Ask Charlie: Going back to the basics of domestic chores

“My mum was amazing and she taught me so much,” explains Charlie, who launched the site in November 2018.

“She taught us without us even knowing she was showing us something. So she would be doing something and ask us to help her and we took on the skills without knowing we were learning.

“It started because I had a few au pairs who couldn’t sew on a button or iron or clean, so I would start with each one teaching them how to do these basic tasks and it just got me thinking that there is a generation of people that don’t know how to do these things.

“It used to be that we were taught by our parents or grandparents.”

Her homemaking skills website contains sections featuring recipes, her top tips for keeping your home clean and how to keep your whites sparkling.

“A lot of the content is what people have asked me but also a mix of what I think people would want to know,” she says.

“People tend to ask a lot about cleaning and cooking. I don’t know everything and what I don’t know I research, I love researching things and recipes.”

Charlie has lived in Pulborough since she got married and has three children – Archie, 11, Coco, 10 and Gus 8.

Charlie also holds cooking demos in her home including cookery courses for children.

“I can also do bespoke courses,” she explains. “I had a friend who turned 50, she is a personal trainer and she wanted healthy snacks.

“So I devised a recipe and she had ten friends join her and I went through the recipe with them.

“With the demos we all sit and eat after which is really nice.”

In the past Charlie has also created bespoke cleaning manuals for friends and says she is planning on a more general one which she aims to share with people.

“I am also running a DIY wedding course with a friend on their estate but I am thinking of putting something together for people to have to create their perfect wedding,” she says.

“I also created a family meal planner and Christmas planner, which are downloadable files so a PDF or you can get a hard copy.

“I have people contacting me with fussy eaters and I decided when I had my own children I didn’t want to be cooking loads of different meals and different things for each person.”

Previously, Charlie has worked as a nanny, in property management and as an interior designer, which she feels have equipped her to help others with their domestic queries.

“I want Ask Charlie to give people the confidence to be able to do things to be able to cook a roast or sew,” she says.

“I want the website to be a library of knowledge.”

You can visit Charlie’s website here www.askcharlie.howMain picture: Sophie Sitwell

Inset picture:

@tiatalula

Picture: Tamara Hickie