Mrs Hinch, also known as Sophie Hinchcliffe, has become an online cleaning sensation after sharing her cleaning hacks on Instagram.
But who is Mrs Hinch and what are the best Mrs Hinch cleaning tips and tricks?
We’ve been keeping a close eye on Sophie’s Instagram updates, and here’s what we know…
Who is Mrs Hinch?
Sophie Hinchcliffe is a self-proclaimed ‘cleaning mad’ woman from Essex, whose passion for cleaning has gained her an army of fans over the years.
Before she joined Instagram back in 2018 to share her love of interior design, Sophie had worked a variety of other jobs including being a hairdresser, a waitress and a nursery assistant. As she told fans on an Instagram Q&A recently, she also once worked in a call centre office and on job board sales. But it was when she married her husband, Jamie, that her true passion for ‘making a house a home’ began and kicked off her new career as an influencer, though Sophie describes herself as just a “normal girl who loves to clean her house”.
Known on social media as Mrs Hinch, 30-year-old Sophie’s top tips have gained her over 3m followers on Instagram as of late last year. To celebrate, she shared a photo on the platform of herself and her family with the caption reading, “3 M I L L I O N AMAZING HINCHERS
“I want I want to start this post just by saying thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I will never have an explanation for my Mrs Hinch journey and how everything has fallen into place .. all I do know is that it’s just me and my little family followed and supported by 3 MILLION amazing people!! I can’t even imagine that many people! It’s just crazy!”
MORE: How often you should be cleaning and ditching your everyday items – REVEALED!
Sophie now has closer to 4 million followers and they couldn’t be happier for the social media star. As one commented, “You have come so far 🙌🙌🙌 done so many amazing things!!! Your account is absolutely amazing keep going xxxxx” and another wrote, “Can’t believe you hit 3 million followers 🙂 you have more followers than some celebrities lol . Keep it up @mrshinchhome u are doing amazing and we all love u 😘 x”.
Sophie refers to her followers as the Hinch Army, and her pictures of her immaculate home complete with gleaming kitchen work tops, crumb-free floors and perfectly presented home accessories gain thousands of likes and comments every time she posts.
Mrs Hinch has got some famous acquaintances and fans too, as she counts Loose Women’s Stacey Solomon as a close friend. In one post, she wrote about how the former X-factor singer had helped her through a difficult period with trolling and media attention when she was first launched into the public eye.
“But .. one day I received a message from this amazing woman, simply asking me if I’m ok. It’s like she just knew I wasn’t. Even though I hadn’t made this apparent to anyone. I found myself pouring my heart out to her by message (🙈) asking how she handles the public eye with a newborn. And what she said to me was “ right I’m coming round for a cuppa!” A cuppa ?! I couldn’t believe it! Stacey Solomon in my house? Ive followed Stacey since her X factor days so to me I was having a celeb round and I felt nervous! But Stacey, like me , is just a normal person and a mum simply trying to do her best in life. She turned up at my house with her beautiful baby Rex in one arm & McDonald’s in the other for us both! And I just felt myself wanting to cry. A mix of emotions I can’t even explain. We sat down , we ate junk food , fed our babies & talked .. talked for hours and I can honestly say I feel like a huge weight has been lifted and I’m ready to face this public eye! Trolls n all! So Stacey im forever grateful to you , all the best darling and I can’t wait for next time ❤️ #womensupportingwomen”
The Instagram icon often posts pictures with the former X-factor singer, enjoying a drink or having a play date with their children – who are also the best of friends.
Mrs Hinch’s son, Ronnie, turned one in June 2020. His birth was announced last year via his Dad’s personal Instagram account. Known as Mr Hinch, Jamie Hinchliffe wrote, “Hello Hinchers… Mr Hinch here. Yesterday, the 20th June 2019, at 4.11am, I watched my wife, the love of my life, bring our beautiful son, Ronnie James George Hinchliffe into the world, weighing in at 6lbs 1 oz. I didn’t think I could love Soph any more than I already do, but I was so very wrong. For once, I am completely lost for words. All I can say is thank you for your unbelievable kindness, loyalty and the most pure and genuine love we both feel from you all. I know you’ll understand that we’ll be quiet for a while whilst we take these precious moments in and enjoy our baby bubble.
“I will be spending today and the rest of my life caring for, looking after and protecting my beautiful wife and son. Ronnie, our darling boy, we love you more than we ever knew possible.”
