Among the Chaos

We live in a 2 bedroom first floor condo with little storage space. Having no garage and no basement, we had to get creative to organize all of our furballs' things. One of the first things we did was get a leash rack near the back door. We picked up this basic white wooden mount with stainless steel double hooks at Walmart for about $20. It holds leashes, harnesses, the dog walking bag and the jacket I wear to make potty runs when it's cold. Since it's right near the door it's convenient to grab something and then put it back. 

  

My dogs, like Chris and I, love to cuddle up with blankets. We have separate human and dog blankets, though Ares and Chaos tend to "borrow" the human ones sometimes as well. They each have their own blankets in their crates and I wash and trade them out periodically. My wonderful mother picked up this basket to hold both human and dog blankets at Garden Ridge. It sits next to the couch doubling as an end table, and sometimes a catnapping spot. 

We actually have quite a lot of cabinet space in the kitchen but of course I managed to pack most of it full with dishes and appliances. I found these jars to fill with treats instead of squishing all the treat bags into the pantry with the human food. The largest one with white bones I found at HomeGoods and the 2 smaller mason jars I got at IKEA. They were all together less than $20. 

There is a shelf in one of the kitchen cabinets that is claimed by the dogs. Both Ares and Chaos have medical issues and need medication. This serves as the doggie medicine cabinet where we keep their prescriptions as well as other medical supplies like Benadryl and antibiotic cream. 

Lucky for me I have awesome parents who swooped in one weekend and upgraded the laundry room with a little rearranging and some new shelves. This created the perfect spot for a shelving unit we picked up at IKEA. Containers of appropriate varying sizes hold each dog or cat's food and the cats' litter. They are lined up on top for easy access for feedings each morning and evening. 

The cubby holes are filled with sturdy baskets, also from IKEA, that hold doggie or kitty essentials like toys, canned cat food and dog safe sunscreen for summertime. 

Living with 4 furry critters can come with a lot of extra stuff. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. Organizing all their things helps cut down on some of the clutter but that doesn't mean our place always looks pristine. Most of the time it still looks like a daycare center with toys strewn across the floor, a bone or 2 under the couch and blankets laying haphazardly in the hallway. Even though everything has a place, it's not always in it's place. We do pick up after them but it's not long before the little tornados come through again. It's sometimes hard trying to keep things organized but it does help to reduce unnecessary stress when you do actually have a place to put things away.