brbmomo Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Oh, puppies. So cute. So much work. So destructive.
If you aren’t already, I might suggest getting him comfortable in a crate for short periods of time at first so you can get some stuff done without him underfoot.
Also possibly useful: meal plan. Try to have at least a rough idea what you want to eat for the week, and when you do have a spare few minutes, prep what you can. See if you can find 20 minutes a day where the puppy doesn’t need your constant attention (and hell, if he does, leash him to you so he can’t get into too much trouble), and tackle whatever the worst area is.
And keep in mind that puppies aren’t puppies for that long. He’ll chill out, he’ll get over the stomach bug, and when he settles down a little, so will your life.
Good luck!
One reason I love UFYH is that it’s explicitly intended to be accessible by people with different physical and mental health capabilities (THANK YOU FOR THAT, SO MANY TIMES OVER!), and while my house is by no means entirely unfucked, due to a nightmare move + major health issues this year, I have found a few ways to do household chores that had become more and more difficult as time went on/various injuries accumulated.
(I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective-tissue disorder, and the TL;DR version of what that means is that I get hurt easily, I heal slowly, my joints and spine are hypermobile, and I have a growing collection of permanent soft-tissue injuries, along with the bonus super-fun double-punch of trigeminal neuralgia and chronic migraines, common in EDSers. You could think of me as someone with a bad back, bad knees, bad shoulder — you get the idea.)
I’ve recently found a couple of tricks that are really helping me maintain, even when my back is fucked or when I’m having trouble getting up/down off the ground. The three tasks that I identified as most difficult AND most likely to cause injury (in this case, they had a high likelihood of throwing my back out) were scooping the catboxes, loading and unloading the dishwasher, and loading and unloading the (floor-level, front-loading) washer and dryer. All of these required either sitting on the floor or bending way over and reaching forward, and they were hurting me all too often.
I bought an appropriately-sized Ikea tabletop from the options here(59”x29.5”, for my space, and I chose the “Vika Amon” style):
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/workspaces/11844/
I then bought the *adjustable* (this part is crucial!) Vika Kaj style legs, which have a minimum height of about 2 feet off the ground.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60105301/
And then I bought a Torbjörn adjustable office chair (I wouldn’t use this to sit in for long, but that’s not what it’s for — it’s crucially light, easy to move, has swiveling wheels, and *it adjusts down to about two feet off the ground.)
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50224757/
You may see where I’m going with this — the litterboxes went up on the assembled table (with a temporary intermediate step in between for my elderly chubby cat who doesn’t like to jump — will be looking for a more permanent cat-stairs arrangement in future), I can wheel the chair up to the table, level with the litterboxes, and scoop away to my heart’s content. (Okay — to the CATS’ hearts’ content, to be fair.)
The “scooty-chair,” as I have so dubbed it, is also immensely helpful in loading/unloading the dishwasher, and it even fits into my closet-sized laundry room in order to let me load and unload the washer without wrecking myself.
I’m really pleased, because it means that I have to rely on my (non-live-in) partner for fewer things, and it also means that I feel more independent and can unfuck these portions of my house without worrying that half the time I’ll wind up hurting myself in the process! :D
BTW, I can usually be found at http://ashbet.tumblr.com/ :)
Excellent ideas! Thanks for passing them along!
scatteringashes asked you:
I have a two part question. We recently got new chairs and a table. The chairs are at least pretending to be leather, and my cat has claws. He has a whole dedicated covered-in-carpet cat thing to deal with his claws, but I’ve recently caught him taking scratches at our new chairs. Part I: Does anyone know how to talk a cat into not scratching a chair? Part II: Is there anything I can do to make remove the claw marks from the chairs? They’re only a small, few now, but I hate them. A lot. Thanks!
A leather conditioner or polish should help blend the scratches back into the material. As for keeping the cat away from the chair, the old pennies-in-the-can trick is a classic, as is a spray bottle of water (although I don’t know if that’s still a valid training tool).
Cat people, I know you have opinions about this. Have at it.
I didn’t get as much done as I had anticipated (that’s usually how it happens anyways), but the silence while the kids were at school and Hubby was at work was amazing.
