When Generosity Doesn’t Look Like the Commercials

Last month, Swiffer sent our family a few of their signature green boxes to give to a family who was moving, along with some Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.

I put those green boxes in my car trunk, hoping that I would stumble on a house with a moving truck pulled up to it and that I could surprise the family with the boxes.

But after a couple weeks of not seeing any moving trucks, I realized this was not going to be that simple.

Elias and Adeline love going garage sale shopping, so I decided we spend a few hours together searching for treasure. I hope that while we were out, we would happen upon a moving sale and could give the homeowners the Swiffer boxes.

I shared with the kids that we were looking for a special family that we could surprise with the Swiffer products. When they asked why, I said, “well, you know how we are always using our Swiffer to clean the floors? They sent Mommy some boxes to bless a family that is moving so they can clean their floors before they leave their old house, and then clean again when they move to their new house. Isn’t that fun that we get to surprise someone?”

They agreed that it was fun and excitedly asked at nearly every garage sale if this family was moving.

After several hours, we found some great sales, but none made mention of moving. As we turned into our subdivision I saw a sign that said LARGE MOVING SALE. I made a few turns and came upon a house that I thought the signs were directing us too.

It didn’t really look like a large sale, so we got out of the car (without our Swiffer boxes) and walked up the drive. I said, “hey there, is this the moving sale I saw signs for?”

The husband gruffly responded, “yeah…”

I said ,”okay, great.” The kids and I walked back to the car and they were so excited to give the people the boxes.

We walked back up the drive, big green boxes in hand and the husband and wife just looked at me blankly.

I brightly told them that I was working with Swiffer and we had been looking for a family that was moving to surprise with these boxes of Swiffer and Mr. Clean products. The wife said, “we aren’t moving… I guess we misunderstood your question.”

The husband just stared.

It was really uncomfortable.

With the kids standing there, holding the boxes, looking at me wondering what to do, I quickly replied, “oh, well, that’s okay. I’m still happy to give these to you. We can all use some Swiffer and Magic Erasers, right?”

The husband just stared. The wife said, “okay… thank you.”

This was not the moment I expected.

When we got in the car, I asked the kids what they thought about giving those people the boxes. Elias instantly replied, “It was great. I loved it. It’s so fun to give people things.”

He stopped me in my tracks. I thought it was a totally failure. The people were barely grateful, they weren’t moving, etc.

But to him, it wasn’t about the response. It wasn’t about the circumstances. It was about simply giving. Generosity is something that we strive to instill in our children, and in that moment I saw that the lessons were leaving a bigger impact than I thought.

Parenting is not always easy, but when our kids respond with wisdom beyond their years, it is like a little nudge from God saying, you got this. Well done. 

Who would have thought that a box with a Swiffer Wetjet and some Mr. Clean sponges would have been the catalyst for that reminder?

Thank you to Swiffer for sponsoring this post. If you would like to learn more about getting a “clean slate” in your home (whether you are moving or not) check out this short video with tips from HGTV’s Jonathan Scott. You can also download this Clean Slate Tip Sheet, which has lots of great tips and tricks on it.