This post is sponsored by Swiffer and Febreze!
If you want to be fascinating, get a dog.
Cinder thinks I’m the most interesting person on the planet.
This is what I found when I left the bathroom. (I won’t share the photo I could have taken a few minutes before.)
She couldn’t wait to see me.
I’m also fascinating when I eat. And when I cook.
Or sneeze. Or walk within six feet of the front door. Or glance in the direction of her leash.
It’s mostly cute, except for times like the moment between those two photos above when she took a bite of my sandwich while my head was turned.
Anyway . . . before Cinder joined our family, I was nervous about getting a second pet. Scruffy sheds, but not much. Her main goal in life is to make us happy. She’s little and sweet and obedient. What if another dog wasn’t all of these things?
What if the new dog barked incessantly, peed everywhere, and just wasn’t as easy a puppy as Scruffy was?
I won’t say I needn’t have worried. While Cinder isn’t a non-stop barker and she has been fairly easy to house train, she isn’t easy.
She’s strong willed and big enough that when she gets excited she can knock over furniture or full-grown adults.
She also sheds like nobody’s business. Seriously. It’s shocking.
But, I can say, it’s worth the hassle. I’m beyond in love.
Training her is much harder than the single stern word that kept Scruffy from ever trying the same shenanigan twice, but I’m willing to do the work.
There are realities to adding pets to a family that do need to be considered before bringing them into your home. I’m personally spending a lot of money on dog training sessions and desperately searching the internet for “how to get your dog to stop fill-in-the-blanking” on a weekly basis.
But I can tell you that my Swiffer and Febreze come in very handy when it comes to the messes that my dogs create.
I shared last month that my Swiffer WetJet saves my sanity during icky and wet winter weather by letting me clean up the paw prints easily. I am thankful to be able to report that Cinder has come a LONG way since then and will now (usually) stay (mostly) still so I can clean her paws when she comes in after it has been wet outside.
But I also have to mention . . . the aroma.
Rain plus dogs (who have to go outside, ifyaknowwhatimean) means wet dogs.
And “wet dog” is its own special scent. But don’t let this be the reality that scares you off from adding a pet to your family. There is help!
Febreze and Swiffer both have new pet lines, available at Kroger, to help you deal with the shedding and smell issues.
I love Febreze’s unscented fabric refresher, but their Pet version is very lightly scented and works extra hard on the extra difficult odor pets create. And when I say lightly scented, I do mean it. Y’all know I’m sensitive to smells, and I can barely smell the scent after spraying it. Even when sitting on the couch I just sprayed!
And Swiffer helps fight the shedding and odor together with their new Dusters Heavy Duty Pet Refills and/or Sweeper Dry and Wet Pet Refills with Febreze Odor Defense.
And yes. About the first photo. Not getting on the couch is a battle we gave up on fighting. She’s just so stinkin’ cute like that.
Share the pet-related cleaning struggle that stresses you out the most (or just say hi) in the comments to be entered to win a $50 prize package of Swiffer and Febreze products! Continental U.S. only (sorry!), must comment here on the site, giveaway will close Feb. 8, 2019 at 9 p.m. Central. Winner must respond to my email within 48 hours or I will have to choose another winner. See all my giveaway policies here.
--Nony
LOL! We had a dog that barely had to move to steal our food. He would just lay his head on the table like he was lovingly watching you and then-BAM-his tongue would come out, scoop up what it could and go back into his mouth! It was like a magic trick! If you didn’t see it you wouldn’t believe it!
Our first “child” was a German Shepherd. :). We loved him – even if tufts of his hair rolled across the floor like tumbleweeds! Enjoy your puppies. 🐶🐶
My mind was blown to learn that I don’t have to sweep my floors! I can use a swiffer dry pad instead! All these years of hiring kids to sweep my floors with that dreaded broom are over. I don’t know why brooms fail me, but who cares cuz Swiffer is way easier and cleaner. I might just throw out the even more disgusting dust pan. Life changing!
My little dog doesn’t shed much, but she does shed! Swiffering does help a lot. I’d like to try the one for pets.
Cinder is a puppy??? How big will she get? I haven’t ever wanted pets in the house, but I will say she’s beautiful.
love my fur babies……but not always loving the fur that goes with it
I got my first ever puppy 10 months ago – and went all in with the shedding: aka a golden retriever named Murphy! He is currently the love of my life, though. And the hair-everywhere struggle is so real! You and your books have transformed my life in the past few months, so I am super happy to get some tips on managing the pet hair. Thanks!!
Hi!
I used to have a black lab….she will forever be a part of our home because I painted her fur into the walls! I did love her tremendously but I’ll never have another dog that sheds.
Now I have a little Morkie…she is the perfect indoor pet. She rarely barks, she loves to sleep, play & take walks. She doesn’t steal food & is just all around adorable & the best part…she does not shed!
