Furry companions are a real handful, and if not kept in check, they can even become a bigger responsibility than human babies. Cleaning up after a pet is an exhausting and time-consuming chore and in order to avoid this, you have to prepare the surroundings according to the type of pet you have, its needs and its… well… temperament. If you need some sort of plan in broad strokes on how to approach this, here are some basic tips on how to pet-proof your house efficiently.

Think about the trash

Picture this – you come back home after a long day of work and you are faced with two days’ worth of trash strewn about your kitchen, dining room and your living room. Cleaning up that mess is a nightmare you have to tackle immediately, and it can ruin the rest of your day. Even worse, the pet will probably be at it again tomorrow.

In order to pet-proof your home, you have to sort out the priorities, and the first item on your list should be how to secure your trash. The most effective solution for this is a pull-out trashcan, which needs to be built in the space under your kitchen counter. It can be a bit costly, but it’s a feasible long-term solution.

Take all the plush out

If you own plushy furniture and your furry companion tends to roam around the household and brush against every bulky item, you can end up grasping for survival in a ceaseless hair-raising (pun intended) hellscape.

First of all, you have to start thinking about a serious overhaul of your furniture into something more manageable. In other words, you have to refurbish your plushy elements with the material that will not be an unrelenting hair sponge.

The best material solutions

Leather, for example, is technically a sound solution, but it won’t work practically since it is not robust enough to withstand the cruel claw marks from your pets. The primary material solution for pet owners is velvet. It can look really nice and its robustness against the pet’s “jagged edges” has been well tested over time.

If you want to make the hairball cleaning even more manageable, you should also consider throwing out your entire rug collection, or at least replacing the rugs with pet-friendly types that don’t easily stain and which are easy to clean. For a pet-friendly home, nylon rugs are probably the best solution.

Baby-proof the electrical grid

Now, we’ve already mentioned pets can be worse than little babies, and in order to pet-proof your home efficiently, you’ll have to treat them accordingly. What is the most important thing you’d do if you had a toddler trotting around your house? Well, baby-proof the electrical grid, of course.

First, if you have a big dog, you have to consider taking out your switches and replacing them with the ones they cannot reach, maul or activate. Height is the simplest solution with the switches, but you should hire a responsible electrician who will do the necessary changes after a short safety survey.

Second, you have to cover all of the electrical outlets and see to it that the pets cannot reach electrical cords. If some of the cords have to be exposed, you should ask your electrician to do the necessary containment. They will add an appropriate layer of material to your cords. Do not fall for the DIY pepper-lemon coating solution – it is only temporary.

Other conundrums

If you are a type of person who enjoys setting up lamps around the living room – we have bad news for you – if the lamps are too light and your pet can reach them, you have to take them out of the equation. Imagine the horrific scenario in which your pet breaks the bulb with its jaw or topples it over on the couch, which can lead to a house fire.

There is a lot of minutiae when it comes to creating a safe environment for your pets, and a lot of it is electricity related, but the most important thing is to keep them out of some “hot” areas. For example, it would be good if you kept your bathroom door closed off for the pet or, if the door has to stay open, you can add a separate metal fence onto the door frame which is just tall enough to keep your pet out.

Every experienced pet owner knows that raising a cat or a dog is not just fun and games. Once you adopt a furry companion into your household and give it a name, it becomes a member of the family and the crucial cog in the domestic dynamic. In order to create a home where you and your pet(s) can easily coexist, you should do everything in your power to pet-proof your house efficiently.