Don't let the mess your plentiful pets make take over your home!

More pets equals more mess. And if you have more than one dog, you know that the mess can sometimes get on top of you. What do you do if you want to keep your multiple-dog home clean without turning it into a full time job? We’ve put together a few practical and easy tips and tricks for keeping your multiple-dog home clean and organized.

Dog Organizing Tips

A house full of pets and people can lead to mass confusion. Just like you'd do with your kids' toys and clothes, it's helpful to organize and de-clutter your dogs’ things. Every three to four months, go through your dogs’ toys and throw out anything that's broken or toys that they no longer use. This will free up valuable storage space. Store your dogs’ toys where they are most likely to use them; this saves you the hassle of having to drag toys from room to room for storage purposes. Choose multi-purpose storage solutions that are easy to access. For example, use a storage ottoman to store dog toys or a storage bench in the mud room to crate your dogs’ outside toys. Keep items such as shampoo, treats and other items off the floor by storing them in a hanging shoe organizer. Organize your dogs’ food by using a plastic or metal storage container with wheels. A big bag is hard to lug around every day, not to mention the fact that it's an eyesore. Keep all of your dogs’ paperwork such as medical history, vaccination records and microchip numbers in a filing cabinet or folder so they are all together and easy to find.

House Cleaning Tips

With more than one dog roaming your home, keeping it clean may seem like an impossible task. Just as you finish spending the day cleaning, the dogs come in with muddy paws. You may want to give up on keeping your house clean, but don't despair; here are some tips that will minimize the mess. Buy a robot vacuum. Robot vacuums are automatic and they can be a great tool for cleaning up dog hair without you having to vacuum the carpet yourself twice a day. Round up the troops! Divide up dog-related chores among the members of your family to make them more manageable. Consider making a chore chart and rotate chores on a weekly basis. Keep your dogs’ food and water dishes on a large plastic tray with raised edges. This will help to contain spills and keep food or water from getting all over the floor. Place door mats at the inside and outside of every exterior door to help collect mud and dirt before the dogs track it all over the house. Keep a clean-up kit on hand (store it under the sink or in the laundry room) so you can tackle messes and accidents as soon as they happen. Include a bottle of pet stain remover, a scrub brush, rubber gloves and a roll of paper towels in your kit.