Organize Pet Supplies

Like with everything else, there are so many good reasons to organize pet supplies. Like what, you ask?

Well...

How nice would it be to locate your pet's medical records in 2 minutes or less?

Or how about knowing where all the toys are, so you don't buy the same thing twice?

Or having your pet's travel items organized, so being on the go isn't a huge hassle?

Pets are pampered more than ever and have more stuff because of it - clothing, shoes, hats, costumes and the list goes on! Having your pet's items in order is important, convenient and easy to do! The following tips to organize pet supplies will help you get started. Enjoy!

The Process

Utilize the general organizing procedure of purge, sort and store, and use it to organize pet supplies.

Purge:

• Start by gathering all of your pet supplies - toys, clothes, treats, leashes, etc. Go through each piece one by one and decide if it is worth keeping.

• In order to accomplish this, ask yourself appropriate questions (When was the last time I put my pet in this piece of clothing? Have these treats gone bad? Does this collar still fit?).

• As you make decisions, put the item in the corresponding pile/bag/box - Keep, Donate, Distribute, Trash. **Don't forget to record your donations for tax purposes.**

• Take out the trash, and put the donations in your car. If you are giving items to friends or family members, put them in a labeled bag by the door to ensure you distribute them. This ensures you won't undo all the hard work you did to organize pet supplies.


Sort:

• Now that you can see what and how much you have, separate your pet's items into categories (i.e. clothing, toys, dog walking supplies, travel gear etc.).


Store:

• With your pet items sorted, you can see how much you have of each category. Use organizational products accordingly. See below for specific product suggestions.

This is our beloved Tater Tot with her basket of toys.

• Use a shallow open basket or bin (preferably something that won't be affected if your pet scratches it or chews on it) to store toys on the floor. This way your pet can easily pull out the desired item, and clean up time consists of nothing more than throwing the toys back in.

This is Brisket (we love food names!) with her organized dog supplies.

• Utilize open baskets or bins for pet supply storage. In the above picture, inside the basket are small canvas bins to organize the pet supplies by category - clothing, grooming tools, etc.

You could also use plastic drawers to organize pet supplies. Remember to put like with like, so one drawer could be for all the grooming equipment, another for the clothing, and so on. A clear plastic drawer set with wheels would make it easy to find your items and great for storing in a closet out of sight.

• Use a binder to organize all of the paper work related to your pet. I have found that the binder pockets with tabs are great for this. Label each pocket tab (i.e. "Vet", "Insurance", "Care"), insert them into the binder, file your pet's papers accordingly and voila! Now you can take the binder to the vet and have all of your pet's information at your finger tips.


Maintain:

• Your pet will continually leave toys all over the floor. There's no way around that. I just pick up the toys off the floor and throw them into the open bin on a regular basis.

• A few times a year, go through your pet supplies and pitch or give away any unnecessary items.

The Products

Wall or Door Pet Gear Organizer - a Favorite to Organize Pet Supplies!
We love this over-the-door organizer for storing pet supplies. It features different-sized pockets, a frame to hold your pet's photo, and a leash hook. Check it out!

Pet Travel Organizer

Loaded with pockets and compartments, this travel bag is great for holding all your pet's gear!

Pet Records Organizer
Keep all of your pet's papers organized and together in this stylish binder. Going to the vet? To the sitter's?? Grab the binder and go!

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by Nealey Stapleton

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