Mrs Hinch superfan, 14, who spends hours a week cleaning WITHOUT being nagged by her parents says it helps ease her anxiety – despite friends labelling her ‘boring’ for her obsession
- Lola Lawrence, 14, from Bromley, inspired by cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch
- Dubbed ‘Britain’s tidiest teen’ by her mother after cleaning for hours a week
- Launched a ‘Little Hincher’ Instagram site in January, boasting 1,370 followers
A schoolgirl who spends hours a week cleaning without being nagged by her parents has revealed how it helps ease her anxiety – despite friends first labelling her ‘boring’ for her obsession.
Forget role models like Beyonce and Ariana Grande, for Lola Lawrence, 14, of Bromley, south east London, there is just one hero – cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch.
Inspired by the Influencer to launch a ‘Little Hincher’ Instagram site in January, it is now regularly scoured for tidy tips by her 1,370 followers.
And Lola, who devotes six hours a week to sprucing up the family home, even polishes her gleaming bathroom during FaceTime cleaning get-togethers with her friends, who first branded her ‘boring’ before joining in themselves.
Lola’s mother, operations manager Stephanie Lawrence, 40, who has separated from her father, said: ‘Her idea of a fun day is staying at home to clean.
Forget role models like Beyonce and Ariana Grande, for Lola Lawrence (pictured), 14, of Bromley, south east London, there is just one hero – cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch
Inspired by the Influencer to launch a ‘Little Hincher’ Instagram site in January, it is now regularly scoured for tidy tips by her 1,370 followers. Pictured, Lola with her mother Stephanie
‘One Friday evening, I found Lola in the bathroom cleaning while she was on FaceTime to her cousin – who was cleaning her bathroom, too. They were both having a whale of a time.
‘I was all for it. Of course she can crack on and clean the bathroom – it’s saving me a job!’
Lola became a domestic goddess in the Autumn of 2018, after her best friend introduced her to Sophie Hinchcliffe, aka Mrs Hinch, who had just shot to fame after sharing her cleaning routine on Instagram.
Lola’s top cleaning tips:
1) Only clean when you’re in the mood – it should be something you enjoy and not a chore.
2) Keep a to-do list handy, so you can make a note of every item in each room that you want to clean and tick it off as you go along.
3) Invest in a cleaning caddy – it’s a great way to stay organised and to carry your products around the house, keeping everything to hand.
4) Always clean from top to bottom, so you’re not wiping dust onto the floor that you’ve already cleaned
5) Using a scrubbing brush to brush out pillows and carpets is a great way to make them cleaner, fresher and newer.
Lola’s top five cleaning products:
1) White vinegar is great for making mirrors sparkle.
2) Antibacterial Minky scrubs mean you don’t need to use extra spray when wiping down surfaces, cutting back on the use of chemicals
3) Sonic scrubber is brilliant for cleaning plug holes – it’s worth the investment.
4) Viakal spray is great for getting rid of water marks and limescale in the bathroom
5) Zoflora can be used for basically everything – it also eliminates odours, so is ideal for helping your home to smell lovely and clean
Gaining such satisfaction from cleaning that she will happily devote an entire day to washing cloths, the teenager can still pinpoint the moment she first discovered her idol, saying: ‘I will never forget it.
‘I was in the queue at our local swimming pool with my friend, Sam, who turned to me and asked, “Do you follow Mrs Hinch on Instagram?”
‘I’d never even heard of her before, but I’ve always loved home interiors, so when I saw her account, I realised I wanted my home to look exactly like hers one day.
‘I really liked her as a person, too. She’s very honest about her life – the good parts and the bad. Some people admire Beyonce or Ariana Grande, but the person I admire is Mrs Hinch.’
As well as being a satisfying hobby, Lola – who has experienced anxiety since her parents parted when she was 11 – says cleaning has helped to control her nerves.
‘When my mum and dad split up, I found it really difficult,’ she said. ‘I’d just feel anxious and a bit nervous a lot of the time and hinching really eases it.’
After watching her daughter try out every cleaning regime Mrs Hinch posted about on Instagram, for Christmas 2018, her mother bought Lola a cleaning caddy inspired by her idol from eBay and filled it with all the top influencers’ go-to products.
‘Lola wouldn’t stop talking about Mrs Hinch, so I bought her this caddy for Christmas,’ Stephanie said. ‘I put all these different cleaning products in it that I knew Mrs Hinch used – like Flash, The Pink Stuff, a Minky, and Scrub Daddy Scrubbers.
‘I did buy it as a bit of a joke, because I couldn’t quite believe she’d found such a passion for cleaning, but Lola absolutely loved it.’
After that, Lola regularly dragged her mother to Home Bargains or B&M, so she could spend her pocket money on the latest cleaning products and homeware.
She said: ‘Sometimes I get £10 or £20 pocket money – it depends what chores I’ve done that week, so it can vary.
‘I love going straight to the cleaning aisle. Looking at all the new products makes me really happy, even though Mum takes the mickey because I can get excited over a bottle of bleach.
