clean” Lynsey Crombie, who has 133,000 followers and published her book, How to Clean Your House, last month. Her love of cleaning came was born amid personal obstacles. “My cleaning was triggered by trauma – two combinations caused a frenzy sort of effect with me. And I just turned to cleaning,” she told us.

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There are many others who have picked up the cleaning bug. Gemma Bray, “The Organised Mum”, has 148,000 followers and a book entitled Clean Mama. Then there’s Becky Rapinchuk, with her 250,000 Instagram devotees and Canadian-born Melissa Maker, who has over one million YouTube subscribers.

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Some naysayers believe that the rise of cleaning influencers (all of which are female) may be reinforcing negative gender stereotypes attributed to who performs domestic chores.

According to the Office of National Statistics women shoulder the responsibility of ‘unpaid work’. The analysis shows that, on average, women carry out 60 per cent more unpaid work than men, defined as cooking, childcare and housework. On average, men do 16 hours of domestic chores per week, which includes childcare, laundry and cleaning, compared to the 26 hours of work done by women.

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Lynsey “Queen of Clean” refutes the notion that the rise of clean gurus compounds old-fashioned female stereotypes about what a woman’s role is. “I completely disagree with that,” she told us. “A 1950s housewife compared to a woman today is completely different. I work full-time and I run a hugely successful company… In the 1950s, women were at home not working and that was just their life, cooking and cleaning. Today, it’s a completely different concept. The reason I do this is showing people how you can fit in your work, and your family life, your cooking and your cleaning, in a positive fun way. I’m not expecting you to stand with a mop all day.”

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Others wonder if cleanfluencing could trigger obsessive behaviour in the people who follow this set of bloggers. Psychologist Chris Beale at Nightingale Hospital London, who deals with addictive behaviours, says that any advice should be taken with caution, explaining that more self-improvement goals are yet another social media rod to beat ourselves with.

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“Negative aspects could emerge from dodgy advice. For example, if false claims are made about bacteria (eg how harmful or difficult to remove) that may be unhelpful for an OCD sufferer who already struggles to reduce the amount of times they wash,” he explained.

“I’m not expecting you to stand with a mop all day”

“’Cleanfluencers’ could also be negative if the advice is judgmental,” continued Beale. “People judge themselves negatively too often already and have many priorities to juggle. It’s important that any advice considers this rather than creating some Narnia land of cleanliness. It’s a bit like a fitness guru with a six-pack saying ‘this could/should be you!’ – Yes, if I have a spare four hours to spend in the gym a day.”

As the bleach-yielding Instagrammers continue to rise in popularity, it remains to be seen whether these women will have the same influence on our lives as the clean-eating bloggers and and the style influencers before them.

From: Harper’s BAZAAR UK