I cannot believe I am coming up on owning my home for a year! Time flies, that is just so crazy to me!When I started thinking about owning a home and how I would decorate and live my life, I wanted to be intentional about what I purchased and where I put things because of the dogs. I will always have dogs in my life, and this is their house like it is mine, so I want to make sure my house is equipped for that.
To me that meant only buying things that I knew could handle the wear and tear of dogs. As much as those throw pillows with the tassels are ADORABLE, to my dogs, the tassels are just begging to be eaten, so why even buy it?
I have two rules/guidelines that I brought with me into owning a home:
#1 Buy Everything Washable
#2 Clean Lines = Easy Cleaning
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| Checked throw: Pottery Barn, Wooden Sign: Smallwood Home, Floor Lamp: Ikea, LOVE Pillow: Pottery Barn, Aztec Pillows: Ikea, Fiddle Leaf: Amazon, Rug: Ruggable, Dog Beds: Orvis) |
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| Lamps, vases, flowers, baskets, and pillow from Target |
#1 Buy Everything Washable.
Almost everything in my home can be washed. Even my living room rug (see my favorite items below!) My kitchen rugs, bathroom rugs, blankets, throws, pillow covers, dog beds,......almost everything can be thrown in the wash if needed (and it's ALWAYS needed)
#2 Clean Lines = Easy Cleaning
I want my house to be as easy to clean as humanly possible. To me, that meant keeping the clutter down. My mom will tell you that I hate "trinkets" and things lying around, so this wasn't a hard thing for me to do, but still when I want to buy a picture frame, or another succulent to sit around I remember this. The more I have, the more things will get dirty and need cleaning. I love being able to dust by just taking a rag and going down a straight line on my table and not having to first clear it of everything that was sitting on it, then dust the table, then dust all the individual things that were sitting on the table.
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| World Map: Pinterest, Rug & Chairs: Hobby Lobby |
Here are some of my favorite items from owning a home over the last year!
- Ruggable (as seen in the first picture): The machine washable rug. It's life changing. I wash it probably once a month. Still looks brand new and it feels SO good to wash all the dirt, dog hair and everything else that it collects!
- Magnetic Screen Door: This has changed everything. Especially with house training a puppy, being able to leave the door open so she can go when needed, while still keeping the flies out is life changing.
- Orvis Dog Beds: Well worth the investment, these are the best dog beds I have ever owned (and I've owned them all!) They have a water resistant liner, and are SO easy to cover and uncover for washing. I've owned them for years and they haven't once disappointed me. I bought one for Molly when her hips didn't allow her on my bed anymore, I was sad, she was not. She truly loves the memory foam.
- Mrs. Meyers Cleaners: I clean EVERYTHING with this. My favorite scent is Honeysuckle but their seasonal scents are the bomb too! It does a great job cleaning my grimy services and smells fantastic!
- Bissell Spot Cleaner: How could I have lived without my little spot cleaner. Guys, I have put this little booger to the test. 4 foster puppies and 4 adult dogs and this thing keeps up!
- Dog Friendly Weed Killer: I don't know about you, but my dogs eat my grass and weeds. So to kill them, I need something that won't kill my dogs, but will kill my weeds!! I searched and found that strong vinegar will do the trick. I buy it here, from Amazon. Normal cooking vinegar is not as strong as this stuff. I put it in a water bottle and spray all my weeds. Once the sun hits it, they are scorched!
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