Using this technique meant I started getting out more and socialising with other mums. Going to their houses, I realised I wasn’t inspecting their skirting boards for dust, just as they weren’t checking mine.
I called my solution “The Organised Mum” method, or “TOM” for short, after my son. But it was another 10 years before I shared it with the world, setting up an Instagram account on New Year’s Eve 2015 at the encouragement of the child who inspired it.
By then, I had two more boys – Jonny, now 17, and Ben, now 11 – and had met my second husband, Mike, 49. I’d moved from running the family chip shop to working as a doula and doing postnatal teaching, supporting new mothers who felt as I had.
I never thought it would become a business, but it took off, leading to a book deal and an app launch in 2019. Today, aged 45, this is my full-time job.
Looking back, I wish I could tell that young first-time mum not to suffer in silence and bottle up how she was feeling.
Being isolated only makes the feelings worse. I’m so glad I was able to find the words to tell someone – and I’m so grateful for the wonderful life it has led to.
As told to Alex Lloyd