Ahh, Pets. Who Can Relate?
They’re fluffy, cuddly, and man’s best friend. But! *Cue the scary music* They are masters at distracting you, tripping you, and getting their cute little furry bodies on EVERYTHING! Working from home with pets can be seriously stressful at times.
I couldn’t imagine my life without them, but it really is a hassle sometimes working around all the chaos. Truly though, let me give another shout out to the moms and dads working from home on a regular basis. I definitely feel like this is training me for when I have kids!
Quick Background!
So, I currently have 4 furry friends in my work from home space. This includes 2 dogs and 2 cats, (we also have some fish! Can’t forget those guys, they keep the cats quite entertained).
Let me introduce them real quick so you can understand who I’m talking about here.
Dixie and Dozer are my lab mixes, who range from 40-70lbs, and are ages 6 and 8. They are short haired, but since one is dark and one is light, I can’t really escape their fur with any color I choose to wear. It’s an all out lint rolling war.
Can you relate? If so, let me hear about your furry canines and friends below! Who doesn’t love a good pet story?!
I also have 2 cats as I mentioned, whose names are Bandit and Jinx. They, too, are both light and dark in color, making choosing couch colors or clothes colors a real challenge. I even used this thought to determine which color seat cushion I should choose when I invested in a new office chair. If you’re interested in knowing what that is, I highly, highly recommend it!
The chair I had decided to go with was The “Bowery Management Chair“ in a white and black colorway. It is extremely comfortable, and adjustable in multiple different ways to make your desk work a breeze.
*Disclosure: I am not affiliated with this company, but their chair is highly suggested as an investment when you are ready. Save your back and your bottom and work more comfortably!
How To Work From Home With Pets
Now, we all know having pets is a real treat sometimes. They can definitely make life bubbly and easier, but let me tell you about the things that I’m sure most of you can relate to as well!
- Fur, EVERYWHERE.
- Trouble choosing clothes colors/couch colors etc.
- Tripping over them when they want to hang out, ALL THE TIME.
- Getting my toes stepped on while they try to get AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE.
- Needing treats, ALL THE TIME. (Especially when the mailman is here).
- Barking at every tiny movement outside.
- Running to tell me about the tiny movements outside whilst knocking me over.
- Spinning me around in circles on my swivel chair to get attention when I’m trying to work. (Yes, one on each side. They’ve mastered this).
- Needing to go outside to go to the bathroom.
- Needing to go outside AGAIN in 5 minutes because we forgot to go to the bathroom because, squirrel brain. And chipmunks.
- Squishing themselves into every single box, no matter the size.
- Finding them in the oddest spaces and scaring me.
- Trying to sit on every single thing on my desk. Or knock it over.
As you can see from the list above, this makes working a serious challenge at times. Can you guess which ones are the cats and which were the dogs?
Find A REALLY GOOD Lint Roller
And make lint rolling a system, a habit, second nature. I have one in literally every room of my home these days. I prefer this pack the best, but feel free to browse through the different options below that may work best for you!
- KEEOU Lint Rollers for Pet Hair (My personal preference!)
- Metkix Lint Rollers for Pet Hair Remover, (Extra Sticky Mega Value Set)
- Lilly Brush Mini Pet Hair Remover (Especially great for long-haired pets!)
- Flint Retractable Lint Roller (Retractable, Good for on-the-go, and comes in Rose Gold!)
Get A Good Vacuum, And Sweep Your Work Space Often!
We just recently invested in a new Shark vacuum, and it’s really something. Compared to the previous two Dysons, (yes, two!), this one has to take the cake.
In my opinion, it’s lighter, moves easier, and vacuums BETTER! It also has a lot of parts that you can remove, that make it easier to get certain areas. I like to vacuum every day if possible, and keep as much stuff off the floor in my office as I can. This allows for easier sweeping and less dust to collect on things on the ground. (Which can make for a lot if you’re constantly trucking in loads of inventory to and from your space).
Don’t even bother with a regular old broom. Of course you need these for specific sorts of messes, but this Shark really does the job when it comes to pet hair.
Keep Your Pets Out Of Your Workspace (If Possible)
Of course this may not always be possible to achieve, they are sneaky, aren’t they? For example, my work desk is currently in our living room, as my inventory has taken over my actual office spaces.
This means they can always get to me, (which was awesome in the beginning!) I was so thrilled to be able to spend up close and personal time with them while working, but now, it does interfere at times, for example when I have phone calls or Zoom calls, and need to be present and listening fully.
- Pro Tip: I like to keep a bag of treats nearby the places I work around most, so that I’m always prepared to bribe them to calm down if need be! It doesn’t always work, but they’re much more tempted when I offer those up.
Would I Recommend Having No Pets If You Work From Home?
Absolutely not! Pets bring so much joy to our lives, and keep us from being too lonely as resellers, or whatever you work from home as.
Yes, sometimes they can most certainly be a pain to work around, but most often, I remember how grateful I am to be able to spend so much time with them.
Part of the reason I wanted to start working from home to begin with, was not only so that I could spend more time in the home space that I love and remodeled to fit my interests, but also to spend that time enjoying my pets, my husband, and someday our children.
It can be a bit hectic at times, but I love them very much and do my best to make my business work with them being up in it all the time!
Do you agree? Do you think pets should be kept separate if you work from home?
Let’s talk about it in the comment section below!
P.S. But What About Allergies?
This is one topic that we definitely can’t forget about. Allergies are a big deal and are something you should definitely keep in mind when working from home. If you simply work from home and they’re in your space…and you’re not allergic, well then that’s great!
However, for us resellers out there, we have to ship items to customers. (That potentially may be allergic to cats/dogs/etc.).
This is something to be mindful of, so that we aren’t affecting our customers in a negative way. I do what I can to prevent any problems that may arise, and *knock on wood,* so far, so good.
How To Prevent Pet Problems In Your Business
Out of the thousands of items sold in my stores, I’ve only had 1 single person reach out to me via a pet problem. I wouldn’t even really consider it a “problem” to be honest. They simply messaged me before purchasing the item, and mentioned that they noticed I had listed in the description that my work space is “pet friendly.”
She simply asked if I could please re-wash the item, and package it securely to be sure that no animal fur was in the polybag. (I do this already, but was more mindful as this person was highly allergic to cats). I thought it was very kind of her to reach out and note this, so that I could take extra care in packaging. (Kind of like restaurants do with patrons that may have allergies to certain foods).
When the package arrived, she was very happy and had a great experience. Be prepared, practice excellent customer service, and this won’t be an issue for you, either!
Make sure to always include in your descriptions of your listings, that you have pets, or if you smoke, as this clarifies to the buyer that you are an honest, and caring seller.
Here is what I list in my descriptions, along with some other short things that are added.
- Smoke free, Pet friendly.
I’m hopeful that you found some enjoyment from this different post today! I enjoyed writing it for you. If you keep these tips in mind while listing, packaging, and working with your items as a reseller, you, too, should have no pet problems in your business! Take care and ta-ta for meow!
Thank You!
A giant thanks to everyone that has supported me this far into my journey! I greatly appreciate you returning to read my posts hope that you will continue to drop by in the future.
Please feel free to drop any comments below that you would like to add! I am always open to advice, suggestions, or even hearing related stories of your own!
I stay as active as possible in the comment section, therefore I will reply to any questions asap.
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-Shelby
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