Dear AT,
I just moved into a loft apartment with my dog. Of course minimal storage and open floor plan, so I'm left with the problem of what to do with my dog's large bag o' dog food.
He's quite a big guy (50 lbs) so I need something quite large to hold at least several weeks of chow. Whatever I decide to use will have to be sitting out and visible, so I'm looking for some attractive storage options preferably something air tight or with a tight seal. Thoughs?
Thanks, Ellen
Good question for dog owners, of which we are not one. We would simply go to The Container Store and look at their slick selection of stainless steel trash cans that have plastic liners and closing tops. (Thanks, Ellen!) MGR
The container store also sells large plastic bins for this purpose (in a special pet section, no less.) They are not particularly attractive, but are generic-looking enough and are convenient to use. I have a row of them in my basement for lime, sand, sidewalk salt, etc.
I've tried to submit a suggestion, but I keep getting an "objectionable content" error. Apparently it's not cool enough.
Apparently my URL was the objectionable part. Bummer!
Anyway, Orvis has a bunch of options.
We have the similar problem of minimal storage and lots of dog food (our two boys are about 80 lbs each). After trying a lot of different things we recently started using a decent looking antique wooden box with a hinged lid and a lock. We didn't want something huge. We also didn't want something that looked like a trash can since we already had one about ten feet away. The box we found was just big enough to hold the 40 lb bag of dog food. We simply drop it in. We have to cut a few inches off the top of the bag, but we found this to be easier than pouring the big bags into something else. Cleaning is also easier.
glad to know other people have this problem! just moved to a place with virtually no storage, and my dog managed to get into what was supposedly an airtight plastic bin and eat the remnants of her dry food, along with the cat's dry food. at this point their new bags of food are temporarily in my car's trunk. . .until i find a good-looking container.
p.s. here in california, a 50-pound dog (like mine) is called small!
Postmodern Pets also has cool pet stuff, (like the Wetnoz Pup and Pooch bowl and scoop combo, which I love) but no big bins.
But at Ikea, the Fibbe bin is pretty cool and you can mount it to the wall. And it is cheap, which is why we love Ikea.
christy
Postmodern pets dot com, by the way.
Target has some natural wood toy box/bench things that would provide a place to sit as well as a way to hide the dog food bag.
For something with more patina, you could try to find a large old ceramic pickling container or crock. Yesterday, I was reminded of this at a natural food coop when I saw that they stored their bulk grains and legumes in these containers. I seem to remember seeing this idea in a Martha Stewart Living Good things for Organizing book too. I believe the "good thing" in the book was to have a roofer make a flat metal lid for the crock.
Hi! We have 2 cats and a dog and keep all of their food in the original bags inside a wicker hamper with a hinged lid. It is one of those that is made to fit into a corner so it works well and holds a ton of stuff.
My new favorite can hang on the wall! the "Wall-tainer" by Gamma plastics (Vittles Vaults). HIGHLY recommended - 25 and 40lbs