Our pets are little furry members of the family. They’re cute, lovable and just as messy as the kids. My cats seem to think their life goals are to shed massive amounts of hair, knock litter out of their box, and periodically, present me with a hairball. Of course, I don’t want people to know I have cats the minute they walk in the door. I’ve managed to find easy ways to keep your house clean with a pet (or more than one!)
How to Keep Your House Clean With Pets:
1. Scoop the Litter Box daily. Cats are picky. If they don’t like the smell of the litter box or if they feel it is dirty, you’ve got an accident waiting to happen. Scooping takes five minutes or less a day and will keep your cat happy and your house smelling fresher. If you have male cats, like I do, who seem to miss the litter box sometimes, take a few extra minutes to wipe up any liquids on the floor and clean under the litter box.
Tip: Sprinkle a little baking soda mixed with essential oils into the litter box for an all natural deodorizer. I’ve also found that using a higher litter box with high sides or a covered litter box helps to contain litter better than the shallow litter boxes.
2. Place washable mats at the door if you have an indoor/outdoor pet. This cuts down on the muddy paw prints or dirt that get tracked indoors when the pets come back inside. If your pet has extra muddy paws, give their paws a quick wipe with an old towel.
3. Give Your Pet A Place of their Own. Our cats have a habit of lying here, there and everywhere around our house. One of the smartest decisions we made was the purchase of a combination scratching pad and cat tree. The cats are comfortable and spend much more of their time on the cat tree, cutting down on the amount of fur that is shed on places they used to sit, like the bed and furniture. Don’t get me wrong, if they see anyone sitting on furniture or lying in bed, they’re ready to join us, but otherwise they spend time on their cat tree.
4. Wash, Wash, Wash! Wash your cat’s bedding and collars once a week to prevent a buildup of cat dander. If your cat doesn’t have a bed (ours likes to sleep with us), wash your sheets and bedspread once a week to cut down on allergens, dander and odors. Honest confession: Although I wash my sheets once a week, I don’t always wash the bedspread every week. I can always tell when I do because there is a lot less cat fur in our bedroom.
5. Brush your pet everyday. Daily grooming not only helps you bond with your pet, but it also helps redistribute oils and from the skin to the fur to keep coats healthy and shiny. An added bonus; daily brushing cuts down on the amount of fur pets shed. It’s good for you and your pet!
6. Vacuum, Sweep and Dust often. I vacuum our rugs everyday and sweep everyday to stay on top of all the fur. Long before I became a Swiffer Fanatic, I used their products to help cut down on all the cat fur and messy shedding because Swiffer offers easy-to-use sweeping, mopping and dusting tools for virtually every household surface.
My favorites include:
* The Swiffer Sweeper: It’s a 2-in-1 hard surface sweeping and mopping tool. The dry cloth has deep ridges and grooves that conform to the surface of your floor to trap and lock dirt, dust and hair, while the wet cloth dissolves dirt and grime and traps it away.
*The Swiffer Duster: It has Dust Lock Adhesive,™ and an all-around design that cleans deep into grooves to trap and lock up to three times more dust than a feather duster.
*The Swiffer Wet Jet: It has an all-in-one system that cleans floors thoroughly using cleaning solutions specially formulated to break up and dissolve tough messes. Plus, it doesn’t leave streaks on my hardwood floors.
Here’s some tips from Swiffer on How to Clean Up Pet Hair:
People have asked me if Swiffer products are safe to use around your pets. The answer is yes! Here’s a video provided by Swiffer addressing safety concerns.
What are your best tips for keeping your home clean when you have pets?
These are some great tips, I don’t personally have pets but my sister in law does and she says cleaning daily helps with the smell
I dont have a pet because I am afraid they might stench up my home or hard to clean after. These are great tips for the pet owners out there definitely would make life easier.
My dog sheds like crazy! She loves to rolls around on my freshly vacummed carpet too.
These are great tips. I had a dog for just a few hours and she sheds like crazy.
