My Tips + Tricks for Keeping My House Clean with Two Dogs

Sponsored Post: This post was sponsored by the Libman Company, but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.  

I'm a little bit of a neat freak.  My sanity and the cleanliness of my home are intricately interwoven:  I need a clean, tidy space to feel calm and relaxed and, when I'm stressed, I clean.  I don't actually like cleaning though, so I'm always looking for ways to make cleaning easier.

Meanwhile, I'm convinced that my two pups conspire to make it more difficult! 

I love where I live, but sometimes having Lake Superior in our backyard makes life messier.  Our lawn sort of flows right into the lake with a rocky shore that's been submerged (thanks to super high water levels), but there's one spot where we access the lake that's sandy and that little niche just beckons Hynda and Szuka, who often run down there for a drink of water, end up getting soaked, and then try to get back into the house sopping wet.  Living in the country, my two girls also love romping through the woods and tackling each other in the gravel driveway, just mushing as much dirt and muck into their (lake dampened) paws as possible.  Szuka is a lady, but Hynda will also roll in anything gross she finds: fox poop, bear poop, deer poop, goose poop... She's had many impromptu lake baths this summer!

But look at those sweet faces!  We spend as much time outside as possible because they love living on Lake Superior as much as Hubby and I do.

I can't blame the dogs solely for any lakeside mess though, because even Hubs and I will go for a swim or stand up paddle boarding, and then run inside for a snack, dripping water and sand in the kitchen.  Fall cleaning seems to be the worse because we all track in gross damp leaves on top of everything else.  But lake life is chill and I've had to learn to relax a little with the cleaning.  A little.

I still run a pretty tight ship.

To mitigate the mess the puppies make, I have some tricks and tips to share (and I'd love to read about yours in the comments).

Create a Drying Station:

I have trained both pups to head straight into the laundry room (which is right by the front door) the minute we set foot inside, whether they're muddy or not.  They know this routine so it prevents anyone from running through the house tracking muddy pawprints everywhere.  It's also where we keep Szuka's food and water in her DIY raised feeder.

Train Pups to Wipe Their Feet

Once inside the laundry room, we wipe paws with an old towel - whether they need it or not.  Getting both pups used to having their paws handled and dried every time we come inside has made this infinitely easier.  We're still working on Hynda so throughout the day I'll just gently rub her paws and give her a treat to associate paw handling with positive vibes, but Szuka knows the routine and actually even knows what "left paw" and "right paw" mean - it's adorable.  Plus we taught her to "stand," so we can reach those back legs and dry her tummy if she's tried to escape by swimming.  On days they're SOAKED, they chill in here with a treat until their furry bodies are dry enough.

Block off Areas

I have a cute pen for Hynda to play in when I can't watch her because she's still young and potty training.  It's connected to her crate so she can have a nap but we don't close the door to the crate until we go to bed at night.  During the days she has this little space to romp and play (and nap stretched out) when I'm occupied, but we go outside for lots of playtime and then she's free for tons of supervised indoor playtime too.  But even when I let her loose in the house, I use the living room ottoman to keep her out of there (or in there at night if we're watching a movie and want to keep an eye on her while she plays).  I also close the bedroom doors during playtime.  Confining her helps prevent potty training accidents and also keeps the house cleaner.   

Designate a Spot for Everything

Our dogs have a lot of stuff!  Toys, ear cleaner, medications, nail clippers, food, treats, life jackets, spare collars - you name it.  I store food, toys, towels, etc., in the laundry room and things like medications, bum wipes, and ear cleaner in the the adjacent half bath because that's where I use it. There's a special hook for leashes and I try to have a spot for everything so their stuff doesn't pile up.

I love storage bins for toys so they can reach them and I can scoop them up and put away all of the toys quickly at night. 



Invest in a Good Quality Mop

I don't really vacuum much anymore but I sweep daily because despite my best paw wiping efforts, they still manage to bring in a little sand and gravel.

While a quick sweep does the trick, I also like to wash floors regularly because these girls drool and leave nose prints all over the hardwood.  I can't stand seeing those smudges!

I was not happy with my old sponge mop though, so I was looking to upgrade and The Libman Company has a great line of convenient mops.  I don't enjoy dragging a bucket around, so I was super excited about switching to the Libman Freedom Mop, which has a handy bottle that dispenses the floor cleaning solution of my choice.  The microfiber pad is washable up to 100 times and refills are fairly inexpensive.  Because it sprays the surface, it allows me to really quickly run a mop around and give the floors a great wash in half the time.  Plus the floors dry much more quickly, which means the pups (and humans) can be let loose from wherever I've cordoned them off much quicker!