And Lola (pictured are some of her favourite products), who devotes six hours a week to sprucing up the family home – without being asked to – even polishes her gleaming bathroom during FaceTime cleaning get-togethers with her friends
Lola’s mother, operations manager Stephanie Lawrence (pictured with her son and daughter Lola), 40, said: ‘Her idea of a fun day is staying at home to clean’
‘I follow lots of other home accounts, as well as Mrs Hinch and, while they’ll spend £50 on a little lantern or on candles, I’ve managed to find items that look exactly the same in Poundland.’
Organisation is the key to keeping a clean and tidy home, according to the teen guru, who has a Mrs Hinch activity journal, in which she ticks off her to-do list.
‘I just go around the house and work out what I want to clean in what room and then tick it off as I go along,’ said Lola.
Despite her own passion for gleaming tiles, when she launched her Instagram page @little.hincher in January, at first Lola kept it anonymous – only putting her name to the amazing collection of cleaning and interior tips in June.
She explained: ‘I didn’t want to say it was mine, because I was worried people at school might see it and tease me, as when I first told my friends I liked hinching, they said it was boring and were a bit mean about it.
After watching her daughter try out every cleaning regime Mrs Hinch posted about on Instagram, for Christmas 2018, her mother bought Lola a cleaning caddy inspired by her idol from eBay and filled it with all the top influencers’ go-to products (pictured)
Lola (pictured) became a domestic goddess in the Autumn of 2018, after her best friend introduced her to Sophie Hinchcliffe, aka Mrs Hinch, who had just shot to fame after sharing her cleaning routine on Instagram
‘After a while, though, they realised it’s actually quite a nice thing to do and, as I got more into it, I just thought, “Why not put my name on my account?”
‘Revealing it was my Instagram was a big day for me. But it was brilliant, and people were so supportive.’
No longer shy about her identity, Lola happily posts about her cleaning endeavours and the products she uses.
‘I try not to copy other people and to come up with my own ideas of how to make a picture look pretty,’ she said. ‘I’ve just started posting videos. I’ve even made a makeup video and shared that on my page.
‘I’m also hoping to make more videos of me hoovering, as well as a montage video of me cleaning out the washing machine – a task that is often forgotten about.’
Lola (pictured with her brother Liam and her mother Stephanie) regularly drags her mother to Home Bargains or B&M, so she can spend her pocket money on the latest cleaning products
Despite her own passion for gleaming tiles, when she launched her Instagram page @little.hincher in January, at first Lola kept it anonymous – only putting her name to the amazing collection of cleaning and interior tips in June. Pictured, Lola’s Mrs Hinch activity journal
Some of Lola’s cleaning products. As well as being a satisfying hobby, Lola – who has experienced anxiety since her parents parted when she was 11 – says cleaning has helped to control her nerves
Sometimes she shares tips she has learned from fellow hinchers, as well as posting about discoveries she has made.
She said: ‘I found a great way of cleaning a pump soap bottle, by filling it with warm soapy water, then pumping it through, so it washes out the entire bottle and pump.’
While Stephanie was initially surprised by Lola’s choice of hobby, she says that it has really improved her outlook on life.
‘I do take the mickey out of Lola for cleaning, but it gives her something to focus on and brings her a sense of peace,’ she said. ‘I once found her in the garden with about 200 cloths and asked, “What are you doing now?”
‘She was in the middle of creating an epic Instagram picture! What’s great about Mrs Hinch is that she doesn’t pretend everything is perfect. She admits she’s a work in progress, which makes her a realistic role model for Lola to admire.’
While Stephanie was initially surprised by Lola’s (pictured) choice of hobby, she agrees that it has really improved her outlook on life
Lola (pictured), who is considering a future working in either law or fashion, unless her Instagram becomes bigger than Mrs Hinch’s, received the ultimate seal of approval in June when her idol became a follower
And, as cleaning is such an ageless pastime, Stephanie says sharing tips is not something Lola restricts to other young hinchers, with the teenager helping her mother’s friends. Pictured: Lola’s bathroom decor
And, as cleaning is such an ageless pastime, Stephanie says sharing tips is not something Lola restricts to other young hinchers.
She said: ‘My friends ring me up wanting to learn about Lola’s cleaning tips. She even goes to their houses and sorts out their cupboards, organising everything in baskets and with stickers.
‘I’m so proud of her for not following the crowd and finding her own passion. Obviously, it’s nice to come home to a clean house, but it’s even nicer that Lola has found something to help her and fill her with confidence.’
Lola, who is considering a future working in either law or fashion, unless her Instagram becomes bigger than Mrs Hinch’s, received the ultimate seal of approval in June when her idol became a follower.
She said: ‘I was invited to take part in a video with other hinchers just to say thank you to Mrs Hinch for how she’d inspired us all. The video was sent to Mrs Hinch, who saw it and followed me back on Instagram.
‘It was the most surreal moment – I was a bit overwhelmed by it and could barely sleep for the next few days, I was just so excited. I’d love to be able to do what she does – but I don’t know if my Instagram will ever get quite as big as hers.
‘But hinching is about much more than just cleaning – it’s a great community of brilliant people, who all support each other. It’s really helped me, and I’d recommend it to anyone. ‘
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