organization Archives

Last week, in part 1 of the Pet Care Organization series, I talked about the best place to start with any big organization project is with an inventory and clearly defined goals. I photoed all our pet care storage and outlined my five main goals, along with the project goal of not spending any money to complete the organization. This week I tackled the first two goals:

eliminate and donate excess
put everything away so that it’s easily accessible

As you saw in the first post, it was a TON of stuff spread out all over the house. Since many of you commented here and on Facebook that you’re tackling similar projects, I wanted to share my simple steps to get all this clutter eliminated and organized!

It’s a 3 step plan:

Pull everything out of its ~~hiding~~ storage space and lay it all out in one place.
Sort it into piles of like items. One pile (hopefully the biggest!) should be “donate” items.
Put it all away!

It sounds simple – and it is – but don’t underestimate the amount of time it takes! Let me break it down for you a little bit more.

Step 1: Pull everything out of storage and spread it all out!

I brought down the box we had in our storage room, pulled their apparel out of the closet, and emptied all the plastic drawers that held dog stuff. I also got the items out of the cabinet that held their medications and bowls.

pet supplies organization — One corner of the mess. Thank goodness Emmett was there to oversee my work!

This step is so important because if you try to go room-by-room or box-by-box, you won’t get everything assembled and you won’t have a clear picture of what you really have.

Once I had everything in front of me, clear categories emerged, and I was able to move onto step 2.

Step 2: Sort it all into piles of like items.

My piles ended up being: treats, toys, grooming/medication, travel, seasonal, leashes/harnesses, apparel, and DONATE! You’ll note there’s not a “trash” pile – I think it’s incredibly important to throw away as you go so that you eliminate clutter from your visual space. Each time I encountered junk (expired medication, for instance), it went straight in the trash.

I also ended up stowing two other groups items in super accessible places. Poop bags were corralled into a vase by the back door, which is where we already kept our flashlights and paw sanitizing wipes. (And, yep, our house has a built-in telephone ledge!)

Then, I put their crunchy treats in a jar on the counter. The small jar is Newt’s. (And, yep, the house has a speckled laminate backsplash… Oh, the things I would do if we bought this house.)

Step 3: Put everything away!

Since everything is grouped together, it’s super simple to put it all away so that like items live with like items. I reused the plastic storage drawers (but no more storage tub since I got rid of so much!!) but I wanted it to look prettier. These bins live in our kitchen, which is the most used entrance of the house. So I pulled out some scrap paper and tape, and got to work! I also pulled out my trusty label maker to identify the contents of each drawer, which helps keep us motivated to put things back where they belong.

So here’s the top view of the finished drawers, decorated with scrapbook paper and labels added to the lip of the handles.

And from the front – You’d never guess that these drawers are full of brushes, flea medication, leashes, and collapsible travel bowls!

I’m super happy with the results. Everything is clean, organized, sorted, and accessible! And, I eliminated a ton of excess, which – if you’re following along on Facebook – you know I’m giving it all away to anyone who wants it later today! Stay tuned…

Next week I’m going to work through my third goal:

finalize our preparedness plans (first aid kit, hurricane kit, and so on)

Some of you mentioned tackling pet care organization projects. Did you accomplish anything this week? Anything in store for the weekend?

We have a situation over here.

As you may have picked up by now, I’m obsessed with organization. I like things to be neat, clean, and orderly. My label maker is one of my most prized possessions, and don’t even get me started on the beauty of my planner…

But yesterday, as I was attempting to locate Cortisone for Emmett’s feet, I had a realization: Our pet care stuff is a MESS! How could I let this happen?

In our Indiana house, we had a ton of storage space for dog stuff. We had a pantry that had shelves and drawers to cram it all in. Our Louisiana rental, while huge (and haunted.) has very little storage space. And, as a totally honest caveat, we have a LOT of frivolous pet stuff. I mean, if you consider a cape frivolous. Or holiday-appropriate bandanas. Or winter boots.

I digress…

So! I’ve decided to undertake Project Pet Care Organization!

I’m going to share what I do to streamline our stuff and make pet care more accessible. I have five goals:

eliminate and donate excess
put everything away so that it’s easily accessible
finalize our preparedness plans (first aid kit, hurricane kit, and so on)
get their health care stuff organized
create a plan for training (both a schedule and the physical equipment)

My overarching goal, though, is to do it all without spending a dime! I’ll share my progress as I go, and if I stumble upon any great tips, I’ll be sure to pass them along!

In the meantime, I always think organization projects should start with an inventory, so here’s where we’re starting from (I shudder to think these pics are going to be out there on the internet, but I felt like this was the most honest way to start!).

We keep their bowls, Newt’s cans of cat food, daily medications, and the odd bag of treats in this cabinet:

But their bags of food are in this other cabinet:

And then all the “stuff” is crammed into these drawers (toys, treats, monthly meds, grooming supplies, random first aid stuff, the works):

pet care storage — Emmett decided to oversee this photograph.

Our closet is half stuffed with their coats, sweaters, and – yes – costumes:

And if that isn’t enough, here’s this random box in our storage room filled with cones, a cape, and odds and ends:

Sigh. Then their healthcare stuff (I’m dreading this task):

And all that excludes their part of our hurricane box, which is supposed to be hurricane backpacks for evacuation:

Not pictured: Their toy box in the living room, the rack of leashes and harnesses hanging by the side door, Newt’s toys in the big room, the stuff actually in Newt’s room (more toys, litter stuff, etc.), and their stuff in the garage (crate, hula hoop – yep – and bath towels).

Well, that’s it. (HA! “it”) That’s where I’m starting from. Project Pet Care Organization is officially underway. To be reasonable, I plan to tackle one goal per week, and I’ll let you know how it’s going.

Tell me: Do you have all your pet care stuff organized and together? Is it scattered everywhere like our stuff? Do you need to join me in this undertaking?!?! (Come on! Join me!! If you start this week, start with a simple inventory! You can do it!)

Pet Care Organization Part 2: Dog stuff

Pet Care Organization Part 1: The Plan