Each New Year, we make resolutions to examine and clean up areas of our lives that may have fallen by the wayside. When you’re cleaning up your diet, reorganizing your closet, purging piles of papers, and rearranging your bookshelf in a rainbow color scheme, don’t forget to organize pet supplies and items!
Having your best 4-legged friend live in your home means they will acquire quite a large amount of stuff, from toys to treats to leashes. Don’t forget about all the “mental load” tasks involving scheduling vet appointments, refilling meds, etc.!
Maybe you have a system that works for you that only needs a few tweaks. Maybe you are starting from scratch and are overwhelmed by the big task at hand. Regardless of where you are on your pet organization journey, Pawrade is here to help.
The New Year is a perfect time to evaluate what is and is not working for you as far as pet organization is concerned. Follow these pet organization solutions to get all your ducks – er, pups – in a row.
How to Start Organizing Pet Supplies
Let’s say you live on the East Coast, and you want to visit San Francisco. You know you should start driving west, but you wouldn’t just jump in the car and get on any highway that happens to travel to California. Instead, you’d get precise directions so you can end up exactly where you want to be.
Pet supply organization is no different – whenever you are about to begin a big project, you need an idea of where you are going instead of just jumping right in assuming it will work itself out. With some prior thought and a step-by-step method, you can set yourself up for success by creating small, achievable goals that will keep you on track.
Clear your schedule
Whether you tackle it all at once or break up the task into 10 minutes here and 15 minutes there until it’s completed, setting aside dedicated amounts of time to devote to the project is a great way to tackle pet organization methods and keep yourself motivated.
Gather all pet-related items in your entire house into one space
When you put all your items together, you can know what you’re dealing with. Putting out all your items to be visible will help you assess what needs to go, what needs to stay, and what needs to be updated.
Purge what you don’t need: Keep, sell, donate, or toss
Now that you have everything in one place, you have a very visual idea of what needs to be done. Start by categorizing your items to decide what to do with each and every item.
Each item you gather needs action. Your options can be as simple as these 4 actions: keep, sell, donate, or trash. We’ll give suggestions for those items you want to keep later.
You may have larger or nicer items you want to try and sell, such as a crate or a dog camera. You could also sell a series of smaller items – every dollar adds up! If the item is in pristine condition and works well, see how much you can make selling them online and take your puppy on a fun outing with the money you make.
If you aren’t interested in selling due to lack of time or the hassle of coordinating online exchanges, donating is the perfect action to take for items that are still useful. Always donate pet supplies when you can instead of tossing items someone else or an organization can use. Many rescues would love to have clean, used towels, leashes you don’t need, and other items on their wish list that don’t have to be new or even sealed/unopened. Reach out to your favorite rescue to see what their needs are and if you can meet them.
If you know of someone who has a new puppy, see if they want any of your items. Don’t forget about groups online such as your local Buy Nothing or Freecycle to see if there is any interest in your free items.
Lastly, there are definitely going to be some items you will end up throwing away, such as expired items, worn or broken items, things with missing pieces that affect functionality, or items soiled beyond the effort to clean. Dispose of these items according to your local regulations.
Take action with these things in particular that you gather:
- Expired food, treats, and medications
- Broken or duplicate toys or those your dog is uninterested in
- Food or treats your dog does not prefer
- Leashes, harnesses, and collars you never use
- Excessive amounts of clothing & accessories
Be honest with yourself
Some of us will have no trouble getting rid of items that do not serve a purpose anymore, but for others, sentimental reasons will keep us from passing along an item. If you really want to organize your life with pets, you will have to ask yourself some difficult questions.
Questions you may ask yourself are:
- Is this item a need or a want?
- How is it that my dog owns more outfits than I do? (And they’re nicer, too)?
- I don’t really take my dog swimming, so why do we own a doggy life vest?
- Do I use the car seat cover, or is it a lost cause trying to protect my car’s cleanliness?
- Why did I buy a dog hiking backpack when I don’t even know where any trails are?
- How many times have I bought an item my dog didn’t truly need?
- Do I buy duplicates because I couldn’t locate the item I know I have in your house somewhere?
Ideas for Organizing Your Puppy’s Space
Now that all the items remaining are those you want to keep, it’s time to actually organize them! Organize the remaining items into categories. They could be by item type, frequency use, etc. – whatever works best for you.
A place for everything, and everything in its place
Now that you have kept exactly what you need, it’s time to find a home for each item that makes sense for the flow of your household. Because your living space is totally different from someone else’s, choose the ones that will enhance your life rather than the one-size-fits-all approach you see in magazine photoshoots.
The goal here is to find homes for the items. Don’t buy any cute storage bins until you organize first though. You may want to reenvision your space to help you be more efficient or pleasant to look at, especially if your dog hangs out in one particular room with the rest of the family. If you have a mudroom, that would be a great place for a walking or feeding station. Maybe the best place to store medication and cleaning supplies is actually in your pantry. Divide your pet’s things into different stations or areas around your house.
Feeding station
Your dog should eat in the same place each day. Always provide fresh food and plenty of water. Keep food and treats in airtight, waterproof containers so the food doesn’t go stale and protect them from any critters that may want a treat as well.
