i just want to remind folks...(staff and volunteer)..of a couple of simple housekeeping tips that makes everyone's life easier around here.

the rubber backed throw carpets are ONLY to be put down to help dogs who need some extra grip to get up. please do not put them down in front of doors..they look nice but someone will pee or poop on them within minutes so they are pointless and they are a freaking pain in the butt to wash.

and if the rubber backed throw rugs are going in the wash..please do not put them in the dryer...the heat wears off the rubber and then they are useless to give the dogs extra grip then i have to toss them out and go out and buy more.

the ONLY things that should be on the floors as soaker pee pads are FLAT sheets folded into fours for absorbency or thick towels...both work well and are easy to wash. for high volume pee areas..a couple of sheets can be folded and layered to make a thicker and more absorbent pad. fleeces and fleece blankets are absolutely DEADLY on the floor as pee pads...they do not absorb anything..the pee either sits on top or all goes thru to the floor...and wet puddles of urine and slippery fleece together on the floor will add up to another broken ankle for me if i slip when rushing around.

bleach buckets need to be emptied and rinsed out and refilled with hot water and bleach after each area is cleaned. buckets of poopy, muddy and urine filled water not only smell gross but are totally gross to wash a floor with too. once everyone is gone for the day...fresh clean buckets make my night time clean ups easier AND it helps keep the smell down which is nice for all of us (human and animal) that live here.

litter boxes should be dumped out and refilled with fresh litter every day (unless for some reason, no one used it overnight which never happens.) and they should NEVER have more than an inch or two of litter in the bottom..filling them half full does not make them any cleaner..it all still gets pooped and peed on..but twice as much gets peed on and then the next day it is a bugger to lift the now heavy and awkward litter pans and dump them out.

when moving beds and food and water bowls..please duoble check that they all went back where they were originally. everyone has their favorite eating and drinking spots, everyone has their favorite places to sleep and suddenly finding their beds or bowls have disappeared...totally messes them up.

and finally...use the the fleeces for the raised dog beds, they are warm and soft and they don't take up much space in the washer too. the dogs don't need big and thick and hard to wash things on their already raised off the floor beds. laundry is a huge issue around here and it is going to get worse when our water shortages start. we need to get into the habit of considering the appropriate uses for the linens we have so everything does its job well and doesn't take over the laundry room.
wouldn't it all be nicer for all of us to have less laundry to do?

and to anyone looking to give us stuff....we REALLY need more flat flannel sheets and big thick towels.