I got all of the dishes done, and instead of finishing the laundry I cleaned the bathroom instead. I cleaned off the shelf unit and decided to keep it. I started decorating it which helped de-clutter other areas of the living room.
- Sequester cats somewhere where you won’t be tempted to make snacks out of them.
- Open the windows. Turn on a fan if you have one.
- Glove up. If you don’t have rubber gloves, improvise with some plastic bags.
- Remove the solid waste into a specially designated trash bag, which you then take immediately out of the house.
- If it’s your bedding that was defiled, throw that in the washer with up to a cup of vinegar, along with the detergent. Make sure any stains are gone before you dry it; if not, re-treat the stain and wash again.
- If the mess was directly on the mattress, spray the area with an enzymatic cleaner (like Nature’s Miracle or Simple Solution) and BLOT (not rub) the spot. If you don’t have an enzymatic cleaner, a 50/50 mix of vinegar and water should do it. Continue blotting up as much moisture and mess as you can, then repeat if the stain or smell lingers. Ironically, sprinkling some kitty litter on the wet spot will help get the moisture up faster.
Good luck.
Paging monasequeda and any other guinea pig owners! Advice?
nina-in-technicolor Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Back away from the canines with the vinegar. And the Suave, too, preferably. Human shampoo can cause irritation on your dogs’ skin. I’d pick up some dog shampoo; they even make kinds specifically for stink control, and keep in mind that bathing the pups too often isn’t good for their skin or coats.
wordsofaweirdo Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Cat pee advice!
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
You can certainly try an enzymatic cleanser like Nature’s Miracle, but if the pee has soaked into the wood, it might never really be gone. Refinishing the furniture might help, but the emphasis is on might. If it’s a waterproof or water-resistant finish, your chances of salvaging the piece are much better.
Cat people, I’m opening this one up to you! My suggestion would be to use a different kind of litter, but I have dogs and they go outside and what the hell do I know?
So, Team Cat Pee, have at it! Suggestions?
poehlersdimples Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
For pet-related funk, I always recommend Nature’s Miracle. I’ve used it on sealed hardwoods with no problem, but patch test first, just in case. If it seems OK, you can actually just mop with it. Vinegar will work, too. Just don’t use any ammonia-based cleaners, like Lysol. For overall funk, like the kind that lingers in the air, put a pot of water on to boil, and put in a generous pour of vinegar, and a few slices of citrus, if you have any.
And ventilation is always key. Windows open, fans if you can. Get the air moving.
jessikast Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
A lint roller or a rubber glove (like the yellow ones you might use for doing dishes) will help get up loose hair. Also consider more frequent brushing; your cat will lose less hair on the bedding.
ididthatonce Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Even though you don’t have carpet, vacuum EVERYTHING. Furniture, floors, baseboards, tiny cracks and crevices, everything. Anything washable goes in the washer and dryer with the highest heat possible. And make sure you let the owner know, so they can treat the dog. Fleas are no fun for the pooch, either.
ETA: I totally forgot to mention the “throw out the vacuum bag or thoroughly sanitize the canister” step. That’s important.
stuft replied to your post: Okay, so. Two dogs, chihuahua and papillion. Both rescues. Both have potty issues. Now the carpet is one giant wall-to-wall potty issue. We live in an apartment—“tear up the carpet” is not an option. Stuff like Spot Shot and Nature’s Miracle hasn’t worked. HELP!!!
and try pee pads to prevent further nastiness.
Pee pads can be tricky because if you get your dog used to going on something that’s soft under their paws and absorbent, well, you see the problem if you have carpeting.
nina-in-technicolor Asks:
unfuckyourhabitat Said:
Once it gets to a certain point, the carpet may be beyond saving. If the urine has soaked through the carpet to the padding and the subflooring, no surface clean is going to help. Something like Nature’s Miracle has to absolutely saturate the spot and then be allowed to air dry. It does work, but it’s not as easy as spraying the spot and blotting it up. I’d say give it another try with the enzyme cleaner, this time really soaking the carpet, and be prepared to surrender your security deposit.
And consider gating the dogs in areas without carpeting when your not around to supervise, or look into crating. It took a while for my rescue chihuahua to be OK with crating, but we’ve had zero accidents since. (This was years ago.)
