Tell us a bit about yourself

Hi there,this is Emz a member of the Shine Squad.

Age, well that’s just a number, and one I’m not keen on specifying as I am getting on a bit!

I am a mummy to Danielle, who is 5. She likes to steel my thunder big time & often appears on my Instagram page.

I started my Instagram nearly three years ago now, and it has been an amazing experience. I started it as I was dealing with a personal loss and a friend mentioned how they found Mrs Hinch helped them with their anxiety so I thought why not give it ago, and here I am!

I am learning to control my anxiety through cleaning, and my big inspiration has been and always will be Mrs Hinch!

I love to use my page to give an insight into my home life., and how I keep my home a home.

And how do I keep my home a home -  the answer is I just try my best and embrace my home as my home. It’s where I live and as long as it makes me well that’s all that matters!

How did you learn how to keep a home?

It used to be easy to keep a home a home, as there was just me and my husband. Then along came MillieCat, then Danielle and then two guinea pigs Elsa & Anna [Bet you can’t guess who named them!!] My home is clean, but not necessarily tidy, in fact my home is clean & tidy between the hours of 11pm and 7am when everyone, including the pets are asleep! What makes a home a home is the love,laughter and good times you fill it with!

What is your favourite homemaking activity?

One thing Ido love to try and do is seasonal flower arrangements. Before the likes of Stacey and Mrs Hinch showing us how I would of bought, but now I actually love to try and do them myself. Are they perfect, are they heck as like, but I love them because I’ve made them, and that’s what it’s about.

What homemaking product couldn’t you live without?

Another thing I love is Zoflora, yes my home is filled with love, laughter & a hell of a lot of Zolfora!

I love changing the scent by season, and I just love how many uses ne single product has – wiping surfaces & killing bacteria, soaking cloths, even cleaning out the Pigz pen, the uses are endless. A little bit of Zoflora goes a long way!

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? How do you cope?

When we talk of our home lives, do you show the real you, or are you scared to show the real you?

Me, I like to share as much of the real me as possible, even when it feels scary, even the bits that make me feel overwhelmed. But life in general can be overwhelming can’t it.

I mean I work full time, often evenings, I do a majority of the cooking and cleaning, so yeah it can feel overwhelming, but as I try and tell myself there are only so many hours in a day, and what doesn’t get done today will get done eventually!I also set myself hours of the day dedicated to do cleaning & tidying up – usually first thing in the morning, which I have nicknamed ‘Morning Motivation’pick a room and doing simple things like dust & polish. I find that this really makes me feel motivated for the day a head. Last thing at night I always make sure that my kitchen is clean, and everything is back in it’s place. No better feeling than walking downstairs in the morning to a fresh and clean kitchen! The rest of the time is work or family time.

 Above all else don’t put pressure on yourself to be perfect as life just isn’t perfect!

Why is #shinenotshame important to you?

This is why #sinenotshame is such a great idea. To me you should shine, and share your sparkle with everyone. Don’t shame others for what they have or may not have,or for how they do things. No one is perfect, we all do things different, but what we all do is share a like for the same thing cleaning, and often the same people. And always remember as Thumper quite rightly said ‘If you can’t say anything nice, then don’t say anything at all’

I can’t wait for you all to be a part of the #shinenotshame community.

Wonderful things are to come.

What is an interesting fact about you?

I once appeared on the I’m a celebrity get me out of here after show and got to speak to Stacey, Joe & Vicky live on air and even got to say hi to ant & Dec before I went live!!!!!

Take care,and don’t forget to shine

Lots of love

Emz xx

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