Swiffer & Mr. Clean | Making Old Homes New Again!

Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 04:33 pm

Tabula Rasa: How Swiffer & Mr. Clean Help Movers Make Clean Slates from their New Homes!

It’s been a wild ride of a year as a Swiffer Fanatic, with a campaign that’s seen me cross political borders, introduce plenty of family and friends to the Swiffer Effect, and continue learning more about keeping a home that’s clean enough to raise kids in the right way. And though I wasn’t always able to participate as fully as I’d like (having a second newborn around will do that to you), there’ve been no shortage of stories to tell, and in this post wrapping up the first year of the program, it’s time to tell another!

So unless you’re still living in your parents’ basement (no judgment—well, not much, anyway), you’ll be familiar with one general rule of adulting:

moving can be one giant pain in the butt!

Tabula Rasa—How Swiffer & Mr. Clean Help Movers Make Clean Slates from their New Homes!—Casa de Palmer, Day 1

For example—when we first moved things into Casa de Palmer back in ’09, we really should’ve hired movers as a minor scratch on the back of a weighty wooden armoire started an argument that nearly sent Sarah and I down completely different paths.

That said, we made it through, but not without putting in some serious work to make this house our home, which meant scrubbing every surface, dusting every corner, and making this place sparkle just as it did the day it first stood back in 1923! It took ages.

We really could’ve used some Swiffer and Mr. Clean back then!

Tabula Rasa—How Swiffer & Mr. Clean Help Movers Make Clean Slates from their New Homes!—The Swiffer and Mr. Clean Products

Partnering with HGTV’s Jonathan Scott of Property Brothers game, Swiffer and Mr. Clean want to help new movers learn how to make a clean slate from their new homes, making the most of Swiffer’s sweeping, mopping and dusting tools for virtually every household surface, with the Swiffer WetJet cleaning floors thoroughly using its specially formulated solution that’ll break up and dissolve tough messes; and Mr. Clean’s Magic Eraser that’ll lift dirt with every swipe, use its water-activated micro-scrubbers to penetrate even the narrowest grooves, all without the use of harsh chemicals that do more harm than help!

And if the tools aren’t enough, that’s okay—with the Clean Slate Tip Sheet they’ve written up especially for new movers, and a video from Jonathan Scott with cleaning tips designed to show that making that new house a home doesn’t have to be as laborious as we make it out to be, Swiffer and Mr. Clean want to keep you well-equipped for this new stage in your life.

Get some wisdom courtesy of Mr. Scott below!

Swiffer & Mr. Clean: Because Everyone Deserves a “Clean Slate”

While moving isn’t much of an option in 2016 for far too many Torontonians, it’s good to know some great first steps to take if you do ever realize that dream. And really, these tips don’t just apply to new homes—in a market where homes sell faster than you can say “unconditional offer”, even a home that isn’t listed will fare better with some stellar curb appeal than those of homeowners who grow a bit too… comfortable.

As for me, it’s off to keep the rest of my life as fresh as possible—it’s been awesome living the life of a Swiffer Fanatic, but for now, I’m calling it a wrap! I hope these posts helped you keep your life clean in the quickest way possible, so you have the time to do the things that really matter.

Casey Palmer out.

The second logo for Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad

Disclaimer: I received compensation for this post as the last in a series written as a Swiffer Fanatic, part of a team of content creators who write to let others know about the Swiffer brand and how it can help make the boring tasks in our lives a bit easier to deal with!

How Swiffer Helps with the Hot Mess of Parenting

Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 10:43 am

As the dad to two rapidly growing boys, I can tell you it doesn’t take long for your well-manicured home to look like every kid from the block’s been through it with toys everywhere the eye can see, dust congregating under the furniture, and nary a refuge left from the chaos with a toddler who will find ways to get into everything imaginable, no matter how many lessons you try to teach or stern warnings you give.

But it’s through all this chaos—perhaps as a necessary evil—that we see our son develop and understand his environment in ways he’d never interacted with it before. He wants to help sweep the floors. Make the bed. Beat the eggs. Wash the dishes. He’s beginning to realize that yes, there’s a time for play, but that ultimately he’ll be responsible for cleaning up after his own messes, and it’s amazing to see him progress from a baby who needs constant care to a little boy who can start pulling some of his weight around the house.

And it’s through this transformation that the Palmer family can start saying yes to the mess.

Saying "Yes" to the Mess—How Swiffer Helps with the Hot Mess of Parenting—The Messy Nursery

Perhaps we—as a society—have grown a little too particular about how we keep our homes and the people and things within them. Though I know that even Sarah and I have fundamental differences in how we keep up the home and the chores we consider priorities, I know that I’ve come to appreciate why striving to keep the home in order is a great mindset—even if our toddler doesn’t see it the same way.

How do you teach a 2-year old logic? Cause and effect? That there’s a place for everything and that everything goes in its place? With a little over 28 months under his belt, there’s little in our 1000-square foot bungalow that Little Man won’t get into, and the battle to teach boundaries and cleanliness is one slowly fought, some days feeling like the home will stay in a state of physical turmoil forevermore.

But there’s something to be said for routine and repeatable actions—as of late, after he’s played enough, he’s started cleaning up after himself. He knows which toys belong in which container, learning to put things away in the sets where they belong so everything will be there the next time he wants to play with them!

