Tell us a bit about yourself

My name is Melissa but people know me as Miss Silva on Instagram .I’m a full time mother to my two beautiful children Kimara (8 years)and Kendrick (4years).

I have always been obsessed with cleaning and cleaning products and watching@cleanqueen25 and @mrshinchhome stories/posts inspired me a lot to open up my own account 2 years ago.

I almost regretted opening up my Instagram account as I wasn’t fairly welcomed in to the cleaning/ home community due to the colour of my skin. I am ever so grateful to Mrs Hinch for making me and a lot of people feel like we fit in regardless of our appearances , colour, religion and gender, she never failed to to let us know that we are one big family.

My goal is to continue growing my Instagram account by inspiring and motivating other people with my day to day life stories.

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How did you learn how to keep a home?

My mum definitely played a massive part in teaching me from young on how to keep a home. She taught me a lot of cleaning tricks that I use today and will pass down to my kids when the time is right.After getting my first home I got more interested in different cleaning products as my mum always stuck to the same brands so I thought I would try different things in order to make my home a home. Not just with cleaning products but with other things such as labelling , folding and organising things my way as I always done it my mums way.

What is your favourite  homemaking activity?

Cleaning my bathroom after the kids go school or after they have used it in the morning.
I love walking in and seeing the sink shine and the smell of Febreze Bathroom air freshener ( cotton fresh). It literally makes my day and puts me in a good mood.

What homemaking product couldn’t you live without?

Definitely has to be my washing up scrubber from the Clean & Shine range at poundstretcher , I use it to clean my whole bathroom everyday and it does a great job and cleans even complicated areas. People are always asking me where I got it from and if they have more colours. I am actually in love with it as it was gifted on a collaboration with poundstretcher.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? How do you cope?

There are a lot of days that I feel overwhelmed because it’s not easy trying to maintain a clean house with two small children or trying to figure out what I am going to cook today or tomorrow especially when my youngest is a picky eater. When I have days like that I just try to make it as fun as possible because I don’t want my kids to know that I'm feeling overwhelmed as to them I’m not just a mum I am Super Mum and I get them to participate a lot by helping me clean and cook so they know when they do help me they are not just kids they are super kids.

Why is #shinenotshame important to you?

#shinenotshame is important to me because it’s a way for a lot of people to know that their reality are similar to others and it’s totally normal To have a clean house one day and a messy house the other day . It’s ok to feel lazy and it’s ok to ask for help when feeling overwhelmed. It’s also important because you get to share ideas and support each other at the same time!

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What is an interesting fact about you?

I was born in Portugal,my parents are from Angola and I came to the UK when I was 2 years of age with my mum for a better life in terms of education and work for my mum. I’m so thankful for her decision as it has led me to where I am today, I am a graduate with two beautiful kids and just seeing where life will take me from now onwards.

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Read about the author here

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