For those of you who don’t know, we have cats in our home. Four, to be exact. I’m certain at least 90% of people I tell this to are completely shocked by the sheer quantity of pets in our home, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!
With that being said, it is so important to both my husband and me to not only provide a great environment for our fur babies but to not make it readily apparent to everyone who enters our home that we have four cats. The last thing we would ever want is for someone to walk into our home, take one sniff of the air and think, “oh, you must have cats.” So, today, I thought I would share some tips to help keep a beautiful (looking and smelling) home with pets (the tips don’t just apply to cat owners)!
Items that are a “must” on our list of things to keep our home fresh:
- Lint rollers
- Scented candles
- Lightweight vacuum to remove fur from our hardwood floors – we use this one
- Scented laundry boosters
- Air fresheners
- Fur mitt
It may sound like a long list, but in reality, it makes life so much easier (and fresher) around our home! Now, in full disclosure, we do have a cleaning lady who comes to our home once a week. But with four cats, it is important we keep things up throughout the week until her next arrival, to ensure our house is presentable and as fresh and clean as possible throughout the week. As you can imagine, things can get bad quickly when you live with four cats if you don’t keep things up on a daily basis.
We spend many evenings on our couches catching up on our latest shows, and that usually involves a cat or four snuggling up with us. I like to keep our blankets hair-free and fresh (I’ll share more on that in a minute). The fur mitt works well for keeping the backs of the couches fur free and it is amazing how much quicker they pick up the fur from other gadgets I’ve used in the past. A few sprays of air freshener on a daily basis help keep the “cat” smell at bay and helps my home smelling fresh. After a few minutes of effort, the space is clean and refreshed!
In our dining room and kitchen areas, I love to burn yummy-smelling candles. Sometimes they’ll smell like food or flowers, but other times, I use a fresh linen-like scent to just give off that clean vibe. This usually happens on the weekends or when I’m in deep-clean mode and want a truly clean smell. This candle is fittingly called “Fresh” and it is exactly that! So good!
In our entryway, we have to frequently lint roll the lamp shades, because our smallest cat Henley loves to wait for us on the table when we get home at night. Unfortunately, she is known for showing her love by rubbing her face all over the lampshade. It’s pretty obvious if we don’t lint roll frequently! The lint rollers are obviously always on hand for us to use on our clothes as well.
To keep our throw blankets clean and fresh, I wash them fairly frequently. This helps to remove the hair, but I also like to add a scent booster to the wash so that they continually smell good until the next time we wash them. I love this “Fresh” scented laundry booster because the scent can last up to 12 weeks, helping keep that just-washed feeling to the linens.
As far as litter boxes go, our basement is unfinished so the cats have a room with all of their boxes and an area where we feed and water them. This helps to keep the main areas of our home free from the pet supply clutter.
I may be a bit biased, but these adorable four faces are the cutest in the world and it is definitely worth the extra effort to keep them happy and our home looking and smelling great!
Life with four cats is definitely crazy, but with these simple updates on a regular basis, we can keep our home beautiful and smelling fresh on a daily basis! Do you have other helpful tips to share for keeping your home fresh and clean with pets?
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Your cats are too cute! I only have one but my mission is for people to never know we have cats by seeing fur or smelling anything! Unstoppable sounds great!
We LOVE Unstoppables in our home! The scents are amazing and the products work so well.
I got this tip from Clinton Kelly, AND IT WORKS!!!!
Put a Playtex Glove (like for doing dishes) on you hand. Run it under water. Blot, so that glove is still damp. Run it along the surface that is covered with cat fur. IT’S LIKE A MAGNET!
Great tips! Never thought about the scent boosters for laundry! I have 3 dogs. Only one is supposed to shed. right!!!!! They have their own room complete with a sectional and their own sheets and binky’s. I wash them about 2-3 times a week. I probably don’t vac enough, but I do the best I can living in a construction zone!
Thank you for great tips!
Blessings, Hope
Thank you!
We have two cats and I love them with all my heart. People who say “I’m not a cat person,” has never spent time with one!