The worst thing about her is that her fur is like velcro. If she goes outside & rolls everything sticks to her like a wool sweater. So i do have to comb her out & I keep old towels in our mud room to clean her paws when she comes inside.
Cinder IS beautiful, and Scruffy…adorable (from past photos). We also have 2 dogs in our family, at this time. And they are very much a part of our family, hair-shedding, doggy-smell and all. 8 ) *I know both the Swiffer and Febreze products would help so much. Thanks for the chance to win! 8 )
Love my dog, but keeping up with the hair and muddy paw prints sometimes feels like a full time job 🙂
The shed hair everywhere wins it for me, though the doggy smell comes a close second! (Even with 3 teen and tween boys, wet dog smell is the WORST!) 🙂 Yikes!
I have to say that the hair is the biggest issue, though the doggy smell comes a close second. Even with 3 teen and tween boys, wet dog smell is the WORST! 🙂
The backyard “spring thaw” is the biggest stressor for me. All the layers of missed frozen dog dirt that become ONE LAYER as the snow melts. We have an electronic dog door that raises up when the dogs walk up to the door so they can go in/out as they please. My Swiffer WetJet gets a workout being used more than once a day. We also use Febreeze to keep the doggy odor down. I didn’t know there is a pet-specific anything!
We just got a third dog last week. We have two 14 year old dachshunds. We just got a 1 year old Australian cattle dog. So much energy and so much shedding right now. He thinks he’s a lap dog so there’s some dog hair on the couch which drivers me crazy.
We have two large dogs and two long haired cats we 💘 very much. But when combined with the wettest year so far on record and a newly dug propane trench that will be dirt/mud till the grass grows in the spring, dirty footie prints are everywhere! Complete mopping is just not an option every five minutes. It a short trip to crazy and I’m halfway there, hehee. Swiffer to the rescue and Frebreeze to help with the stinkies. Thanks for all you do to help keep us “slobs” on track.
I have multiple dogs and cats, and I think a not fun pet struggle is the random barfing or throwing up of a hairball. Bonus points if you accidentally step in it!
Awwww!!! Cinder (and Scruffy) are adorable!! We have a shepherd/hound mix and he, too, can level people and things when he’s excited. Oy!
But what’s worse is his drool! It may be a good replacement for an industrial lubricant. We have tile floors and I’ve wiped out a few times when I don’t realize there’s a drool puddle (usually if I forget to have him sit on a towel when feeding him). Not fun!
We have several critters and with the tile floor, a small bit of fur can become a full blown fur monster in a matter of days. Regular sweeping/swiffering is the only thing that keeps it under control.
Aren’t pet odors and teenage boy odors similar?? Our cats live outside, and we are currently dog-less after having to euthanize a second cancer-stricken dog two years ago, but I still have a teenage son and a just-turned-twenty-year-old son that add some unique smells to our home. I think the Febreze would be very helpful in the odor fight and the Swiffer would be great in the fight against all the little things they drop on the floor and ignore. Thank you for this giveaway!
We lost the last of our three elderly cats last October. Each one was nursed until the final moments when we had to let them go. So there were lots of cleaning challenges involving leaking bodily fluids that we cheerfully coped with because we loved our little kitties. We are getting over the grief and approaching new adoption. We will get two kittens or young adults and are contemplating adding a puppy to the mix. Are we crazy? Maybe. So glad there are good cleaning products and tools on the market like Swiffer and Febreze.
Last Memorial Day weekend our dogs decided to celebrate in only a special way that dogs can. Get pregnant. Needless to say that July 26 (my middle grandsons birthday) Taylor gave birth to 12, yes 12 puppies. One that was rushed to the emergency vets to get stitches. Thank you for the frebreeze to help with the smell of the birthing couch. Having 12 puppies blocked off in the kitchen; having to mop the floor everyday was a must. And in SC we have had a very rainy season and our mud is red. Everything is red even the white on the dogs. Beige linoleum turns red.
We have two cats that somehow leave kitten sized fur clumps everywhere. We’ve tried brushing them weekly but sometimes that seems to just loosen up more fur to be dropped.
I have been trying to declutter for a (long) while now. Like you, I have a tendency to buy more than one of things just in case. Is there a name for that kind of thing? Haha!
My biggest clutter problem is when I take up a new interest, such as bobbin lace making, sewing, and recently, fixing up vintage sewing machines, I can’t just buy one. The house would be so much easier to clean if I didn’t have stuff everywhere.
Due to fibromyalgia and arthritis, I can’t do a lot of physical activity/cleaning/decluttering at a time, which means periods of great progress is followed by depressing stagnation. I’ve gotten way too blind to the stacks of things that don’t belong.
