Mediating the mess

[Hobgoblin]

So this might be a foolish question but here it goes… How do you experienced owners keep the house clean?
We have a 7 month old conure who loves to play in and outside of his cage. We have a relatively small open concept house which means he does all of his living where we do too.
I’m not foolish enough to expect no mess but any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated!

 

[April]

I put towels down around Tobias's cage to catch as much as I can of his food bits and wood chips ect I shake those out every night and vaccum every night/every other night depending how much of a mess is there. Somedays I walk into a war zone with stuff thrown every where other days its a few wood chips and a chunk of nutriberry on the cage bottom and thats all. I wipe down his cage bars every night and do a deeper clean of his cage every sunday and a full on deep clean/scrub/changing the cage around ie swapping toys at the end of the month.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I put towels down around Tobias's cage to catch as much as I can of his food bits and wood chips ect I shake those out every night and vaccum every night/every other night depending how much of a mess is there. Somedays I walk into a war zone with stuff thrown every where other days its a few wood chips and a chunk of nutriberry on the cage bottom and thats all. I wipe down his cage bars every night and do a deeper clean of his cage every sunday and a full on deep clean/scrub/changing the cage around ie swapping toys at the end of the month.

Great advice! I got two of the plastic mats made for office chairs and placed those under his cage just so he couldn’t damage the floors too much, but towels sound nice and easy to shake out outside.

 

[April]

Great advice! I got two of the plastic mats made for office chairs and placed those under his cage just so he couldn’t damage the floors too much, but towels sound nice and easy to shake out outside.

I used to do that and it did help some but I found that a lot of the mess would just bounce off of it and onto the carpet anyway,lol. But the stuff that hits the towel tends to stay on it and not get onto the carpet which is a huge help.

 

[Momof3litt]

I am not that experienced, my conure is only 4 months old, but we also have a smaller, open concept house with all 3 birds (also 2 budgies) in the living room. The best thing I've done is buy one of those very small and light vacuum cleaners and I use it daily. We have hardwood floors, so sweeping is frustrating since the teeny feathers just fly everywhere. The vacuum does a much better and quicker job. We also have a couple of play trees around the house and I usually put newspaper underneath, but I really don't like how messy it looks. Solid white paper on a roll looks neater and can be cut to size. I recently got a couple of dollar store clear shower curtains and plan to use them on the floor, then I can just vacuum/rinse them down. I've also used a small picnic mat on the more waterproof side (also from the dollar store over the summer). I like that it is a dark colour, so blends better into the floor and that I can just throw it into the wash.

 

[Sparkles99]

I second the handheld, cordless vacuum idea. Since getting one, my life has been so much easier. I have the Hoover One Power & two batteries, so as to never be without. The second battery is a must.

In fact, it’s so much easier than sweeping that I use it for my rabbits too now. Bye-bye, wafting rabbit fur & tiny feathers! You can’t escape the Hoover.

If my birds ever venture out, I’ll have to get a steam cleaner. Someone on here has one. Looks great! I consider it unhealthy to have dried droppings everywhere. You could also go the wood/ tile route & mop a lot. But there’s too much evidence showing that dried droppings make you prone to breathing problems, plus whatever else your bird might have.

 

[Peachfaced]

I buy huge rolls of plain butcher paper from Sam's Club. It's around $25, I think. I put sheets of that down around the "hot spots", and just roll them up and discard them when they get yucky.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I second the handheld, cordless vacuum idea. Since getting one, my life has been so much easier. I have the Hoover One Power & two batteries, so as to never be without. The second battery is a must.

In fact, it’s so much easier than sweeping that I use it for my rabbits too now. Bye-bye, wafting rabbit fur & tiny feathers! You can’t escape the Hoover.

If my birds ever venture out, I’ll have to get a steam cleaner. Someone on here has one. Looks great! I consider it unhealthy to have dried droppings everywhere. You could also go the wood/ tile route & mop a lot. But there’s too much evidence showing that dried droppings make you prone to breathing problems, plus whatever else your bird might have.

We actually purchased an iroomba a month ago that empties itself into a bin. This has made a huge difference as it goes around twice a day and is slim enough to even go under his cage. My boyfriend has terrible allergies so we have had a steam mop for a while now and are quite happy with it. The couch has taken rather a hit but I’m looking into slipcovers or one of those little pet spot vacuums. I agree with you poo everywhere is not what I’m looking for in life.

 

[Hobgoblin]

I buy huge rolls of plain butcher paper from Sam's Club. It's around $25, I think. I put sheets of that down around the "hot spots", and just roll them up and discard them when they get yucky.

That’s genius! Much nicer looking than circular adds out of the mailbox too.