Mrs Hinch married sales manager Jamie in 2018, after meeting him during her job in sales before she went on to become a hairdresser. Sophie still shares pictures from the couple’s wedding at Gosfield Hall from August 2018 on her social media. On their one year anniversary she wrote, “On this day
Exactly 1 year ago
I married my everything
I became Mrs Hinchliffe
Happy Anniversary darling
Thank you for loving me 💙”.
But it’s not always been a smooth ride. In the past, Mrs Hinch has opened up about some of the negative attention she’s received over the years because of the platform and how some people targeted her family with online abuse. She has also been keen to share some of her challenging life experiences with her followers. Previously, she has spoken about how the gastric band surgery she had at 21 left her with scars on her arms and recently, she spoke about a blood condition that caused her to miss her first honeymoon in 2018.
The family also have a dog called Henry, who has his own Instagram account. The gorgeous golden pup is a firm fixture in the Hinch household and regularly appears on Sophie’s social media, as she documents her cleaning routine and daily life.
So with her incredible success on social media and beautiful family, it will come as no surprise that when Mrs Hinch released her first book – Hinch Yourself Happy – it quickly became a Sunday Times Bestseller and flew off the shelves. Following this, in October 2019 she released her second book, called Mrs Hinch: The Activity Journal, and earlier in 2020 she announced that her third book, Mrs Hinch: The Little Book of Lists would also be on the shelves soon enough.
Later this year, Mrs Hinch’s first memoir will also be published. From October 1 2020, fans of the social media star will be able to learn all about her life and habits in the book This is Me. It’s already a bestseller, with pre-orders going through the roof and fans commenting to say that they can’t wait to get their hands on it.
Instead of useful hints and tips on cleaning your home and interior design, Mrs Hinch’s new book will take a look behind the curtain on the influencer’s life. By her own description, the book will explore “the wife, the mother and the person behind Mrs Hinch.”
“It’s often felt like a fairy tale but it hasn’t always been easy, and I’m going to let you in on the highs and the lows as well as my biggest fears and my darkest challenges. Because this book right here, is me.”
She says, “So let’s do this! Put your Hinch Lists to one side, get comfy and join me on the sofa with a cuppa. Welcome to my world. This is my story.”
We can’t wait for Mrs Hinch’s new book to hit the shelves, so in the meantime we’re taking a look at our top Mrs Hinch cleaning tips and answering some of the top questions about how Sophie cleans her home. to Mrs Hinch’s cleaning tips to try out at home. Here are some of her best ones…
How does Mrs Hinch clean her windows?
Mrs Hinch is famous for her affordable and easy cleaning hacks and she’s got one for our windows too. Using just a simple spray that can be bought from the likes of Tesco or B&M, called Elvis Elbow De-Greaser, Mrs Hinch says that a spritz onto the window panes, leaving it for a couple of minutes and then wiping away with a sponge or cloth will leave you with sparkling window panes every time.
On learning this tip, Sophie’s followers were quick to suggest that you could make cuts into a scouring sponge to get right into the hard-to-reach places of the window to elevate your clean.
And that’s not the only time that Mrs Hinch’s fans have shared their own cleaning tips and tricks. On the Facebook page, Mrs Hinch Made Me Do It, one fan shared a useful method of cleaning windows without having to shop for expensive and specific products. All you’ll need is washing up liquid and a splash of fabric softener in some warm water. Then the fan suggests, use a Minky cloth (a Mrs Hinch favourite) to wipe down the windows on the inside and the outside for about 40 minutes for a real shine.
Why fabric softener? Apparently with just washing up liquid alone, smears will be left all over your windows and so the fabric softener prevents this from happening.
We’ll definitely be trying this one out at home!
How does Mrs Hinch clean her washing machine?
On her Instagram stories, Mrs Hinch explained to her fans how she cleans a notoriously difficult appliance – her washing machine – with just some standard cleaning products like Flash bathroom cleaner and Zoflora.
Sophie advises putting an old tea towel on the floor by your washing machine for starters with an oven tray to empty the filter – it’s quickly used as the water drains out.
For the washing machine drawer, use Flash bathroom as it removes any build-up of conditioner. “It works really well,” she says, “and it smells amazing.”
To get into places that are harder to reach, use a Sonic Scrubber and a microfiber cloth.
Then fill the washing machine with Flash Bathroom cleaner and give it a full wash on the machine. Afterwards, Sophie recommends wiping down the outside of the machine with Zoflora as – “it smells so good!”
What products does Mrs Hinch use?
From her famous Minky cloth, previously sold in Morrisons and other major supermarket chains, to the more inventive products that you might not find on the supermarket shelves; these are the products that cleaning sensation, Mrs Hinch, relies on to keep her home squeaky clean…
The Minky cloth
The Minky anti-bacterial cloth that Mrs Hinch raves about comes from Minky Homecare but the best deals, unsurprisingly, come from Amazon where it’s stocked in different sizes.