Your blog about your struggle is so very helpful because it is simple and doable. I just need to learn to tackle at least one thing a day, no matter how I feel. There are always things I can do while sitting.
Thank you so much!
Cat litter tracked everywhere is my nemesis. I hate lifting the couch cushions to clean under them because it even settles there. Blech!!
Is the Swiffer strong enough to lift this dirt too??!! If so, I’m in heaven 🙂
Thanks for the opportunity to try it out 🙂
You may want to consider equine wood pellets as a substitute for litter…. Much cheaper , smells better. I get a 40# bag for $7-8 (horse bedding) & use the Tidy Cats litter box w/generic Amazon pee pads. Best system, no dust to inhale
We swiffeted so much that our (ancient, original) Swiffer handle broke in half!! We have a poodle mix and definitely need a new Swiffer!!
Arlo, our 1-y-o Yorkie, is easy for his breed. He has been fairly easy to potty train and goes outside MOST of the time. When he has pooped in the house, he has always done it on tile floors. So, smart. BUT HE HAS PEED ON THE CARPET!!!! (capitalization was warranted) This makes me so mad!!!!! I always forgive him, and I never stop loving him, but I HATE THIS PART of parenting my fur baby. Thank goodness he’s adorable.
My cockapoo was not supposed to be a shedding type of dog. Well wouldn’t you know!!! He sheds terrible!!!! Still love him tho. He has more of the cockerspaniel in him instead of the poodle. Cockerspaniels shed terrible and I lucked out with a shedding dog. Also he jumps up and grabs food right out of my girl’s hands. I really dont know how to get him to stop doing that!!!
Hair, Hair, Everywhere!!! Great Pyrenees mix means the shedding never ends.
Dog + 9 year old boy. Rough housing and getting sweaty. Need I say more ?
Our two long-haired dachshunds, Bentley and Beau bring a special joy to our lives everyday, but they also bring us fur, dead lizards and sandy paws everyday. Wouldn’t change it for the world!
Hi! So while I don’t have a let, a family member brings their adorable but sometimes messy dog around. And they come about once a week. I have a hard enough time keeping things semi-clean with my kids! This would be a huge help!! I need a suffer!!
Hi! I love my dog Winnie (we call her Winner winner chicken dinner lol). My biggest cleaning struggle with her is muddy paw prints in the mudroom and kitchen.
I have one cat, and even if the litter box is fresh, the house still smells like cat. Not cat box, cat. Like “I’ve licked my fur and this is what kitty spit smells like”. I’ve heard that cats in particular are sensitive to fragrances and some products (like Glade plug ins) can make them sick.
Does Febreze make a product safe for cats that will get rid of that kitty spit smell?
I’ve always thought that shepherds were one of the most handsome of all the dog breeds. Your’s is the epitome of that and what a sweet expression she has.
We have a Yorkiepoo. Yorkiepoos are exceptionally difficult to house training.
Let’s hope that her new sister coming in a month will be easier?
Our dog Lexie lays everywhere we do. We tried keeping her off the furniture but she is part of the family so of course she doesn’t. Got to love those fur babies
Hi! We just have one beautiful cat now but all of our floors are either hardwood or tile. I have just started using more of the Swiffer product line and do like the ease of them. Instead of using the large bucket and heavy duty mop, I like the lightness of the Swiffer mop. Thanks.
Hi Nony,
We have 2 dogs, a miniature dachshund and a beagle. The dachshund sheds, but not that badly. But the beagle is like the character “Pigpen” from the Charlie Brown comic strip—she sheds every time she moves. You can practically see the fur fly off her like little clouds when she walks! I use a Swiffer-like tool which has a removable, washable microfiber pad to mop our floor before I vacuum them with my cordless vacuum (but the battery only lasts for about 45 minutes before it needs to be recharged). I can take off the tank of my cordless vacuum and walk around to vacuum the edges of the floors (where the wall and floor meet) where a lot of dog hair accumulates. I have noticed that the dog hair tends to spread to the very edges of the rooms and under furniture that has no skirt between the legs of the chair. But I have also noticed that our dogs have a habitual path from around the inside the house to the outside so that there are large areas on the floors that barely get any dog hair on them. So, in a pinch, I can skip those parts and when the rest of the floors are clean the overall look is clean. I am blessed with a husband who does all of the hardest parts of the vacuuming jobs. Just want you to know that I just bought your latest book Organizing For the Rest of Us as an ebook ((I was surprised that it had color photos!). It is nice to have most of your content in one place (so I don’t have to keep shutting down the ads on the web site as I read). I appreciate the new tips. I also own the ebooks of your first 2 books AND also a physical copy of your first book. It is so great to know WHY I am so different from so many people I know whose homes always seem to be organized perfectly without effort. But I am winning—I have decluttered more than 800 items since February of 2020! Go me!