Ferrets are very cute...and fortunately they can't climb or jump very well, so you really only have to ferret-proof the bottom 3 feet of so of a room.
Example..not my ferret, but this is one of my favorite online videos showing their *wonderful* jumping ability:
But there is NO question about it...they POOP. They can't really be truly house-trained.
And they really should be allowed out of their cages for at least 6 hours a day. We used to let ours free roam in the basement, now they're out more like 8 hours these days. Apparently their digestive tracts are short, so they poop every 3 hours. Two ferrets. That's 16 goopy little piles every 24 hours.
They select certain corners, back up into them and produce. So newspapers in the corners they pick almost takes care of things. Almost. They tend to miss.
And ferrets smell. Not terribly offensive if you keep their area de-pooped, but they have their own special ferret body odor too. That's why they live in the basement.
BUT...they are cute. Insatiably curious. They follow around after you, always between your feet, with their little heads cranked up and beady little eyes staring at you. They look smarter than they are because of the way they look at you.