The cloth is double sided so it’s perfect for battling those tough stains on any surface around the home and Sophie has been known to use it almost exclusively in many of her home-cleaning hack videos, as it’s also easy to remove the dirty residue from the cloth and use again soon after.
Other fans of the cloth says they’re brilliant for cleaning the bathroom and kitchen sinks, since they’re a little less abrasive than the traditional yellow and green scrubbing sponges but still give a really thorough clean. As one writes, ‘Cleans good, perfect shape, washes well in washing machine. My Minky has had alot of use & been replaced in 3 months.’
Another said, ‘These are amazing! Makes cleaning so fast and with such ease. One side scrubbing the other absorbers the excess water and makes everything gleam I totally love these and I’m buying more’.
For three cloths, it’s £6.79 on Amazon, £2.50 each direct from the Minky website and the same price on the Dunelm website. You can also pick them up from B&M stores, with prices ranging from £2.49 to £4.99.
The Pink Stuff
Credit: Getty
Since shooting to Instagram fame a couple of years ago, Mrs Hinch has made The Pink Stuff a household name. Ideal for cleaning everything from bathroom tiles to old silverware, it’s tough on stains and germs while being easy to use and affordable – with prices sitting at just £1 online at Wilko.com. It’s also available to buy from Sainsbury’s and Tesco, along with other DIY stores like Robert Dyas.
The Pink Stuff comes in a paste, cream or spray so whatever job you’ve got in mind, one of these is bound to suit. Mrs Hinch uses hers to clean the oven and hob largely, but she recently revealed in an Instagram story that her Dad used the paste to freshen up old silverware that she’d bought from a car boot sale.
Explaining the hack to her fans, she said, “Showed Dad what I bought from the boot sale and Dad wanted to shine them himself in his new little kitchen 🤍 Let’s see what they come out like!” and followed up underneath by writing, “Using the pink stuff of course 😉”.
Sophie’s dad used the paste to scrub off the grime from the silver goblets before getting the cream out to give them a proper polish.
The Sonic scrubber
Some of Mrs Hinch’s tools have come and gone as she finds more effective methods to clean her home, but there’s one that’s been a constant – the sonic scrubber. It’s battery-powered with a non-slip handle and has a long head, so it can reach into all the nooks and crannies you can’t quite get to.
Sophie uses it to clean everything from the grout in the kitchen to the ins and outs of her washing machine, as she showed those who follow her on Instagram. Mrs Hinch used the sonic scrubber to get right into her washing machine’s soap drawer and clean out those stubborn marks that would otherwise be hard to reach.
But as well as being loved by the queen of clean, the sonic scrubber has plenty of other fans. As one writes, “If been tempted by these scrubbers in the past and finally purchased this one, I’m so pleased that I have. I have long finger nails and its a bugger to clean around fiddley things without damaging them, the sonic scrubber is great for these jobs, the main reason I wanted it was to clean taps and behind them and for this its brilliant. Great price, would definitely recommend.”
You can buy one for less than £20 from Amazon.
Zoflora
Credit: Getty
This sweet-smelling product is used by Mrs Hinch to ensure that her kitchen smells top notch after it’s been cleaned. Even though the company issued a warning against one of Mrs Hinch’s Zoflora hacks, the Instagram star is still a firm fan of the disinfectant and it regularly crops up on her platform.
In past cleaning videos, Mrs Hinch has used Zoflora to clean and refresh her toilet during a bathroom clean as well as on the outside of the washing machine and in the kitchen. It’s so multi-use that Sophie considers it an essential on her ‘Hinchlists’, a story on her Instagram account with some of her cleaning routines.
You can buy it from almost all major supermarkets and stores, as well as on Amazon.
Ace for Whites
Credit: Amazon
This high-powered stain removing product is the first thing Mrs Hinch picks up when it comes to getting out fake tan from bedding, she told her followers.
“Right I need to focus on something so let’s get the bedsheets washed!” She wrote on one Instagram story. “Fresh week = fresh sheets.
“I need to use this today because this is my go to when it comes to removing fake tan from bedding guys! It’s very cheap and works every time.”
Ace can be bought online from Wilko.com or Amazon, and in all the supermarkets.
For how Mrs Hinch uses these and more essential products, take a look at these cleaning tips…
14 cleaning tips by Mrs Hinch
Wipe down indoor plants
Back in July, Mrs Hinch shared another genius hack with her followers for how to make sure that their indoor plants – thousands of which have been bought during lockdown – stayed smelling fresh and free of dust.