Saying "Yes" to the Mess—How Swiffer Helps with the Hot Mess of Parenting—Little Man Loves to Clean with Swiffer

And it’s not limited to his playthings—maybe it’s through seeing both parents take active roles in domestic duties like scrubbing the floors after dinner or doing the laundry several times a week, but it’s clear he doesn’t want to be left out from the action, looking to help with household tasks whenever we’ll let him!

Which makes it amazing that Swiffer’s products are so easy to use—even for the toddler who may see dusting as a fun-filled activity, completely unaware that all the while we’re merely grooming him to become a well-adjusted adult who knows how to maintain a home when his turn comes.

But let’s get back to the point.

Saying "Yes" to the Mess—How Swiffer Helps with the Hot Mess of Parenting—Swiffer Products to the Rescue!

We say “Yes to the Mess” in Casa de Palmer because we—like 70% of parents*—feel that letting kids make a mess encourages their creativity. And like 97% of parents*, we think our kids will learn even more from cleaning up a mess. And though I’ll deny my son’s outlandish requests many a time because of the mess it’d end up making (not unlike the 68% of parents* who’d do the same), you’d better believe I’ve long since learned to keep a bevy of Swiffer products in places that’re easy to reach when the inevitable mayhem rears its ugly head!

Saying Yes to the Mess with Swiffer—How You Let Kids be Kids and Learn to Live With It.

Saying "Yes" to the Mess—How Swiffer Helps with the Hot Mess of Parenting—The Messy Play Kitchen

As our kids grow up, I’m pretty sure saying Yes to the Mess will be a regular occurrence—from a three-boy family myself, I’m plenty experienced in the hijinks that my sons will get into, and you better believe I’m glad that I’m raising kids in an age where technology makes it possible to still keep a positive lifestyle despite the sheer volume of things on my plate. The Mess will find its way to your home one way or another—it’s best that you find ways to say yes to it now and learn to deal with it as a regular part of your life, not trap yourself in some idealized fantasy land where things stay tidy forever.

In any case, Swiffer’s got your back. Swiffer will be there to help in those moments when you look around, thinking there’s no possible way you can clean everything up. Swiffer will be there when you’re short on time with company coming over, trying hard to make it look like you don’t spend all your time living like a total slob, having gone three weeks already without even touching your laundry hamper. But most of all, Swiffer’s there to be as flexible as you require, handling the spills, the smears and the dust you’ve given not-so-temporary residence in those hard-to-reach places.

If you’ve yet to say Yes to the Mess, consider giving it a second thought, because at the very least, there’s a brand out there that can help you make the most of it.

May you become the master of your messes and not their slave!

Until the next, I remain —

The second logo for Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad

*According to the Second Annual Swiffer Cleaning Index

Disclaimer: I received compensation for this post as a member of Swiffer’s Swiffer Fanatics, a collective of content creators who share the Swiffer Effect with others through blogs, videos, and in-person activities to show people how to get the most out of their clean!

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

Last updated on January 19th, 2016 at 01:29 am

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.

Life as a Swiffer Fanatic, Vol. 2—Fighting Messes from Other People's Pooches... Because #ShedHappens—Child's First PetWith 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!

Life as a Swiffer Fanatic, Vol. 2—Fighting Messes from Other People's Pooches... Because #ShedHappens—Staying on Top of it

Swiffer | Life as a #SwifferFanatic, Vol. 1—Blessed.

Last updated on November 4th, 2020 at 11:54 am

I’ve denied my blogger identity for a while now, trying to live a life free of the nastiness associated with the word—soulless content created for the highest bidder; objective opinion cast aside to keep the ship afloat, not wanting unpopular thoughts getting in the way of potential opportunities. I didn’t want to follow the best practices and suggested guidelines that’d just make me like everyone else—I wanted to create work that’d be unashamedly unique, not demanding that I compromise to fit a certain niche or pander to a broader audience… I just wanted to create stuff that I’d enjoy reading, and be proud to share with others.

That said, it can often be hard to find brands who see the world like I do, fixating less on follower counts and visitor numbers, and looking more for bloggers capable of telling the best stories—giving them access to something money can’t buy… or falsify.

Which is why I appreciate my partnership with Swiffer.

Life as a #SwifferFanatic, Vol. 1—Blessed.—Casey Palmer Survives the Slide

Swiffer Behind the Clean | 36 Hours in NYC

Last updated on February 23rd, 2022 at 10:11 pm

New York, New York, it’s a helluva town… but I was too busy enjoying its people and the Swiffer Behind the Clean event to enjoy much of the sights.

Casey Palmer x Swiffer Present—36 Hours in NYC—Air Canada Pearson to LaGuardia Selfie
The look of a man on the start of a hectic but ultimately fun trip down to The Big Apple.

“Oh you gotta love it
Oh you got, oh you gotta love it”
— Drake, “6PM in New York”, If You’re Reading This it’s Too Late (2015)

Earlier this month, Citizen Canada reached out to see whether I’d be interested in flying out to NYC to interview Black-ish star Anthony Anderson on his cleaning experiences for a Swiffer Behind the Clean campaign—the numbers and narratives behind what being a Dad really means today, specifically in handling household chores. I hadn’t hit The Big Apple since 2010 when I’d proposed to a certain woman I’m still coincidentally married to, so I figured why not? It’d be a good change of pace!

How little I knew of what would lie ahead…

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