By Angie Hicks
Ask Angi
Bringing home a new pet is an exciting time, but it also requires some careful preparation. If you’re planning on getting a new pet soon, here are my top tips for keeping both your pet and your home safe.
Before you bring your new pet home, clear your living space of any dangerous materials. Make sure all soaps, detergents, cords, medications, and toxic plants or foods are out of reach. I recommend getting down to their level (if you can) and looking at your home from their perspective to make sure you don’t miss anything important. Depending on the pet, it may also be a good idea to move breakable objects to a cabinet or other storage area.
Once the inside of your home is taken care of, you can move on to your outdoor space. If your pet will spend any time outdoors, make sure there are no sharp, dangerous, or poisonous materials outside your home. This is also a good time to make a plan on how you’ll cover any water features, such as pools, ponds, and hot tubs. If you have a fence, check to make sure it’s secure and doesn’t have any gaps that require your attention.
There are also some bigger home projects that can make pet ownership a lot easier. For example, installing a doggy door (and a fence, if you don’t already have one) can give your dog more freedom and make your life easier in the long run.
I also recommend setting up some storage solutions for your pet supplies. Pets come with a lot of stuff, such as food, leashes, litter, and toys, so it’s really important to have a plan in place to stay as organized as possible. Try to dedicate a linen closet to pet supplies if you can, or create a designated area in your kitchen, closet, or bathroom. You should also make sure all pet food is in a well-sealed container to protect against pests and rodents.
While pets add a lot of joy to our lives, they tend to add some mess as well. If you have a dog, you may want to add some durable mats outside all of your exterior doors to catch any post-walk mud. If you have a cat, adding litter-catching mats outside of the litter boxes may be a good idea. I also recommend investing in a robot vacuum cleaner (or even better, a professional cleaning service) to clean the floors on a regular basis.
Tweet your home care questions with #AskingAngi and we’ll try to answer them in a future column. Copyright 2026 Ask Angi. Visit at angi.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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