How to organize storage for pet items if you are blind 

Greetings, dear reader! Today, we’ll discuss household organization and optimizing the care of domestic pets. Many visually impaired people have guide dogs, cats, and other animals, leading to an accumulation of various items ranging from food to toys, grooming tools, and houses. As is well known, for cats, a shoe box can often be the best home, especially if it rustles at 4 AM.

Let’s start with the most important – documents. Often, we have various papers such as vaccination cards, veterinary passports, or pedigrees if your furry friend is of aristocratic descent. A reliable solution here would be folders. You can label them in Braille or use NFC tags. These microchips can be attached to items and programmed through a mobile device so that when scanned by a phone, a screen reader will read the tag’s name. You might label a tag as “cat Roxy” or “dog Bob” and that’s it. The main thing is to keep a separate folder for each pet. If your four-legged friend has any health issues and needs regular veterinary care, then maintain a separate folder for such documents.

Next, let’s discuss the storage of food and litter. One convenient method is to purchase large containers from which it is much easier to dispense than from bags. For instance, I buy food in 10-20 kilogram packs, and surely, many would agree that pouring food from such a huge bag is extremely inconvenient. I have a general container where the entire bag is dumped, and a small bucket from which I scoop the food. Then I measure out portions for all three cats using a standard measuring cup to avoid overfeeding them. A similar setup is used for litter, except for the measuring cup, based on my experience.

Animals can also be fashionable, having a variety of clothes. This is particularly relevant for dogs, so a logical step would be to store such items in the hallway. I recommend designating a separate shelf or box, or any convenient spot, where you can ensure you won’t lose all the walking gear. For hygiene products, I also suggest organizing a small box in the bathroom.

Now, let’s talk about the most challenging part – the toys. Our furry friends also want to have fun, and it’s not always enough to roll up a ball of paper that can later be thrown away. I recommend purchasing toys that can make noise. These can be balls, mice, and various jingles on strings that can be hung somewhere. For example, I have such an item hanging on a cabinet door and another in the kitchen. It’s always pleasant to have a little jump around after a hearty meal, catching something interesting. I strongly suggest trying to determine by sound where your pet has rolled any particular ball, and collecting all these in a separate container.

I must admit, this won’t save you from your robot vacuum (if you use one) often bringing you these very toys. But at least you will be able to greatly reduce the number of such incidents, or if the toy is larger, the robot will touch it, it will jingle, and you can quickly react and take it to storage.

I hope my advice will be helpful to owners of furry and not-so-furry friends, to create a comfortable space where no one will trip over randomly lying toys or lose important documents about their pets.