11 Cool Uses For Puppy Pads

puppy - morguefileMaybe it’s my writer’s brain that causes me to look at some things differently than most people would. I know it’s that tendency that forces me to be diligent about not letting some things clutter up my house – like baby food jars. If you ask me, they would be perfect for things like homemade taco seasoning or coconut oil/sea salt scrub to give as gifts. And don’t even get me started on all the things I could use the super cute glass jars cherry pie filling comes in for. Then, as the title says, we have puppy pads.

***Warning – affiliate links coming up (explanation at end of post)***

That’s likely why, since bringing Jack – who seems to have the most impatient bladder in the world –  into our home, I’ve found a number of uses for puppy pads. I mean seriously, whoever invented those things was a genius.  In my opinion, they’re the next best thing since hand sanitizer – and anyone who knows me well knows how much I love that stuff.

At roughly 0.17 cents apiece, they save on laundry costs, cleaning supplies, and valuable time.

So, cutting to the chase, what do I use them for?

  1. Doggy accidents, of course. At eight years old now, Jack’s bladder hasn’t changed at all.
  2. They’re also great for lining refrigerator shelves and drawers. Seriously. Something leaks or spills? If you use a puppy pad, you just toss it and replace it with a fresh one. The plastic underside protects your shelves, while the absorbent side makes sure the mess doesn’t spread.
  3. Need a bath mat in a pinch? As in yours is in the wash, your little darling, who was supposed to be playing in the sandbox, was making mud pies instead. A puppy pad will contain the water from dripping children (and adults) after baths.
  4. Muddy shoes (or worse). That’s just self-explanatory. Spread a puppy pad by the door for the filthy footwear.
  5. Disposable baby changing pads—since most public rest rooms don’t have anything available to line the icky plastic surfaces with. I’m sorry but the thought of stuffing reusable changing pads back in a diaper bag makes me cringe. Use one of the pads you keep stashed in a pocket to protect your little one from germs – and throw it away when you’re finished. They work well when visiting friends and relatives too. Bonus? Wrapping a particularly nasty diaper snugly in the pad helps contain gag-worthy odors.
  6. Wipe up big spills.
  7. Dish draining. Yup. I either need to use a clean towel every day—or a puppy pad. I choose to use the puppy pad. It’s clean and sanitary so I don’t need to keep adding to the never ending loads of towels.
  8. They’re wonderful for setting pans, crock pots, and bowls of food on when transporting them to pot lucks and picnics. If something slops over when you hit the brakes or a bump, it won’t soak into your carpet or upholstery.
  9. A better than nothing shopping cart seat cover for your baby. Not every store offers antibacterial wipes but at least you can keep your baby off the seat area with a puppy pad. Check out this Snopes article for all of the reasons you want to separate small children from cart surfaces.
  10. To set litter boxes on. Saves a lot of cleanup from litter tossed out onto the floor by your cat. They look nicer than newspapers too.
  11. Counter cover when packaging meat. I’ve had food poisoning twice and since I’m not a lover of bleach, I want my counter protected from meat germs.
  12.  Bonus use for puppy pads. I keep a small stack in a cubby in the back of my van to use for anything from covering a dirty picnic table bench at the park to cleaning the yucky toilet seat at that same park (along with the above mentioned hand sanitizer).

So there you go. I’m sure I haven’t even scratched the surface for all of the uses for puppy pads, but these are enough to get you started. And not that I need more reasons to love these things, but I do, so if you can think of any, let me know in the comments section below.

And now for the promised explanation. If bloggers use affiliate links for companies like iTunes and Amazon, they can make a small commission if readers click on those links and make a purchase. They can even click on it and buy something else if they want, but I don’t particularly understand that yet.

So, if over the course of one month, six people clicked on the link for puppy pads, Amazon would pay me $4.80 (4.0% commission). If 3,131 people (lololol!) clicked on it during that same month, I’d earn $5,320.00 (if my math is correct – at 8.5%). Apparently, there’s a way to earn up to 15%, but I haven’t figured that out either.

Anyway, it works for all of the book links on my website too (meaning I could earn an extra 0.04 to 0.12 cents per book for anyone clicking on my purchase links for Amazon – and iTunes, once I’m approved).

All that said, I’m probably going to be doing a post or two every month with affiliate links and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says that I have to warn readers – or risk getting in trouble. And believe me, I can get into enough trouble without adding something like that to it. 🙂

I will be adding this to my ‘Terms of Use” page (link at bottom of this page), but will only use something like I did above – ***Warning – affiliate links coming up*** in future posts.

Photo credit: Morguefile.com

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5 Responses to 11 Cool Uses For Puppy Pads

  1. karenmcfarland says:

    Fabulous idea Kristy! You’re puppy, who is now eight, looks like a Cocker Spaniel. My Cocker had a nervous bladder when a puppy, but grew out of it. I’m surprised that yours has not. Thank God for Puppy Pads!

    And congrats to you for becoming an affiliate. I have pondered over the same thing. Why not make some money with your blog if you can. (Besides your books of course.) We all have bills to pay. They don’t seem to stop coming. So just know this does not offend me. Good for you girl! 🙂

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Oh no. The dog in the post isn’t mine. I got it from Morguefile. Jack is a pit mix – with the bladder of a 6 week old puppy. :/

      I’ve actually been an affiliate for a couple of years, probably longer. I just never used links because I don’t like the way the notifications look in a post. But, like you say, those darned bills keep rolling in – especially the marketing ones, lol.:D

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Oops. I meant to say that you might as well try it. Just make sure you let readers know because the FTC isn’t anyone we want to tick off. 😀 😀 😀

  2. I had no idea puppy pads could be used for all those things. I love the refrigerator idea and the one about the muddy shoes. Great ideas! Do you think the goodnight bedtime disposable sheets (for kids having accidents at night) would work as well, or are puppy pads thinner and easier to use?

    • Kristy K. James says:

      Hmm. I didn’t even know they made disposable sheets. These are kind of like the blue pads nurses put under you after you have a baby, only smaller. And they’re very thin. You just unfold them and there you go.

      The fridge thing is probably my favorite out of all of the ideas too. 😀

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