How Do You Keep Your Pet-Friendly Establishment Clean and Uncluttered

Running a pet-friendly establishment can be extremely fun and rewarding, especially if you’re someone who has pets of your own or loves animals in general. However, it also entails putting in a lot of hard work and making several considerations to ensure that your business is safe, comfortable, as well as enjoyable for both humans and their pets. That being said, here are a few ideas on how you can cut down on the clutter and maintain a beautiful, functional space:

Establish Some Ground Rules

Establishing a few ground rules lets your customers know what they (and their fur babies) can and can’t do at your place of business. Aside from maintaining peace and order in your establishment, these guidelines can help shift some of the responsibility of keeping the place neat and presentable off your shoulders.

For starters, you can ask your customers to keep their pets leashed and under control at all times while they’re inside of your establishment. This is to protect their furry companions from other animals that may be inside of the store. At the same time, it can prevent pets from jumping onto other people or destroying anything around them.

Another practical rule to enforce is requiring your clients to take their pets outside if they become aggressive, anxious, or overexcited. This will give their animal companions the time they need to calm down. Finally and most importantly, it’s a good idea to request that your patrons tidy up after their pets, whether it’s by using the collapsible dog toy baskets that you’ve set up or cleaning up any accidents their fur babies may leave behind.  

Create Pet Stations

Organization experts agree that the key to keeping any space clutter-free is to make sure that everything has its place. This also makes it easier for you and your customers to find what you need. At the same time, it makes it far simpler to figure out where to return items after use.

An easy way to do this is by grouping similar products together and giving them their own zones. For example, you can create a section specifically for placing edibles such as food and doggie treats. Pet toy baskets or bins can be kept in a dedicated play area where fur babies can amuse themselves without being underfoot. You can apply this same principle for other products that you may offer, such as collars, leashes, and other outdoor items, as well as bathing and grooming supplies. 

Keep Things Off the Floor

Leaving things lying around on the floor is a surefire way to invite a mess at a pet-friendly place. Curious animals will sniff at and play with anything, given half an opportunity! To keep matters from escalating, you can use shelves, container bins, and canisters to hold products and items that you intend to display.

When it comes to shelves, you’ll want to install them at eye level to keep their contents from getting into the wrong paws and to ensure that your customers can see them without difficulty. Container bins for toys should be made with rugged materials and properly labeled to make it easier for patrons to return playthings that their fur babies have used. When storing edibles and treats, consider using transparent canisters that allow you and your customers to see what’s inside them. They’re more attractive and will take up less space than leaving treats out in open packaging.

Cover Your Furniture with Pet-Friendly Fabric

One of the things that you can expect when you open a pet-friendly establishment is that animals will inevitably make their way onto the furniture at some point or other. If you aren’t careful, allowing pets to do this too often can cause your furniture to develop a distinct smell over time. Unless you want to enforce a rule stating that pets aren’t allowed on sofas and chairs, you’ll want to get ahead of the situation in a different way.

Some furniture fabrics absorb more odors than others, so steer clear of them when choosing pieces for your shop or restaurant. These include natural materials such as cotton or linen. On the other hand, man-made synthetic fabrics such as olefin, polyester, and polypropylene do not absorb much odor from pets and will stay fresher for longer. To keep the air smelling great for your other customers, you can also try lighting a few scented candles and placing them strategically around the space. Alternatively, you can cover up the smells with cleaning agent sprays.

Choose Washable or Replaceable Flooring

No matter how well-behaved a pet may be, potty-related accidents are bound to happen sometimes. Fortunately, there are many ways to solve this issue. For instance, you can lay down absorbent pads to soak up any messes. However, keep in mind that this solution can become impractical after a while.

If you dislike the look of bare floors, you can cover them up with polyester-based rugs that will stay fresh until you’re ready to toss them in the wash. Another option is to invest in removable floor coverings that are easy to lay down and pick up in case an overexcited pooch soils himself over a section of it.

Keeping your establishment clean and organized can go a long way towards ensuring the safety of your customers and their pets, which is why it should be one of your top priorities. As long as you follow the tips that we’ve outlined in this article, you shouldn’t have a problem maintaining your space.