It has such a great swivel head which means I can reach under all of my furniture, something my old foam mop and bucket couldn't do.  There's a great line of Libman cleaning products, which you can easily find at Canadian Tire (where I bought mine) or The Home Depot.  Also - and this is really important to me - these products have been made in North America since 1896.  I try my best to buy as many products made in Canada or the States as possible, and this North American made product has the cutest family history too. 

Ditch the Rugs and Carpet

This is why I'm so enamored with mops: I don't have any rugs or carpets, other than a little mat by each door!  I know I'm weird because most people love rugs and could never give them up, but I am not a fan or rugs and carpet for various reasons and with two messy dogs, having hardwood, tile and linoleum floors has been crucial.  Szuka was easily house broken but Hynda had SO many accidents in the beginning - I shudder to think how pee-soaked any carpeting would have been!  I know carpets and rugs can be cleaned but with a puppy, honestly I personally just think naked wood floors are so much easier and I'm all about making cleaning easy.

Avoid Really Textured Furniture

This was a tough lesson.  I had successfully kept our mint Mingo chair and our velvet mid-century modern chair clean all these years so I naively thought we could handle tweed dining chairs.  Szuka isn't allowed on the furniture, although she'll come cuddle when we're on the sofa, resting her head on our laps and rubbing her dirty beard on the seat cushion.  When we're really weak, she's allowed up on the ottoman but because our sofas have been leather, they've been easy to clean.  She rubs against the blue tweed chairs, though, rubbing her fur deep into the fibers and although I lint roller my heart out, there's a faint light swatch of rubbed fabric, thanks to her loving all over the tweed.   I think the fabric has also been sort of buffed there, because of this weird rubbing she does.

It's difficult to see, I think, but I notice it every day.  They look dirty even when they're not, so I think this tweed was a mistake - I'll admit it!  It always had a matte texture and probably wasn't super high quality so I think if I get chairs again I'd switch back to something like leather or a fabric with more sheen that isn't so textured and grippy.  

Find a Cheap DIY Pet Washing Station

We used to bathe Szuka in the tub but after the bathroom was renovated, I didn't want her nails scratching the new bathtub so we sought out a cheap place to wash her.  A pet store in town offers $10 DIY washes at their incredibly handy pet washing station and it's totally worth it because, given her size, we probably use that much in soap alone.  One day I'd like to renovate the laundry room and add a DIY pet washing station but when we can't get to town, a lake bath does the trick in the summer and a "snow bath" works for winter. 

Those are my tips for keeping the house clean even with two messy pups and a sandy lake in my backyard.  I'd love to hear your tips!  And if you've been eyeing up my new Libman Freedom Mop, or curious about what other products they have, take a peek here.  I am honestly so impressed with the Freedom Mop I chose because it's just SO much easier to clean up those nose prints and rogue bits of sand - plus it does a way better job by reaching under all of my furniture. 

P.S. The great gams in these photos belong to my lovely Mom, who I asked to help me snap some photos for this post.  

She came over wearing the CUTEST leggings, designed by a local clothing designer who has a shop downtown, so I asked Mom to model my new mop for me because her leggings matched my decor so well.  But I, uh, "needed a bunch of different angles" so she ended up mopping the entire living and dining room while I pretended to take photos, lol.  She's the one who realize this mop fits under even my low TV stand and sofa.  I have the sweetest Mom.          

Treasure Hunting Report: My Recent Vintage Scores

It feels like I haven't done a Treasure Hunting Report in ages!

My treasure hunting really slowed down this year because I've been increasingly picky about what I buy - plus the deals have been few and far between - so I haven't shared treasure hunting reports like I used to in years prior.  But as I was cleaning over the weekend, I realized that I have scored a few gems so I wanted to share.  (I can't be the only person who lovingly admires my treasures while I dust...?) 

Here are the vintage finds that made the cut and found their way into the lakehouse recently.

First up: I enjoyed a major win at the Salvation Army auction - which is something I rarely muster up the motivation to do, because you need to sit through the ENTIRE thing to pay and it can take hours and hours.  This time the bidding went crazy high (I'm talking $500+) on some items, so it was an intensely entertaining evening, plus my Mom came with me which makes everything way more fun!  We could not believe the bizarre things that elicited a bidding war. 

Anyway, you're probably thinking, "get to the goods - what did you BUY?" 

Okay - but first I need to share a back story, so you realize why I was so excited about this particular auction and why I was willing to let my butt go numb on a grubby chair for hours on a beautiful summer evening.  Ten years ago I found an ice cube shaped Iittala crystal votive candle holder at a yard sale for a buck.  Hubby and I had just moved 1500km and were living in a strange city so we loved to yard sale with friends on the weekend to explore.  Plus we were all broke and looking for deals!  I've treasured this little candle holder ever since because it always reminds me of our life in Kingston.  I'd always wished I had a pair, but I could never find one online because I had no idea what it was called or when it was produced.  I even asked around at the local Finnish boutiques, to no avail.  So imagine my surprise when I spot one in the Sally Anne auction case, in a lot with other Iittala.  After a decade of searching! 