We have a Boxer and he sheds like crazy. I love my Swiffer for cleaning up after him. We definitely do a few of these tips. I give him two of his own beds, and he still likes the recliner, couch, and my bed better, lol.
We don’t currently have pets but these are awesome tips for those that do. I do use Swiffer here though, great product.
These are great tips. We have a dog and a cat and a Swiffer does great at helping with the dander.
We have a cat in the house and we love our Swiffer Wet Jet too! Great tips!
Swiffer is a great way to keep the cat hair down in my house. With two long haired cats I find fur everywhere. I will have to try these tips.
We have two dogs and could not live without our swiffers! They really save the day when it comes to cleaning up pet hair and all the mud my two furbabies always manage to track in from their walks!
These are really helpful tips! I could use these for my home! 😀
We have a beagle who sheds like crazy! There is hair everywhere seemingly all the time.
I like your article and will make a note of it.
We have a Shih Tzu that we love so much. Despite all that hair (not fur), he does not shed a lot. I agree, it is a lot of work to have a pet in the house, but Swiffer is a life saver! I get a happy dog and a tidy house!
I have 2 cats and i really need to get all of these Swiffer products! I love these tips, i need to follow these with my little felines to help have a cleaner house.
Yes! The Swiffer is a must with pets for sure. We have to wash bedding frequently as well.
These are some great tips. The litter box tip is so important.
These are all great tips on keeping your house clean with a pet. I have a dog and try my hardest but I just can’t escape all the dirty paw prints on my super dark hardwood floors!! LOL!
My cat is a shed monster and it drives me insane. She is one of those pets that will lay anywhere to mark her spot. I have to vacuum my chair and couch in the living room before we even sit down. Otherwise we end up with fur on our pants and tops.
Swiffer really does help when you have pets! I make sure I wash the blankets that they lie on regularly and I have to vacuum a lot, but pets are worth it 🙂
I definitely need to get our cat a tree then- there is always fur everywhere and I struggle to get it all up ??
I love swiffer brand products, they make cleaning super easy and it’s fun for the kids to use their products so I can easily hand off chores without a fuss. Great post, we have dogs and surely it gets a bit hairy around here 😉
These are really great tips for pet owners. I clean on a daily basis to remove hair and odors. I just don’t now what I’d do with out my Swiffer.
What an adorable kitty. Worse thing to smell when enter a home is to smell the litter box. Yes animals need their own quiet space of their own.
I have a dog not a cat but I love a lot of these tips. We cannot keep this house clean no matter how hard we try. I will try the swiffer and see if that helps.
We just got a dog this year and thankfully it hasn’t been to much extra work. He is easier to clean up after then the kids, but he also is house trained too and doesn’t have long hair to shed.
YES! We adore Swiffer products. When we had our dog he didn’t shed, but my kids sure can make a mess.
I make sure to wash all my dogs blankets and items at least once every 2 weeks. I also make sure I need his beds clean so they don’t’ attract bugs.
Wash. Wash. Wash. Then wash a little more. That’s the biggest thing you can do to keep your house clean if you have pets, and you CANNOT get away with not doing it.
Cleaning everyday is necessary when you have pets. I have two dogs and they both shed so it is a constant battle with the hair.
I only have one dog and he has hair, not fur, and only sheds very minimally. I agree with cleaning everyday, with or without a pet in the house.
I love all of these tips that you share here! I still need to get a cat tree for my cat. I always use Swiffer to help me keep everything nice and tidy!
Yeah, I haven’t met a cat who didn’t love a cat tree yet 🙂 They are a great addition.
Pet care is one of the reasons we don’t have a fur friend yet. I do ALL of the house work. It would just end up being more work for me.
We LOVE Swiffer in our pet filled home! Nothing better for keeping all that excess fur under control! I love that it reaches my SUPER high ceilings! You have some beautiful kitties!
Before our dog passed I didn’t realize how much of a mess my kids made of the floor and furniture because she ate everything they dropped. My kids are filthy. Now one of them is assigned to Swiffer the house each week.