Walking station
Make a walking “command center” where you store a leash, harnesses, flashlights, waste bags, training treats, and maybe even special shoes you wear just for walking the dog. The more organized you are, you’ll streamline everyday activities and have more time to spend with your pet. You also won’t have to search for the leash twice a day because you forgot where you left it on the last walk.
Grooming station
There are many benefits of dog grooming that help your dog stay clean and healthy, so make sure you have easy access to your grooming supplies. It makes sense to keep a grooming station near a bathroom or with your cleaning supplies. Keep shampoo, combs, brushes, old, clean towels, nail clippers, cotton balls, and anything else you might need to either groom your dog yourself or maintain cleanliness in between groomer visits.
Toy bins
While it’s true your dog needs the best puppy toys you can afford, you don’t have to put them all out at once! In fact, dogs get bored of toys just like kids do. Instead, keep a few toys accessible and store other toys away to rotate them out periodically so your dog stays mentally stimulated. This will also help with easy cleanup. Maybe you can even train your dog to clean up after herself!
Medications and first aid kit
Every house with a pet should have a dedicated dog first aid kit for any emergencies, but it’s of no use if you can’t find it! Choose a cool, dry, safe place away from children and pets to store your pet medications. Even though it’s out of the way, you still want it to be accessible if your dog takes daily medication.
Cleaning station for pet messes and fur maintenance
Keeping yourself free of clingy pet hair is every shedding dog owner’s dream! Anyone who owns a dog that sheds is probably laughing at the idea of having a completely fur-free home. However, you can be as proactive as possible to help remove all that dog hair to prevent tumbleweeds Wild, Wild West style rolling across your home.
Start with a regular brushing and vacuuming routine to prevent as much excessive hair build-up as possible. Stash lint rollers everywhere, one in each room, in your work bag, in your car – you get the idea. You can never have too many of those around! Use a hair-trapping laundry aid or add a splash of white vinegar in the rinse to help repel hair. Buy an upholstery pet fur remover to use on your furniture, rugs, and carpets. Consider a vacuum or spot cleaner made just for pets.
Store non-toxic, pet-safe cleaning materials, rubber gloves, or disposable gloves in a convenient place, especially if you are potty training, have an overly excitable dog, or have an elderly dog. If you have a dryer, clean out your lint trap after each load. May want to store extra waste bags or puppy pads here.
Pet-related paperwork
You most likely found all sorts of papers regarding your dog when you gathered up all pet-related items in your house. Now it’s time to organize all those papers! Maybe there are packets you find full of information that you forgot you had. Perhaps you have some overdue vet invoices. Fill out any club registration forms if you need to register your dog. Our pet disaster preparedness plan blog has an excellent list of papers related to your pet that you need to keep safe and close by.
Storage for overflow items or those used infrequently
Your space may not allow you to store all your items in the areas where you want them to live. If you have extra supplies on hand, consider storing them somewhere out of the way and restocking the areas as needed like waste bags, extra food, season-specific items, or other supplies not in daily use.
Technology Can Help with Pet Organization Tasks
If you’re struggling to stay on top of things, don’t worry – so many technology options exist to help organize your pet's needs!
Scheduling reminders
Your smartphone can allow you to schedule reminders for everything pet-related, especially being proactive for regularly occurring needs, like when food or medicine is about to run out or any upcoming boosters are needed. You can also immediately enter an appointment or doggy daycare stays into your calendar after you book it.
Apps are app-ealing
There are all sorts of pet management apps for your smartphone to help you in a variety of ways involving your pet organization needs. See if your vet has an app or portal to store all medical documents, ask questions, schedule appointments, etc.
Other apps allow you to set up auto-ship for constants like dog food, flea, tick, and heartworm medication, etc. Some programs are linked to high-tech products like dog cameras and GPS collars.
While apps are certainly appealing in making your life easier to spend time with your dog, make sure you actually use them and delete the apps that don’t fit into your lifestyle. Create a folder in your phone with various apps you may use related to your pet so you don’t have to scroll through all your apps on your home screen.
Create contacts, special passwords, and shared documents
Use your phone contacts to program any person or services you need regarding your dog, including your licensed vet, an emergency vet, a trusted local friend or relative to check in during emergencies when you aren’t available, a groomer, and doggy daycare, overnight kennel, or pet sitter options. You may also have a dog walking service or an in-home pet person you want to add to that list as well.
If you are comfortable with it, save passwords for frequently used sites. Always use strong passwords that are not easily guessed, and consider using special ones for pet-specific apps and services.
Share any information electronically with loved ones. Use a notes feature or Google doc to keep all information together, which also makes it easy to print out to put with your important papers. It’s also smart to save the emergency vet’s office address in your maps app. You don’t want the added stress of googling during a crisis and not knowing how to get there!
Let high-tech products do the work for you
So many cool high-tech devices are on the market now that will do the hard work for you, which means you have more available time to spend with your dog! Robot vacuums can sweep and mop your floor. Automatic feeding and watering options mean you don’t have to refill a bowl every day. Shop around to see what products are out there that make your life easier.
Get Organized For Your Pawrade Puppy
A little bit of organization goes a long way and gives you more time to spend with your precious furbaby. We’d love to help you organize your list of top Pawrade puppies for sale that catch your interest and walk you through our easy process to bring home your furever friend.