The lot was a real hodgepodge: the ice cube votive holder I wanted (which is simply referred to as the Ice Cube and was produced in the 1980s), three Ultima Thule shot glasses, a pair of two ring Festivo candle holders, another Ultima Thule candle holder and an Ultima Thule plate - which was, sadly, chipped.  I ended up winning the bid for only $41 CAD - the Festivo candle holders alone are worth $60-100!  Plus my Mom had an uneven set of Ultima Thule shot glasses so I happily gave her the trio (although I wish they'd been a more practical size, like the Highball Glass or the Old Fashioned glass).  But I suspect this is the universe telling me I need to go to my Mom's place more often and drink liquor.

;) 

I planned to sell the Ultima Thule candle holder but it's so pretty that I might just keep it.

Iittala is my weakness.  All told, that's a lot of $$$ worth of Finnish crystal - but I would have paid that just for the pair to my mystery cube.  I'm so happy!

Plus my Festivo collection grew that tiny bit more... I often get asked where to buy those gleaming crystal candle holders but most of my collection was gifted to me and the rest I have bought through the classifieds or thrifted.  You can find them on Etsy, Chairish - this is a GREAT deal on a massive 6-ring pair that would make a gorgeous statement - or eBay.  Local Finnish boutiques sell them but I think Bed Bath & Beyond does too.

I just love adding to this collection, it's just a thrill when I can scoop up another one (or two).  Is it greedy to hope that one day I can find a pair for my Iittala bird?  He gets lonely, I'm sure... I'm obsessed with this dusty blue one but this dreamy white one is a favorite too.  They're SO expensive though, I can't even imagine what a Sally Anne auction on one of those would be like.  Madness, pure madness.

Anyway, that's my most recent score.  But there have been a few other lucky breaks.

Way back on my birthday in June, my Mom and I went for a little day trip to celebrate because I feel like my birthday is as much a special day for her as it is for me.  So we went to Grand Marais, a little Minnesotan town nearby, for lunch and some shopping and we hit up my favorite antique shops, thrifts, and flea markets.  At the flea market, I scored another Krenit bowl (here's the same one - I think - on Etsy) for a cool $7.  A bit more than the $2 I paid for my bigger one, but still a ridiculously good price.  It's funny because I had JUST said to Hubby, maybe two days earlier, that I wished I had a pair because sometimes we have so much fruit the one bowl isn't enough.  Plus I think by now you've realized I like pairs of things... 

It's in nice condition with some light scuffs that pop up way more on camera, but no chips or staining - plus it still has a "Made in Denmark" label!  I'm so happy with this birthday score.  If you're pining for one, this Etsy listing seems like a sweet deal, although if you happen to have $500 lying around this turquoise one needs a home, lol.  The new ones are a bit spendy too, but I have loved my Krenit bowl for years and years so even if I had splurged, the cost per use would be so low.  For a similar look, this Project 62 enamel tray is a steal at $10! 

I love that I have two now and the different in shape/height is perfect.  Plus I can always use this one for salad (its intended purpose I believe - I just need the matching salad tongs).  I really enjoy the special memory attached to it as well.  My Mom and I had such a lovely, peaceful day together so I am really glad to having this little memento.

That same day, I also picked up a pair of petite Cathrineholm bowls which I had planned to sell but just keep hanging on to!  I hadn't ever seen a design (in person) that wasn't the classic lotus pattern.  They're too cute and their blue/white and black/white combo is begging for some kind of Halloween treat, no?

Wandering around an antique mall in town one day, I found a mug that looked awfully familiar.  Hubby's Aunt and Uncle are both talented potters (you might remember these beautiful mugs his Aunt mailed us, on which will forever remain my happiest mail day).

For awhile his Uncle made these East Coast island mugs.  We had one already so imagine my surprise to see his very distinctive mug at an antique shop 2000+ km away from where he made and sold them!  Seriously, what ARE the odds that it ended up here, for me to find?  Of course I bought it!  I can't link to them because I'm fairly certain there are none in production anymore but here's a handmade turquoise pottery mug I love on Etsy, in case you're now needing a blue mug after seeing my pair (the struggle is real, I totally understand). 

These scores stretched out over four months so it's really not a lot, but I'm so happy with these finds because they're each special in their own way.  And looking back, I feel kinda lucky! 

Have you found any sweet treasures?  I'd love to know!  Or tag me on Instagram so I can come snoop - I just really enjoy seeing the neat things people find.     

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