In 2021, I was constantly stressed and wasn't taking care of myself properly. At the time, I was working as a Starbucks barista and studying full-time for nursing. I didn't have enough time to incorporate good self-care habits.
That's when I decided to focus more on self-care and productivity.
A few months later, I posted a video of me restocking my mini fridge in my bedroom on TikTok, and it went viral. It was very cool and motivating to have a video go mega-viral for the first time. It inspired me to keep making more content related to cleaning and wellness.
Back then, the "clean girl" aesthetic didn't fully exist. It was called "That Girl". Over time, it evolved into the clean girl aesthetic which includes a healthy lifestyle, natural makeup, neutral colors, and fostering a clean, minimal space.
Kaeli Mae (L & R) began creating "Clean Girl" inspired videos on TikTok in 2021.Kaeli Mae (L & R) began creating "Clean Girl" inspired videos on TikTok in 2021.Olivia Pongsrida/ardentbyolivia
What The Clean Girl Aesthetic Means
To me, the clean girl aesthetic means being productive, motivated, and the best version of yourself.
It's about self-care, eating well, mental health, and fitness—it's a vibe that encompasses everything. It's cool, calm, collected, and of course, aesthetic. If you type "clean girl aesthetic" on Pinterest, you'll see tons of cute skincare or product photos.
There are some misconceptions about certain trends like this. The most common one being that some think it's unrealistic or a facade. But each person has a different level of what the best version of themselves is.
Some people have said that my clean girl routine is not realistic, but it is—your routine depends on you. It depends on how motivated you are, that's the big difference.
1. Having a Clean Space
My aesthetic is very clean, which is evident in my videos. People seem to love my cleaning videos, and since cleaning is something I do all the time, I create a lot of content around it. This fits right into the clean girl aesthetic.
In my videos, I put on my headphones and typically film fast-paced videos of me cleaning my old house or just being productive. The routine videos are all filmed in the same way because that's what people like to see.
It's not just me cleaning one thing, multiple things are going on in one video. People like seeing me being productive; it motivates and inspires them.
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When I clean, I feel more productive. I struggle with anxiety, so always having a clean space and fostering a clean lifestyle is soothing for me, it helps me mentally and it makes me happy.
Most of the comments on my videos are positive. Some find them satisfying, especially the ASMR ones, while others say they feel motivated to clean their room or even their whole house after watching my videos.
I've received comments from people saying they've been a mess lately and my videos have helped them get their stuff together. Seeing inspiring comments keeps me going.
2. Mental and Physical Routines
I don't necessarily follow a specific diet, but I try to eat foods that make me feel good.
As for my physical health, every morning I take my greens, supplements, and vitamins as part of my morning routine. I've learned a lot from TikTok videos about what other people are taking, which has helped me develop my own routine.
After that, I have a good breakfast and then go to the gym. All these things add up to make me feel really good about my physical health. It gives me more energy to be more productive.
I believe that if you're taking care of your body, you're going to feel better and want to be more productive, which is the clean girl vibe that everyone wants to strive for.
In terms of my physical routine, like skincare, haircare, and body care, one thing I make sure to do at least once a week is a full self-care routine, often referred to as the "everything shower". It makes me feel good, clean, pretty, and fresh.
I think saying, "Okay, this is going to be the day I'm going to take this time for myself, I'm going to make myself feel good," is great practice. The "everything shower" trend was a good motivator for people to start taking better care of themselves.
I realize I'm lucky to work from home and create my own schedule, but it wasn't always this way. I understand that not everyone works from home or has a lot of extra time.
However, if they can find just a few minutes a day, I think the benefits of taking care will be helpful. It can help release stress and make them feel better. It might make them think: "This was worth it. I'm going to make time for this."
3. The Neutral Style
As for editing my pictures, I suit the clean girl aesthetic by avoiding over-filtered, saturated photos. Instead, I adjust the brightness to give off a natural look. I'm still learning how to get the perfect Instagram photos, but they're not over-edited, as this goes against the clean clean aesthetic.
I love to capture candid moments. I love photos that demonstrate that somebody is living in the moment, like walking or running errands, rather than constant selfies.
I also love photo dumps—collections of photos featuring my routine, workspace, headphones, gym, office desk, and skincare products all piled up.
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My color palette is a big part of my style. The clothes I wear are usually white, black, gray, or beige. That's just what I like, and it also happens to be the exact color palette of all the clean girl aesthetic photos.
As for my hairstyle, I usually wear my hair down. But I do see a lot of cute hairstyles online including bows, that I want to incorporate.
I began living my clean girl lifestyle around 2021 when I first started my content. Initially, posting on social media was stressful and made me more anxious. I wanted to do well and for people to like me, which made me even more anxious. This went on for almost a year.
However, when I started taking better care of myself, my anxiety calmed down. I decided that I wasn't going to post to make other people happy—I wanted to post the things that made me happy.
That's when I started doing cleaning and routine videos. It took about a year to really find my passion, which greatly improved my mental state.
I'm 23 years old and now work as a social media content creator. I started this roughly three years ago, and it's now my full-time job, which is very exciting.
Kaeli Mae is best known for her simplistic and organized aesthetic which is seen in her popular "clean girl" TikToks. The Seattle-based influencer first rose to popularity in 2021, for her viral mini fridge restock videos.All views expressed in this article are the author's own.As told to Newsweek's associate editor, Carine Harb.Do you have a unique experience or personal story to share? Email the My Turn team at myturn@newsweek.com