I do find picking the litter everyday helps tremendously. But I’m still trying to figure out how to keep the wet cat food from stinking up the place. My beloved Devon is old and needs soft food…and by golly she’s going to get it, smell or no smell.
Again, thanks, from your faithful reader from Lincoln!
Using non fish wet food helps keep the smell down.
Great ideas! Beautiful home!
Love your sweet cats (and your beautiful home!) Great tips on keeping things smelling great! I have a dog and 2 cats!
xo
Nancy
Great tips! I definitely need to get on these!
i love your house and your kitties are adorable. I have two male cats that intermittently pee or poop in places other than the litter box. I have had to throw out my rugs. Does anyone know of rugs that are pet friendly and washable? Both cats are neutered. Thanks.
I don’t know about rugs, but my SIL swears by peppermint essential oils to keep her cats off the couch. Maybe a few drops on a rug would make it less appealing to the cats?
I don’t have issues like that, but mine do like to attack our jute rug. They’ll run and charge it and pull the fibers out with their teeth. It drives me crazy. I have heard that Dash and Albert makes killer rugs (lookwise and for endurance). If you get their indoor/outdoor ones, you can even bleach them and spray them off with a hose (but they feel like fabric). They are a little pricey but it may be worth it if you don’t have to replace them! I hope that helps!
Yes the Dash and Albert indoor/outdoor rugs are more money upfront however, when I haul it outside to the front lawn to hose off and it dries looking new again I always am thrilled. I have purchased so many rugs over the years for my home staging company that get trashed with all the showings and these have held up by far the best. . In my own home I spend the money for the Dash and Alberts since I have kids and dogs and I have yet to regret that extra money spent. There is something satisfying about being able to take a hose to a rug with bleach and have every single spot and pet smell disappear. Yes, I sound like a company spokesperson but I have lots of experience trying to keep rugs looking and smelling nice here in Seattle. which is damp and muddy most of the year.
Oh, how I remember living with pets. Ours have slowly passed away and we haven’t replaced them now that we have the boys to keep us busy- but I remember having that cleaning arsenal as well. You seemed totally stocked and ready to go!
I’ve got three dogs – I definitely need those Unstoppables! :0
Great ideas, I need to get more lint rollers now 🙂
I didn’t know you had 4 cats! I love Unstopables too 😉
Hugs, Jamie
Hi Sarah,
I just found this post and of course had to read it! We have four dogs! I am kind of obsessed with the idea of keeping a clean, stylish BUT livable home with pets. It has taken some trial and error but I think I have finally “cracked the code”. Indoor/outdoor fabrics, rugs etc. are key! Also having linens, throw blankets, bedspreads etc that are easily cleaned is essential! I have also switched out a lot of our upholstered pieces for furniture with metal or wood exposed “frames” that have easily replaceable cushions. I also have been very strategic with my floor coverings-I keep them to a minimum which means just pulling out a broom for a quick sweep keeps the house clean rather easily. I also keep a heavy duty set of rubber gloves close by–I use these to “de-hair” things really quickly similar to how people would use a lint roller. Frankly, with four dogs we went through lint tape way too fast and the rubber gloves “never run out”. I joke that everything that comes into our house has to be able to be thrown in the washer or hosed off! I have stuck to this and believe it or not I am able to have a “normal” home and like you, when people come into our house, they would never know that we had pets. ..until they insist on giving them a kiss!
These are really great tips too! I am a big believe in indoor/outdoor rugs as well. I may have to update the post with that suggestion 🙂
Don’t feel bad…we have 4 cats also…and 4 dogs to go along with them. Basically it’s a zoo…but I wouldn’t have any other way! 🙂
Love your furniture babies by the way…they are beautiful!
This is a great article. I have a cat who loves to scratch the furniture. I have tried lots of ways to get him to use the scratching post instead. Of course he just uses both! Does anyone have ideas about how the keep upholstered furniture nice while havIng a cat?! I’m going to research that peppermint oil idea. Thanks!
Great post!!