How to Have a Dog and a Clean Home Without Breaking Your Budget

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How to Have a Dog and a Clean Home Without Breaking Your Budget

Jonathon Thigpen • Sep 17, 2022

Have a Dog and Keep a Clean Home Without Breaking the Budget

We've teamed up with our friends, the DIY Guys again and CityDog Magazine to drop some knowledge on how to maintain your clean home with a furry friend.
Your pet is family, but dogs can contribute to a lot of mess in the home. Before you spend hundreds of dollars on regularly scheduled cleaning services or specialty products to keep up with fur, paw prints, scratched furniture, and stains, consider some money-saving tips from Transparent Cleaning Co. for keeping your home neat, clean, and odor-free.

Begin at Entry Doorways
It's smart to keep an inexpensive mat at the entrance of any door where your dog comes and goes. This can capture some of your pet's muddy, snowy, or wet paw prints before they get tracked into your home. A great alternative to a regular rug or welcome mat is a bathmat, as they're very absorbent. It's also a good spot for making your pup stop while you wipe his paws clean and dry with a towel stashed nearby.

Window Cleaning
Dogs love windows. Even when they are inside, they can use our windows to watch squirrels, protect the house from cats, and alert us when the mailman arrives. But all of those observations can lead to smudges and nose art. If you don’t want your view distorted by streaks and smudges from wet dog noses, call Transparent Cleaning Co. to give your windows a good cleaning.

Keeping Up With Dog Hair, Odors, and Dirt
A quick and easy way to ensure your hard flooring is kept free of dog fur on a daily basis is to use a microfiber mop that you can roll around in a cinch without having to drag out a vacuum. Other options are a cordless vacuum or a robotic vac that automatically roams around the room picking up dirt and hair without you having to do anything. The initial purchase may be a little pricey, but in the long run, you'll save money over hiring cleaners.

Other tips for keeping hair, dander, and fur at bay:

Grooming. Keeping your dog groomed can cut down on shedding and smells in the house. If possible, learn how to bathe and groom your pet yourself to save tons of money on pet groomers. You can find reviews of quality dog trimmers and shampoo to find the perfect options for your pup. Also, be sure to brush your furry friend regularly outdoors to keep dander outside the home.
Cover furniture. If your dog loves sitting on a favorite chair or sofa, cover that area with a cheap throw or blanket. You can shake these off and wash them as needed without sacrificing your upholstery.
Tape rollers. Purchase a lint roller that is typically used to clean hair and dust from clothing. These inexpensive rollers are great for removing dog hair from the upholstery in home and car, in addition to your own clothing.
Cleaner food bowls. Dirt and bacteria from food particles and water can be disgusting and possibly sicken your dog. Keep a hard plastic mat beneath your pet's food and water bowls to catch debris. Hand-wash the bowls with mild dishwashing soap.

Readying a Home Sale With Pets

If you're preparing to sell your house, you might need to make some repairs and updates, which can include replacing a pet-stained carpet, repairing damaged yard turf, or refinishing scratched-up hardwood flooring. Although you might not smell it, your dog has likely permeated your home with her natural odor, a few accidental stains, chewed furniture, and other damage that can put off a potential home buyer.

One reason why your pooch may be having accidents or excessively chewing on furnishings is stress, especially if she’s out of the puppy stage. When you prepare your home to show to potential buyers, decluttering is part of setting the stage, and this will help with de-stressing as clutter can be a big cause of anxiety in people and pets. Keep in mind that if you are under stress, perhaps because of issues at work, that can rub off on your dog, too. Taking measures to address your own stress and you should see an improvement in your pup.

Clean Homes and Dogs

It needn't cost a fortune to live in a clean environment with your dog. Follow a few or all of the tips above when dealing with your pet's emergency messes and everyday shedding. But if you would like help cleaning up Daisy’s messes on your floors, furniture, and windows, contact the cleaning experts at Transparent Cleaning Co.

CityDog Magazine provides information for dog lovers like you about finding the best places to sit, stay and play with their pooch—from the best doggone getaways, to the best dog-friendly digs, to the best your city has to offer you and your four-legged friend. Reach out to find out more today! 206.762.0643

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If you're a senior and the thought of flipping houses has always intrigued you, but you think it may be too late to start, we have good news: it's not! Flipping houses can be rewarding and profitable, but only if you are dedicated, knowledgeable, and patient. If not, a fixer-upper can turn into a money pit really fast. If you’re up for the challenge, Transparent Cleaning Co. has teamed up with the DIYGuys to offer this detailed handy guide to house flipping for seniors. Let's jump right in! Find the Proper Property It's crucial to do plenty of research before you settle on a house to flip. Consider the state of the neighborhood, any up-and-coming developments, public transportation access, schools, shopping, and other factors that may affect housing prices in the future. Avoid buying a house that requires too much TLC. Homes with a weak foundation, plumbing issues, or structural damage are sure to be bad investments. Ideally, you want a house that can be turned around quickly by knocking down a couple of walls, fixing up the floors, and adding a few coats of paint. This type of flipping is also referred to as microflipping . Gather the Funds In most cases, you will require a loan to buy and renovate the house. These will include loan interest, fees, and other related costs. To increase the chances of getting a loan, improve your credit score, resolve any debts and issues, and create a bullet-proof business plan. Of course, if you can, use cash to buy the house. It will help you avoid interest and other fees associated with loans. Recruit and Hire the Right Contractors Chances are, you won't be doing all the work on your own. Hire a general contractor who has experience in house flipping and a good team of subcontractors. Be sure to check online ratings and reviews and their licensing and insurance policies before deciding on a contractor. Expand your search and get the message out that you’re hiring by adding a banner to your Facebook page. To create an attractive banner, simply use a banner template and then modify it to add your own copy, font, and colors. Also, online business software is essential for teams in 2021. Project management applications (such as AirTable and Trello ) help you share information and collaborate with your team instantly. These apps sync across all your devices and are easy to use, so you should use them! Manage Payroll Effectively Your books can get messy when you have to deal with multiple contractors and employees, but it's vital to have an accurate, safe way to pay your workers. Many online payroll services can organize and automate payments, taxes, and other payroll duties so you can focus on other tasks. Also, to be successful at house flipping, you must stay on budget. Numerous financial tools are available online to help you keep track of your business's financial health and maintain your spending plan. Bear in mind that accounting software can help you streamline your projects and ease the complexity of the accounting side of the business. It can provide real-time financial reports for your balance sheets and income statements, plus project profitability reports, payroll, and workflow automation! This way, you stay on top of your financial responsibilities, as well as have a quick overview of your financial performance. Grow and Expand – and Protect Yourself If you’re thinking of expanding your business and hiring more employees, you might also want to consider going back to school. You’ll gain crucial information to give you the inside track, and thanks to the flexibility of online programs, you can pursue a business degree while still working, thus gaining valuable skills you can implement into your own business in real time. It’s also important that you protect yourself – and your business. Especially if you’re conducting even a portion of your work online, cyber security data protection is a must. These days, hackers are everywhere, and it’s crucial that you safeguard your business to keep it from being hamstrung before it can really get started. Should You Flip Houses? It's not too late to get into flipping houses, but it's also not for everyone. House flipping takes a lot of dedication, funds, organization, and management. If you pick the right property, gather the funds, get a good team of contractors, and utilize online financial tools and project management applications, you can earn extra income by giving new life to an unhappy home. -- -- Transparent Cleaning Co. is built on Christian principles, which for us means that we treat every person as being created in the image of God and being worthy of respect and love. Our work is an act of worship to God, and service towards others. It's our goal that the quality of our work and the relationships we build display that truth.