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How we do love to share our lives with our pets! However, cleaning your house when you live with them is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos. Don’t expect spark and 100% tidiness, but there are lots you can do to mitigate any perceived messes. Therefore, stop using your pets as an excuse for a messy home.
- If your fur baby happens to be of the feline persuasion, then store the litterbox out of sight but easily accessible to your cats. I have seen a lot of litter boxes in my clients’ bathrooms. I, too, have seen some creative ways people have tried to hide the litter box such as converting a cabinet into a private, yet accessible place for both you and your cat.
- Store pet toys in whatever you improvise as a toy box (Rubbermaid storage containers, baskets, etc.). Cat toys rarely make it back into their storage container so make it easy on yourself to put the toys away. Open storage is a necessity for your pet to grab its toy. It also makes it easy for you to throw them in the container at the end of the day. How many of you have either tripped or hurt your foot by stepping on a loose toy? Ouch!
- Now for those dog lovers among you, keep a station of what you need for a dog walk near your door for grab-and-go purposes including collars, leashes, poop bags, treats, and hand sanitizer. Hang leashes and collars on hooks by the door. If this paraphernalia is all together, it will be a breeze to head out when your very excited dog wants to go out for a walk.
- Keep together food & treats, grooming materials, health & first aid items, and training props & materials so that you can readily find them when needed. Try to designate a section of a closet or cabinet for all of your pet items. That way, all family members will know where to grab and put back any of Fifi or Fido’s items.
- Be aware of whether pets can get at or get into whatever you’re storing, for their safety as well as for the preservation of the items. If you have a puppy or any animal that will sniff out their food, you had better store it in a very secure sealed container. Medicine should also be stored safely as you don’t want any human to take the pet’s medicine by mistake.
- Avian lovers should keep drop cloths or trays under bird cages. Vacuum frequently–a portable stick vac is invaluable. Having a rug or anything that you want to keep under their cages is not going to cut it and may likely be ruined. At least drop cloths are absorbent and less expensive to replace.
- All pet owners will find HEPA air purifier invaluable as they both keep houses smelling fresh and help with allergies. Nothing is worse than walking into a home and KNOWING they have pets from the very odors present. Between urine smells and dirty animals, please, keep your pets and home clean. Even using an essential oil diffuser to keep your house smelling good along with the HEPA filter will make it a pleasure for visitors to enter your home.
If you really don’t have time to clean before guests arrive, when all else fails, blame Fido and Fluffy, but do be sure to reward them with treats afterwards for being your unwitting scapegoats!
Photo: Pixabay