STARS of the HOME

These famous faces invite sparkle, organisation and style into our houses

- CHRISTABEL SMITH

Domestic goddesses are nothing new. In the 1860s, Mrs Beeton sold over two million copies of her Book of Household Management, which warned there was 'no more fruitful source of family discontent than a housewife's untidy ways'. And ever since American inventor Josephine Cochrane designed the first dishwasher from a shed in her back garden in the 1890s, we've been embracing ways to make cleaning easier.

Today's 'cleanfluencers' draw a similar following on social media, yet there is no whiff of drudgery as we declutter and deep-clean our way to happiness at home. It's like we've turned back the clock, with cleaning less of a chore and more of a way to boost our mental wellbeing. TikTok videos with the hashtag #CleanTok have over 150 billion views.

Spending more time in our houses in recent years has also brought more focus on to interiors trends. We want our nests to be neat, nurturing and full of sensory joy. And with brands such as Purdy & Figg releasing scented delights like Oh! de Loo, cleaning has become, dare we say it, fun!

So, let's raise our feather dusters in salute to the stars who've helped us clean up our act in an enjoyable and empowering way.

Dilly Carter

Founder of home-organising service Declutter Dollies and star of TV's Sort Your Life Out, Dilly believes that cutting out clutter makes life more enjoyable. Trying to organise on top of mess is 'like drawing on a piece of paper that's already been drawn on', she says. Such is her dedication to the sort-and-store cause that she heroically carried on filming the BBC series even while recovering from womb cancer surgery and treatment last year.

Sara Davies