How to have multiple pets and a clean home?

[C&L]

My dog just peed on my mother's rug but thankfully she isn't in the country.  If it was my rug, I wouldn't mind because it cost under $30 from IKEA. Their hand-woven rug cost more than most cars and was bought in an art auction years ago.   Thankfully, anti-icky poo is plenty powerful and I managed to make it undetectable. Most of my furniture comes from IKEA and I replace them readily.  I had been thinking about investing in a sectional from Restoration Hardware but I have 3 dogs.  I was wondering if there are people on this forum who manage to have an immaculate home with multiple pets.  My home is clean but I would hardly call it immaculate.  My mother, in particular, doesn't like to visit because some of my pets do shed.  How do you keep your house clean? Do you allow pets on furniture? Does your pets mess up your furniture? Is being a pet owner and having an immaculate home a non secquitur? 

[DonMarie and Picco]

I like having a dog so that I have an excuse not to have a neat and tidy home.  You know, blame the dog!

[C&L]

haha I like that! 

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

Hahaha...that's so true!  We not only blame the dogs for a dirty house, but for everything else...that's why "A house is not a home without a dog!"

[C&L]

I love that

[Ginny Nightingale]

I have covers on the furniture from Sure Fit--they go right into the wash--I have a few for each couch, so I can rotate them--when company comes, I just take them off and voila--the couch is clean. My rugs are very cheap and polyester--easy clean and thrown out every few years--a 10 x 12 is $120 at Lowes. 

My pets do go on the furniture but are all doodles and do not shed too much. I also have a Dyson Vacuum cleaner and the power wand with the rotating brush gets everything up even on the back of the couch--my couch is in the center of a room and one of my doodles likes to lie against the back. 

My daughter has a sectional with three cats and two shedding dogs--she has the whole thing covered with blankets--she and hubby are both vets, so the animals have taken over--a baby is on the way though--wonder how she will feel then? 

[C&L]

I am a huge fan of the dyson wand vacuum.  I got mine from Bed Bath and Beyond and when the last wand one broke, I brought it back and they just gave me a new one free of charge.  God bless BBB and their great customer service.  I vacuum every day and there is still hair but I am happy the wand vacuum is so light and cordless.  

I also have faux sheepskin covers on my sectional.  In fact, you see very little of the couch anymore.  It is all fuzzy cover.  I just googled the Sure Fit cover.  This is great! I might get them to replace the ones I have now because they are not durable. Very cool that your  daughter and her hubby are both vets! Free vet visits for you I hope :-)  Thank you for such a thoughtful response. 

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I just got a surefit cover and it is very nice and doesn't move or slip at all.  I also have a Dyson although my two don't shed much at all, there is always a canister full of dust and dirt and hair every other day or so. 

As for furniture, they are allowed on everything, and I just put duvet covers on all the beds so they are washed often. Carpets haven't been a problem as most accidents have been on the tiles and the few throw rugs I have are easily replaced. 

My floors are never clean for long as we are at the cabin in Tonto National Forest and they drag in pine needles, fall leaves, mud, gravel, dirt all day long.  These two have taught me to be a lot more care-free about the house being perfect.  When it's all said and done, I don't want to just be remembered for having a perfectly clean house, but for having a house that was lived in.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

We have two doodles and they are fairly easy on the furniture (but they do get on it) and they are non-shedding which helps. If the weather is inclement - by DH plays ball in the house with them! Yikes.  I tried, but the ball hit a lamp and that was the end of that for me.  We built this home 9 years ago, and I think a redo is just around the corner.  We are harder on the furniture than the doodles are!LOL

[C&L]

Yep! I am much worse for my sofa than the doodle.  I spilled red wine on my white couch a few weeks ago. I totally flipped that cushion. lol 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Easy answer - NO.   Actually, when my children were young and I had one dog, my house was immaculate.  I even kept my basement swept and I had a job.  Nowadays though with kids grown and gone, and three dogs using a doggy door, my house is dirty.  I could sweep three times a day, and the floors would still be dirty.  We have leather couches that are looking rather sad, but are much easier to care for than cloth.  Good luck.

[C&L]

Yeah I tried to make my home hairless. I vacuum multiple times a day: once in the morning and once in the evening.   So I bought a roomba for self cleaning but it turned out to be a terrible idea because it just gets stuck or full.  My roomba is pretty useless except for fact that the cat rides around it in middle of the night when I am asleep.  We had to create a makeshift cap for it so she doesn't set it off.  I have however made a few funny youtube videos of her riding it around the house.   I've given up on the idea of a hairless house. 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Imagining your cat riding the roomba is pretty hilarious!