Cat hair on furniture

[Missy]

I learned early in life (with 2 dogs and 5 cats growing up) that you either have a beautiful, pristine house, or a home full of furry love! I'm happy with my choices.

I also grew up in a house full of animals and though my mom keeps the house clean I still wince when I visit because there's definite evidence that the animals rule there. When you visit our house it is just calmer and neater and I even get comments from people who have never visited before that they cannot believe we have 4 cats. That's because it is possible to have a home full of furry love and one that is beautiful and clean. But it does take dedication and energy which for the most part I gladly do. My dh loves a clean and ordered house and that makes him happy. I think he deserves that and truth be told I prefer a clean (cat hair floating around to a minimum) house too! I think the key is having maintenance free floors and furniture. Vacuum every day (takes me 15 minutes in the apt) and dust with the microfiber cloth every few days (10 minutes tops). That's really all it takes though sometimes I like to make a big deal about it. And I know how happy a clean house (ordered and cat hair to a minimum) makes my dh so it is worth it!

I am less vigilant at the beach house though because we are only there most weekends but having company over is a good motivator LOL!

EricaR- thanks for the info and link. I am going to check that out!

 

[justginger]

Yes, you are right, Missy. It is possible, with lots of dedication. I think I do an excellent job of staying on top of things, vacuum every day as well, and often get comments from visitors about the tidiness of a pet household. However, it is never magazine centerfold quality. The only people I know who manage that are without pets OR kids! My DH is the same as your's, grew up without pets in the house so likes things as hair-free as possible. I must admit it makes me feel nice too - just did a BIG clean today (stripped all of the beds, did laundry, vacuumed, mopped, dusted, scrubbed the litter boxes, bathed the dogs, cleaned all the carpets and rugs, etc). Everything is so...clean!

 

[Missy]

Yes, you are right, Missy. It is possible, with lots of dedication. I think I do an excellent job of staying on top of things, vacuum every day as well, and often get comments from visitors about the tidiness of a pet household. However, it is never magazine centerfold quality. The only people I know who manage that are without pets OR kids! My DH is the same as your's, grew up without pets in the house so likes things as hair-free as possible. I must admit it makes me feel nice too - just did a BIG clean today (stripped all of the beds, did laundry, vacuumed, mopped, dusted, scrubbed the litter boxes, bathed the dogs, cleaned all the carpets and rugs, etc). Everything is so...clean!

LOL ginger, sometimes I feel like I have lots of energy and the payoff is worth it but there are days where I feel like and those are the days I usually get my dh to do the vacuuming! But that's mainly because we still have carpet upstairs at the beach house and I hate vacuuming carpet!!!
Cannot wait till we rip it out and put down hardwood floors. I finally got my dh to agree that hardwood in the bedrooms at the beach is best! YAY!!

Life does take a lot of maintenance doesn't it... wish we had more hours in each day and/or required less sleep...

 

[movie zombie]

studies done several years ago showed that we spend more time cleaning now than the homesteaders did! sigh. seems like with all the new "tools" we find ourselves doing more.

 

[justginger]

Why is that? Is it a societal pressure to have nice surroundings? A fear of lack of hygiene contributing to illnesses? Maybe even the fact that we all accumulate far more STUFF than back in the day, and thus have to work to keep it all clean? Goodness knows we've certainly got larger houses now - I can hardly believe it when I hear young couples talking about building their first houses: 4 bedroom, 2 bath, theater room, and games room, minimum.

 

[zoebartlett]

I think part of it is that we have more stuff. I hate clutter but I feel like I battle with it on a daily basis. I'd like to have a spotless house but that's not reality, especially with pets.

 

[Okie_girl]

THIS is an amazing thing. Amazing. They are made to be disposable, but I can pop the rollers out, empty it, and it is good as new. It takes about 90 seconds to clean the entire couch with it, so no biggie.

http://www.pledge.com/en-US/Products/Pages/fabric-sweeper-for-pet-hair.aspx

HAHA! I took a close look and now they are marketing it as reusable.

I have used this product, and it is very good. Here is a link to the Scotch-brite one I mentioned in an earlier post. You can buy replacement pad-thingies for this.

http://www.scotch-brite.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Scotch-BriteBrand/Scotch-Brite/Products/Product-Catalog/~/Upholstery-Pet-Hair-Remover?N=5941754&WT.mc_id=SE_SBFh_broad_scotch-pet-hair-removal&WT.seg_4=18365915719&WT.srch=1&rt=rud