Her answer is to simply use a tumble dryer sheet to wipe away any of the dust or grime that’s built up on the plant and even if it’s fake, keep it smelling as fresh as a daisy.
She took to Instagram to share this useful tip and has previously raved about the benefits of using tumble dryer sheets all around the house, to keep all the nooks free of dust bunnies.
Use her tried and tested routine for cleaning your shower
On her Instagram stories recently, Sophie shared her top tips for cleaning her bath/shower, using just a few key products.
She explained that she starts by spraying her shower and shower head with Viakal (buy it here for just £4.52), to remove limescale and water marks. Mrs Hinch remarked, “Leave the Viakal to do its thing for up to five minutes!”
Then, she used Flash bathroom spray to wipe down the bath itself, using her trusty Minky (or Minkeh) sponge of course.
It’s then time to wash off the Viakal, using the shower itself. After that, Sophie finished off the job by using the Astonish Mould and Mildew buster, to remove any lurking nasties.
Don’t forget to clean your radiators – with this Mrs Hinch favourite product
The cleaning powerhouse told her followers that we often forget to clean our radiators, and get rid of the dust and grime that accumulates on them. But there’s one product that any Mrs Hinch fan has in her house that can help sort this issue out!
She advised using a diluted Zoflora mix, spraying it on a cloth, and simply wiping down the radiators and – voila! A clean and lovely smelling radiator.
Watch your stainless steel fixtures sparkle
Whether it’s in your bathroom or kitchen – we all want our stainless steel fixtures to sparkle without smudges.
Mrs Hinch told The Mirror that to clean her shower rail, she uses a B&M Scrub Buddy Cleaning Pad with Stainless Steel Cif. Then buffs it up with Kermit to make it really shine.
Store pan lids upside-down to make space in your kitchen cupboard
Mrs Hinch has revealed a handy trick for storing pots and pans. Placing the pan lids upside down means you’ll be able to stack them up on top of each other – genius!
Of the discovery, she said on her Instagram stories, “Someone messaged me and said, turn your saucepan lids upside down and then sit the pans on top of each other.”
She added, “Everyone probably knew this, I didn’t.”
Keep bed linen sets in a pillow case
There’s nothing worse than wasting half and hour hunting in the linen closet for a matching bed set. Thankfully, Mrs Hinch has come to the rescue.
She shared a tip on her Instagram Stories, explaining how she groups all her linen sets together in the matching pillow case. She wrote, “Where do I keep my fresh bedding? I store the whole fresh bed set into the matching pillow case!”
But that’s not the only linen hack Mrs Hinch has up her sleeve.
She also revealed that – once she has finished ironing her duvet cover, pillow cases and fitted sheets – she then places Lenor’s tumble dryer sheets in with her clean bedding, to keep it fresh when it’s time to change them.
Make sure your curtains look their best with this toilet roll trick
We know what you’re thinking – how can toilet roll make my curtains look great? But bear with us! According to Mrs Hinch, empty toilet rolls can be brilliant for ensuring the pleats in your curtains are neat and uniform, and properly spaced out.
All you need to do is start with at least ten empty toilet rolls. Then, cut them open down the length of the roll, so they’re easy to pop on and off your curtain rail.
Then, simply place a roll between each curtain ring, to ensure the pleat falls nicely and neatly. Mrs Hinch says you can also cut the toilet rolls to size, depending on how big or small you want the gaps between pleats to be. It’s also recommended to tape the toilet rolls back up after hanging them, so that they don’t fall down when you draw the curtains at night, or open them in the morning.
Keep your kitchen sparkling with M&S products
Shoppers went wild when Mrs Hinch’s go-to cloth Minky came to Morrisons shops. And shortly after, Hinchers boosted sales for high-end supermarket Marks & Spencer after Sophie uploaded an Instagram story showing off her favourite M&S goodies.
The mum-to-be included a £1 non-scratch cleaning sponge from the high-street favourite, who confirmed that sales on their cleaning products had gone up by 100 per cent since.
Unfortunately, the sponge was such a hit with Hinchers that it completely sold out, but now it’s back in stock in stores across the country for anyone who wants to get their hands on it.
If you want one you better be quick because it’s sure to fly off the shelves again like it did last time.
The Instagram sensation also revealed that she loves Marks & Spencer’s Apricot & Orange Kitchen Cleaner and Floral Burst Multi-Purpose Cleaner, both of while retail for 90p each.
