With all of the pooches'
collars,
hoodies, and
costumes I'm always afraid their stuff will become so overwhelming that I'll feel like I'm living in an aisle of Petsmart. Lately we were talking to someone who didn't think they had the physical room to have a dog, and especially the dog's stuff, while living in a condo. Here are some easy things we've learned to keep the pooches' stuff accessible, without taking over our space.
Stackable Bins:
We keep these open bins near the pooches' beds for easy access to their stuff. We just stash their costumes, sweaters, and
backpacks I picked these up at Target a few years ago, but
we also use these inexpensive stacking boxes from Ikea, in white for our own stuff. They are easy to stack in a closet, bookshelf, or even as underbed storage.
Pooch Specific Bags:
We keep all of their supplies together in a ready-packed bag so we're always ready to go. We
have a summer walk bag filled with supplies for Farmer's market jaunts and impromptu picnics, we have a separate bag for
SociaBulls walks, and another bag for Overnight trips. We found it was easier to just keep that stuff all together, than store it and have to repack all the time.
Hooks for Coats, Collars, and Leashes:
We have hooks at our front and back entrances where we keep the pooches leashes, and hang up their coats. We like the
flip hook racks from Umbra so the hooks don't always need to be out if there is nothing on it. We also picked up
this hook set for ourback entrance for extra leashes.
Toy Bins:
(Because you're supposed to notice the toy bin in the photo above).
We've learned young dogs shouldn't have a 'choice' of toys and you should really only have a couple of toys out at a time for them to play with. But since our guys are kind of older and don't play with toys as much, we just toss all of their stuff in the bin next to their crate. Added value: since it's accessible to Miss M, we have trained her to put her pick up the toys strewn about and put them away on command. If you've never seen her do this, you
can watch the video by clicking here.
We have a whole separate system, with a separate post, for their food. What other tips do you have for keeping the dog stuff organized?
14 comments:
I have to limit the amount of doggy stuff I bring home (tiny one bedroom apartment!), so I've set storage limits as well. The dog gets two hooks at the door: one for his coat and leash, and the other for his paw towel. His toys and grooming gear go in one bin that fits on my expedit shelf. Setting storage limits like this helps me control the amount of doggy gear that comes into the house.
I have a bin for my cat's toys and luckily cat beds are small and scratching posts are vertical!
We are not anywhere near as organized as you are. The dogs have airline crates, so we've been storing their leashes, extra collars, harnesses, etc. on top of the crates. We could probably stand to pick up a couple of storage bins for the crate-top junk piles.
We're lucky enough to have a coat closet near the front door, which we use as a dog closet for their food and toys. A bin in there wouldn't hurt either. Finally, we have a corner of the kitchen counter dedicated to treats, medicines, and supplements.
Nala's Ruffwear coat came with a hanger so I just hang that in the front closet and I have a basket on the shelf above for her leashes, harnesses and tennis balls (as she must be supervised with them or else she will eat them). I have a crate/bin thingy with her toys - although I need to train her to put them back!! The rest of her stuff (rawhides, brush, ear cleaner, etc) goes in a closed cabinet - I'm sure she could easily open it if she wanted to, but Nala is a very trustworthy girl and doesn't ever try to get into anything when I'm gone :-)
We have a shelving unit with baskets that we've devoted to all things dog. It looks attractive in our living room & their gear is out of the way. But we've also devoted our spare room to the 3 of them so that dog beds & crates are out of sight in the living/dining area and our bedroom. I feel kinda silly that the dogs literally have their own bedroom in my house but I feel like the house is so much tidier and cleaner now.
I love this! We just got a few bins for Lily's stuff and it's made things so much cleaner! Now we just need to teach the "pick up your toys" portion.
I agree with the limiting toys for younger dogs. We regularly switch out Lily's toys, and it keeps her engaged. She always forgets we have frisbees and gets SO EXCITED to see them every time we take them out of the cupboard!
We also did a similar hook situation by our front and back doors. Much easier to have one places to look for a leash!
We do pretty much the same thing. We live in a 1920s bungalow, so closet space is minimal, and these guys have a lot of "stuff." So we love open/stackable baskets and bins for easy storage. I think your idea of having separate bags already pre-packed according to the outing is a fabulous idea! I really need to do that!
Nothing special, but we have one whole shelf in our cabinet where we keep our food that contains all the dog treats, canned food, and random dog accessories.
Specific bags designated for different dog walks!!!!! Genius!!!!!! Why didn't I think of this?!?! Thank you! K. will be grateful (because I always forget things and then delay us).
I've been looking for cute hooks to put by the front door, but in the meantime, we keep everything in a bin by the front. It's not pretty though, especially because Zoe has a tendency to pick up her leash and run around with it when she's excited!
Thanks for the tips. You guys are the best!
You dogs put us to shame. You are so organized, tidy and stylish :D
Wyatt and Stanzie
oh goodness your post is such a savior to me right now....i was just looking around our little garage living quarters and getting a little frustruated with all the stuff just piled up in diffrent areas because we have absolutely almost zero room as you can imagen.but tomorrow morning i will be heading to ikea. thank you so much for your post
we love you guys
pibble sugars
the pittie pack
Im sure you know we secretly decorated our apt based on a lot of the modern pup touches in yours. People always comment our apt is not overrun by the puppy look or smell. I owe that to you!
great idea for your toys and your coats. Looks nice in your place
Benny & Lily
(Because you're supposed to notice the toy bin in the photo above). We've ... dogtoybin.blogspot.com
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