Preparing Your Home For The Holidays

Everyone wants a nice clean and odor free home for the holidays.  Clear the Air would like to share some helpful holiday ready home tips with our fans.

Remember to take advantage of our Odor Eliminator products to get your home smelling it’s best!

To get your home ready for entertaining, some simple tweaks to your furniture arrangement and home furnishings can do wonders. It takes just a little to make your space more guest-friendly and attractive. Some tips you might want to consider for a holiday or dinner party:

Make Room: Open up your floor space by arranging furniture to allow guests to move around freely. Remove furniture pieces you will not be needing to a temporary holding place. This might even be a good time to consider whether you need these at all.

Introduce Order: Take a look around to make sure that your room looks comfortable and does not present a haphazard look, no matter how casual you want it to be. Mixing too many sizes, scales, colors or textures can make a space seem confusing and even uninviting.

Formal vs. Informal: Decide beforehand whether you want a formal or informal look. For a more formal arrangement you need more symmetry in how you arrange your furniture and accessories. Go with more muted or deeper colors, and stick to just very few. For a more casual look, you can go for more of an informal balance or asymmetry. You can be more playful with your colors and textures and themes.

Express a Theme: Having a theme helps you unify your decor, and could add to a more festive atmosphere. Continue your party’s theme from room to room to give an uninterrupted flow to the ambiance.

Nature: Bring nature indoors with arrangements of leaves, branches, twigs, or other natural elements that emphasize the season or your theme.

Take Advantage of your Walls: Hang artwork or mirrors to dress up your walls. Wall hangings or artwork that go with the season or occasion can continue the theme of your party, and make your space more festive. For holiday entertaining, strings of lights, ornaments, and removable wall decals can be also be used.

Lighting: Lighting is crucial in setting up the ambiance of a room. Make sure you use it to create the effect you want. Multi-layered lighting lets you adjust the amount of light you need at different points in your evening. Candles can add tremendously to your decor, and your fireplace is also a source of light.

Focus: Have a focal point in the room to anchor the space, and decorate around your favorite item or feature giving it the place of honor.

No Crowding: Remember to have enough room at the table without crowding your guests. Either use a table with leaves or set up another table. You can extend the one you have by adding another table instead of crowding people around it. If none of these options are available, consider doing away with a sit down dinner or have fewer guests.

Personalize It: Above all, don’t hesitate to give your space your own personal touch. Everything does not have to match, and unusual furnishings will make your place more interesting, and personal. Just remember to arrange it in a way that makes sense instead of chaos. In the end, do what feels right to you, because it is your home.

Keep Your Cat Happy With These Tips

Since Clear the Air has dedicated May to “Cat Month”, we would like to share some easy helpful tips to make sure your indoor cat has all she needs.

It doesn’t take much to make your furry feline a happy camper but it is important to make sure you are providing her with all she needs to make her, and you, happy!

Remember our Cat Urine Odor Eliminator is now available at PETCO.  Also, send in your Cutest Cat Photo to win 2 FREE CANISTERS of our Odor Eliminator.  You can email them to YourCommunityPathway@gmail.com or you can post them on Facebook.  In order to make your cat’s home an enjoyable and comfortable one, make sure you have the following:

Personal Space – Like all cat lovers know, cats are very independent animals. They enjoy hiding under, on top, and/or inside of many locations in the home. They are very curious creatures. A great way to give your cat the space it needs is by getting him or her a perch. A perch will allow them to elevate themselves from the ground level and observe from above. They will feel safe and secure while enjoying their surroundings. Perches are available in a variety of shapes and sizes, and you can even attach them to a windowsill so your cat can get a better view of the outside.

A Bed – Cats are most vulnerable when they are sleeping, so it’s important to provide them with a quiet and secure resting place. For those who prefer that their cat stay off beds and other furniture, providing your cat with a comfortable resting place in a quiet part of the house is the best alternative. This area, however, must be in a place where necessities like food, water, and litter box, are still accessible. Cat beds can be purchased, or a snug blanket or towel will work just fine. Remember, just like you, cats don’t like being disturbed while they sleep.

Scratching/Climbing Post – Cats scratch as a way to stretch their muscles, shed old cuticle, sharpen their claws, and leave scent marks. Providing your cat with something to scratch will not only keep them happy, but it will save your furniture. When figuring out where to place a scratching post it’s important to keep in mind where your cat typically likes to scratch. You can place the post near this area in order to keep your cat from scratching that particular object. Keep the scratching post in close proximity to daily necessities and try not to move the post. If you do move it, try to move it as gradually as possible. Lastly, trim the sharp tips of your cat’s nails or purchase nail caps to reduce damage from scratching.

Litter Box – Cats use elimination as a way to mark their territory. So, in order to keep them from eliminating all over your house, it’s important to provide them an attractive litter box. First, cats appreciate a clean litter box. So, if you do not regularly clean out their litter box, they will most likely find a cleaner spot which may end up being somewhere in your house. Second, cats prefer a large uncovered litter box. This gives them a large space to move around and stand up straight. Third, most cats prefer fine-grained, unscented litter. Most cats are turned off by a scented litter. Lastly, the litter box should be placed in a quiet, secure and accessible place. This ensures the cat privacy, and eliminates other animals or people sneaking up on it. The “golden rule” is one litter box per cat, plus one. So for those with multiple cats, and/or multiple levels in your house, it is important to have multiple boxes on each level. Remember to also always add Clear the Air Cat Odor Eliminator to the litter box to reduce odors.

Toys – Although indoor cats don’t have to hunt for their food, they still have the urge to pounce. Toys are extremely important to the health and happiness of your cat. Something as simple as a ball to roll around or a stick with a string and a toy attached can amuse an indoor cat for hours. Taking a more realistic approach, you can give your cat a fake mouse that moves or makes noise.

It isn’t difficult to keep you indoor cat healthy and happy. All it takes is providing your cat with privacy, a comfortable place to sleep, something to scratch, an appropriate litter box, and most importantly, toys! Keeping your cat happy and healthy will not only increase their happiness, but yours as well.