And fans have even taken to their own Instagram accounts to express their love for Mrs Hinch’s top M&S picks.
Better get down to M&S if you want to stock up on these – it’s not just a sponge…it’s an M&S sponge!
Cleaning products available at M&S
Keep your Christmas tree looking perfect
Fans went crazy recently when Sophie shared a video on her Instagram stories letting us in on how she keeps her Christmas tree looking flawless.
So that nobody can see any pesky bauble strings poking out of her tree branches, Mrs Hinch revealed that she sprays canned snow over the strings to hide that they’re there.
‘These little parts where you can see where the baubles are attached, I just put a bit of snow over it,’ she said.
Get rid of stains on your mattress
If you’ve got children who are a little accident prone in bed, or you’ve noticed some unfortunate sweat and/or dirt marks on your mattress accumulating over the years, you’ll want to listen to this cleaning tip from Mrs Hinch.
Sophie suggested on This Morning that you use bicarbonate powder on the stained areas of your mattress, sprinkling it on and rubbing it in with a rubber glove. Of course, remove all bedding first.
Then, once the powder has been settled into the mattress for an hour, simple hoover it off, and voilà! A sparkling clean mattress with no stain.
Mrs Hinch’s Zoflora tips
Anyone who follows Mrs Hinch’s cleaning tips will know she is crazy about Zoflora. The budget disinfectant liquid is Sophie’s go-to product when it comes to most household chores, but she recently admitted she cannot go to bed without giving her sink a deep clean first.
As part of the ritual, Sophie pours soda crystals down her plug before rinsing it with… you guessed it, Zoflora. Sophie then pours boiling water over the mixture to rinse out the plug. Sounds simple enough!
And if you love the product as much as Sophie does, you’ll be happy to hear their Christmas scents are on sale on Home Bargains for just 99p! Time to get the Christmas playlist on indulge in some deliciously-smelling deep cleaning…
Keep your bin smelling clean
This Mrs Hinch cleaning tip for your bin will keep it smelling fresh. After cleaning it with a disinfectant spray, Sophie douses a piece of kitchen roll in Zoflora, folds it up and leaves it at the bottom of her bin before inserting a bin bag. Genius!
Fabric conditioner to clean doors
Sophie surprised even the most clued-up cleaners earlier this week when she revealed she uses fabric conditioner to keep her doors clean. Sophie appeared on This Morning and revealed fabric conditioner mixed with water allows her to wipe down marks on doors without removing the paint. Who would have thought?!
Rug cleaning the Mrs Hinch way
Sharing is caring, and Sophie recently shared a cleaning tip from a member of her Hinch Army. The tip in question was one for cleaning rugs, and it goes as follows – one capful of fabric conditioner mixed with washing gel. Then add warm water and mix before wiping onto the rug with a clean cloth. That’s one we can all try at home!
Clean hobs with The Pink Stuff
Another one of Sophie’s favourite products, The Pink Stuff, is a budget cleaning paste that Sophie uses to keep her oven and hobs looking gleaming. We’ll take some of that!
List of our favourite lady Mrs Hinch's books
Organisational home products inspired by Mrs Hinch
Mrs Hinch may be a cleaning guru, but she’s also got an incredibly organised home with (often) nothing out of place!
Here are some organisation items we think the social media star would love…
Cloth draw organisers, £13.99
Are your drawers a chaotic mess? Restore some order with these AmazonBasics organisers, which can be simply popped in your wardrobe/chest of drawers to reinstate some organisation.
They could be used in underwear drawers or to house your favourite jumpers. Plus, they're also brilliant for organising smaller kids clothes.
Chalkboard labels, £8.99
Both Sophie - and her good friend Stacey Solomon - love a good label for items around their home, and you can copy them with these easy-to-use chalk labels.
Simply stick them on your clear kitchen containers, your office documents, or anything else you fancy, to make finding what you need a doddle.
Glass cylinders, £30.99
And - here are the containers for you to label!
Dispense your pasta, rice, oats, or anything you like into these chic glass cylinders, so you can quickly see what you've got to hand and access your ingredients, before whipping up a fast in the kitchen.
Small storage boxes, £15.90 for 8
Get your storage under control with these simple boxes, which are clear making the contents easy to see when you're digging out your possessions. Use them in your home office, bedroom, closet or wherever you'd like. The boxes can also be stacked on top of one another, so that they don't clutter up your floor space.
Drawer organisers, £15.99
This set of six organiser drawers can help to finally get your underwear back in control! With two bigger compartments and four smaller ones, use the former two for your bras and the latter for your pants. You'll never have to rummage again...
