How To Make Your Home Safer For Your Pets

• Flea Control – Summer is over, but that doesn’t mean you need to stop controlling fleas on your pets and in your house. Flea protection should be used all year long. The cooler weather will allow you to control the fleas easier. Your veterinarian can help you with a flea prevention plan that is best for your pet to use all year long.
• Put Away School Supplies – Back to school items, such as glue and glue sticks, can be dangerous for your pet if large amounts are ingested. Keep those pencils, pens, markers and other school essentials away from your pets. Pencils and pens can cause blockages if they are swallowed by your pet.
• Remove Wild Mushrooms – Fall is the perfect time for wild mushrooms to grow. Most are not toxic, but the poisonous mushrooms can be fatal to your pet. If you think your pet has eaten wild mushroom, call your veterinarian immediately. Symptoms can range from gastrointestinal problems to hallucinations.
• Avoid Rodenticides – During the colder months, rodents look for warmer places to shelter. Rodenticides can be toxic to pets and cause bleeding disorders.  Consider using alternative ways to get rid of rodents around your house. Also bee cautious letting your pets roam around your neighbor’s yard if they have used rodenticides to control their rodent problems.
• Protect Heat Sources – Pets can be burned by portable heaters and fireplaces. Fireplaces should have screens in place to protect your pets from being severely burned. Don’t leave pets unattended around portable heaters when they are being used.

St. Patrick’s Day Safety For Your Pets

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to everyone!

How are you celebrating this holiday? Are you wearing green? We hope so!

This is a fun holiday filled with lots of food and drink but it is important to make sure your pets stay safe during all the festivities. Take a moment to read the following St. Patrick’s Day safety tips:

• Don’t give or let your pets have access to alcohol. It is toxic for your pets and it can make them extremely sick.
• Dress your pet up in green! If you dye your pet green, make sure to use all natural, non-toxic vegetable dye. If you dress your pet up in cute green clothing, make sure it is not too tight and does not constrict any areas of their body.
• If you are bringing your pet around town or participating in a parade, make sure your dog is not too frightened or overwhelmed and make sure to always have plenty of water available for him or her.
• If you plan to throw a party, make sure to confine your pet to a smaller area if he or she does not like big crowds.
• Don’t let your pets get into any party treats or favors. Chocolate is extremely toxic to dogs and can kill them. Make sure to put all snacks up high so animals cannot reach them.

Cleaning Tips For The New Year

The end of the year is almost here and it is time to do some cleaning to prepare for the near year to come!

Before you start throwing away or donating your items you no longer need, read on to find out how to keep from advancing the careers of local thieves by making it easy to steal your identity as a result of ridding your home of old papers and electronic gadgets like computers, phones, tablets and scanners.

Remember to use Clear The Air for any odors you have while you are cleaning areas you haven’t cleaned in a while! Here are four ways to clean house without compromising your privacy:

Make a Date With a Local Shredder

You’re probably well aware that important documents should be shredded, but this doesn’t mean letting your 7-year-old loose with a stack of papers and a pair of scissors. Privacy Rights suggests that you invest in either a shredder that does cross-, diamond- or confetti-cutting to ensure that your documents can’t be pieced back together.

Alternatively, contact an office supply store or commercial shredding company and take your paper piles to be shredded while you watch. Boring, yes, but wouldn’t you rather spend an hour doing this than days trying to clean up the mess if the papers get into the wrong hands?

Clean Your Electronics

Passing your old electronics onto a new home requires more than just putting everything into the “trash” and then doing the digital equivalent of setting it out on the curb. An article from Tech News Daily says that, with a bit of understanding, it’s not difficult to wipe away sensitive data correctly. There are several programs on the market that allow you to do this. Or, if you would rather, you can take it to a professional.

If you’re going to resell your device, consider just selling it to a company that does refurbishing, because they then take on the liability of your personal data and are highly motivated to make sure the device is as safe as possible. For items that are going directly to the trash, use this as an opportunity to physically release some tension by destroying the memory chips and circuit boards. For CDs and DVDs, use specialty scissors that are tough enough for the job and cut each disc into at least four pieces.

Keep Important Documents Under Lock and Key

You certainly don’t want to accidentally toss out an old tax return, complete with social security numbers of each of your family members. This opens up the possibility of your personal information becoming compromised or even your children’s identity theft, if it falls into the wrong hands. For the items that you need to keep forever, you should consider a fire-proof safe that keeps documents safe and out of harm’s way.

Documents that you should never get rid of include:

• Birth, marriage and death certificates

• Social security cards, passports and citizenship papers

• Prenuptial agreements, divorce documents and military paperwork

• Wills, power of attorney and trust papers

• Insurance and investment paperwork

• Heath records, diplomas and organization membership cards

Set Up a Digital Organizational System

With all the paper that comes into the house via the mail, your child’s backpack, print media and organizations you’re involved in, it’s hard to find a way to keep clutter at bay.

For things that don’t require physical copies, like owners manuals, kids’ artwork and articles that you want to ready, have them scanned into your computer, which you can do through applications like Evernote. Once you’ve filed it away, you can easily search for it when the need arises.

According to Real Simple, receipts should be kept until the items are worn or used. In the case of clothing and food, or for larger purchases, receipts should be kept until the warranty expires or when you discard the item(s).

So before you put that leaning tower of paper in the recycling bin, or attempt to recoup the money you spent on that clunky old desktop, make sure to implement these tips to ensure your privacy and keep your identity protected. Sure, it takes a little extra effort, but it’s a small price to pay when you consider the worst that could happen.

But, Is It Safe?

Earth Care’s Clear The Air is a naturally green product and 100% safe to use around pets and children.

We pride ourselves on not only the amazing things it can do, but also on the safety of Clear The Air. Check out why it is safe:

Earth Care is made from an all natural mineral. It is non toxic, non hazardous, non-caustic, and biodegradable. It can safely be used around pets and children. It is safe to sprinkle in your pet’s cage; it will not hurt your pet even if eaten. It can be applied directly to you pets fur; this is excellent if your pet has encountered a skunk, or to get rid of the “doggie” smell.

Many of the odor and pollution control products on the market today act merely as masking agents. This means they add chemicals to the air to cover up odors and actually increase the level of indoor pollutants in the process. Earth Care, on the other hand, truly eliminates odors and cleans the air by adsorbing and neutralizing odors. Earth Care Products are especially beneficial to those that suffer from chemical sensitivity which can be aggravated by fragrances.

Earth Care is safe for Planet Earth. To dispose of Earth Care simply add to your soil, it is an excellent nitrogen soil amendment.