Making sure that your house stays clean and tidy becomes more challenging when you have pets. After a day of playing and running around, your pets can get dirty and smelly pretty quickly. If they spend the day outside, they can track in dirt and bring in outdoor pests such as fleas. They also shed a lot of fur and dander during shedding season, which can be a problem for people with allergies.
As a pet owner, it’s your responsibility to pick up after your pets. This means you have to properly clean up and dispose of whatever mess they leave behind. That way, your living environment will be clean and hygienic, which can go a long way to ensuring that you and your pets stay healthy.
This can be easier said than done, though, especially if you have a busy schedule. You may feel like you never have enough time or energy to bathe and groom your pets, much less maintain the cleanliness of your home.
Still, there are several things you can do to keep your living space clean even if you always have a lot to do. Here are four cleaning tips busy households with pets can use to keep their homes spick-and-span:
Organize Your Pets’ Things
Leaving your pets’ toys, blankets, or brushes lying around can clutter up your home fast. People in your household may also hurt themselves if they accidentally step on or slip on these items.
A simple solution is to keep your pets’ things neat and organized by stashing them in a dedicated storage space. You can set this up by purchasing a shelf, a collapsible dog toy basket, or a plastic storage bin specifically for this purpose.
Not only will this make your living space look more orderly, but it’ll also make it quicker and easier for you to find what you need. Because you’ve dedicated a place for storing your pets’ items, you’ll know exactly where to look for and return them. As such, you’ll no longer have to spend several minutes searching for them each time you need them.
Get a Vacuum Cleaner Designed for Pet Owners
Pet fur is notorious for getting everywhere in homes. It can collect behind your furniture, be found on the bathroom floor, and even cling to the clothes inside your cabinets.
To make matters worse, removing pet fur is easier said than done. While pet fur that’s scattered on the floor can be swept up using a broom, removing pet fur that’s on the couch, carpet, and bed will require a bit more time and effort. Fortunately, this task can be completed quickly and easily when you use a vacuum cleaner that’s made to pick up pet hair.
Although pet vacuum cleaners may look like traditional vacuum cleaners, they come with features that make pet owners’ lives easier. To be specific, the bristles on pet vacuum cleaners are designed in such a way as to prevent fur from clumping up between the bristles. This ensures that the pet vacuum cleaner won’t lose its efficiency after every use. Some pet vacuums also come with specialty attachments that can suck up pet fur in hard-to-reach areas.
Plus, you can use pet vacuums like regular vacuums, too. Instead of having to own two separate vacuums for different purposes, you can simply use the pet vacuum to collect dirt, dust, and other debris, making general clean-up sessions so much easier.
Bring Your Pets to the Groomer Regularly
Bathing your pets regularly will not only make them look and smell fresh, but will also prevent them from developing ear infections, skin irritations, and mange. Unfortunately, full pet baths can take up to an hour or more to finish. If you’ve often got a lot on your plate, you might have difficulty finding enough time to give your pets a bath.
The good news is that you can opt to bring your fur babies to pet groomers instead. These professionals will be more than happy to handle your pets’ baths for you. Because they have the necessary skills and training, you can rest assured that they’ll properly groom your pets from head to toe.
Depending on your pets’ breeds, lifestyles, and coats, the frequency of their baths may vary. That said, it’s a good idea to schedule your pets’ grooming appointments ahead of time, as these establishments usually cater to a lot of clients. You’ll also want to create a reminder about your appointment in your calendar so that you don’t forget to bring your fur babies to the groomers on that date.
Use Effective and Pet-Friendly Cleaning Products
Pets tend to cause messes. They can leave mud tracks all over your carpet and even poop or pee in your room. As mentioned earlier, it’s your responsibility as a pet owner to clean up the messes your pets make. Doing so can take a lot of time, though, especially if your fur babies have left behind stubborn stains that are hard to clean.
While typical household detergents, bleaches, and other cleaning solutions can help make cleanup a breeze, a lot of these contain ingredients that are harmful to animals. If you use them on your carpets, countertops, or other surfaces in your home, your pets may smell, lick, or accidentally touch the toxic chemicals and become sick.
That’s why it’s a good idea to stock up on pet-friendly cleaning products to not only speed up your cleaning time, but also ensure your fur babies’ health and safety. Plus, products that are safe for your pets are likely to be safer for you and the other people in your household, too. With these products on hand, you can properly sanitize any areas your pets have contaminated without putting your animal companions in harm’s way.
When you’re a pet owner with a busy lifestyle, it can be difficult to make time for cleaning your home. Thankfully, there are a lot of things you can do to keep everything looking fresh and orderly even if you have a lot of things to do. Try the tips above and you’ll not only finish cleaning up faster, but you’ll also have more time and energy to bond with your favorite furry pals.
