Life as a Swiffer Fanatic, Vol. 2—Fighting Messes from Other People’s Pooches… Because #ShedHappens.

So it’s been a minute since I’ve been able to write on my life as a Swiffer Fanatic, but with the holiday season right smack in our faces, they brought me an assignment that had me barking up trees I’d rarely sniffed at before.

With two parents allergic to fur, pets weren’t a big part of my upbringing. I loved playing with other people’s pooches, but after seeing that my Dad couldn’t even keep goldfish alive (still love you, though!), I knew to stop asking for a dog from a young age.

Years later with a place of my own, I guess a dog’s something I could’ve considered adding to the family, but with the focus on the career and the family, and the rest of it on the blog, I just never managed to fit one in.

It’s good, then, that the world’s full of people who can share their time, love and energy a sight more than I can!

With millions of pets in search of a place to call home, Swiffer and Bark & Co. provided 10,000 Welcome Home Kits to various shelters across Canada and the US, hoping they’ll provide incentive for the masses who let concerns over cleanup keep them from bringing fuzzy new friends into their homes! And if that’s not enough, they’ve donated $50,000 to select rescue organizations to help with shelter needs over the holiday season—if your home’s in search of some extra love, visit one of the shelters on the list below and see if you meet the soulmate for you!

But that’s only part of the story—as a Swiffer Fanatic, one of my jobs is to share the Swiffer Effect with as many people as possible to make cleaning easier for a world that’s lacking on everything but problems. In the #ShedHappens campaign, the focus is on pet owners—old and new—and the cleaning need they have in their homes. Already seeing how much the human head sheds from my time as a married man (sorry, Sarah, you know I love you), I could only imagine what it was like for my neighbours Jenn and Mike and their bearded collie mix, Sydney!

So I decided to pay them a little visit.

I quickly realized that this assignment would give me the opportunity to use much of what I’d learned in my trip down to Cincinnati. I mean, it wasn’t hard to sell Jenn and Mike on the idea—talking to many friends upon my return showed me that a lot of people love Swiffer, saving them from hours spent on their hands and knees to clean places that a Swiffer Sweeper or Swiffer 360° Duster could usually reach in seconds. I’d already dropped a Swiffer Green Box off at my parents before heading to the Blue Chip City, so I was happy to give the gift of free time to more people I like!

As a family with a young son around the age of our Little Man, I know cleaning time is already  scarce enough. It’s not like our homes are filthy or anything (trust me—if I didn’t clean up after myself, Sarah likely wouldn’t let me live to write this post today), but other things take precedence as you find yourself with others to care for. Time you’d spend dusting and polishing get replaced with walks and playtime. The things you once took for granted like meals, baths and getting ready to leave become infinitely more complex with charges who don’t know how to eat without painting everything around them with their meals; bathe without washing the bathroom right along with them; or get ready to go outside without turning it into an epic struggle over what you can wear or what you should take.

The Swiffer Green Box and Bark & Co.’s BarkBox are but steps to navigating through the chaos that all this responsibility brings.

Sydney immediately took to the new toy in the BarkBox, making quick work of it as she fought to get her jaws on the noise-making centre and complete her mission. Going through the BarkBox’s other contents, young Henry was soon giving Sydney her fill of the Freshpet Fresh Chicken Dog Food Recipe and No Grainers Peanut Butter Pleasers treats, while I worked at going through the Swiffer Green Box bounty with his parents. Thinking back to my training at the Proctor & Gamble headquarters, I gave them quick tips like the “Swiffer Motion” you need to get the maximum clean with Swiffer’s floor products; or even fluffing your Swiffer Duster pad before first use to give it the largest cleaning surface area possible. After a chat and a pint (because neighbours), I left knowing the next time they needed a clean-up in aisle Sydney, they’d be armed to the teeth to get it done right!

Fighting the War on Grime with Swiffer… Because #ShedHappens

Adding furry family members is always hard work. They’ll challenge your patience and comfort levels, testing boundaries and selectively obeying your rules. You can follow all the guidelines and best practices you want, but much like life after parenting young children, you soon learn that things won’t always go according to plan, but at least you know you’ll be covered when #ShedHappens.

As my journey as a Swiffer Fanatic continues, I’m working at improving the lives of the people around me so they can end up as happy as Jenn and Mike’s family. The Swiffer Effect won’t  solve all your problems, but at the very least, I think it’ll help give you the time back that you need to work on them!

Thanks for reading, and who knows—maybe the Swiffer Effect’s coming your way next!

Until the next adventure,

–case p.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post as part of my ongoing ambassadorship with Swiffer as one of its Swiffer Fanatics.

You can learn even more about Swiffer—including tips for welcoming your new pet home—on their website at Swiffer.com, and you can share your “welcome home” experiences on Twitter with @Swiffer and @BarkBox using the #ShedHappens hashtag!

While this story’s written, I’ll still be a Swiffer Fanatic well into next year, so I hope you continue to join me on the journey! If you need to check more of what I’m up to in the meantime, you can still find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!