After a year and a half of paying for a cleaner and barely lifting a duster or a mop I’ve today discovered something incredible: I have an inner domestic goddess, and she actually rather enjoys cleaning.

There’s something very satisfying about rolling up your sleeves and getting busy with the hoover and the Mister Sheen. Not only does putting in a bit of elbow grease give you a sense of pride in your own home, it’s also pretty good exercise. What’s more, giving the place a good going over is a cleansing process, setting you up for the week ahead. In fact, now I’ve done it for the first time in a long while I can’t believe I wasted so much money getting someone else to do it for me.

Tomorrow I’ll be continuing the domestic goddess theme with my first attempt at a casserole cooked in the new slow cooker. Move over Nigella, there’s a new cook in town. And she’s becoming unrecognisable even to herself…