How to Puppy-Proof Your House

When you adopt a new puppy or even a grown dog, puppy-proofing your house is essential. Puppies can get into things, even if they’re being supervised. You’d be surprised by how fast a puppy can hide behind the couch and chew on electrical cords. 

Because puppies are often small, they can often fit into places and see things that we wouldn’t necessarily consider. This is one reason why puppy-proofing is important. You may not know that there is a candy wrapper under your couch, but they absolutely will. Adult dogs can get into things as well when they are in a new home, even though they aren’t technically puppies. You should “puppy proof” your house for them as well. 

There are many things to consider when making your home safe for a small puppy. We’ll ensure you don’t forget anything important in this article. 

1. Secure Your Trash

The trash can is full of potentially dangerous items for your dog, but it is also the home of interesting smells and delicious food. It is often extremely interesting to puppies and dogs, so it is important to get it secured. You should invest in a larger trash can if you don’t already have one, as this will prevent your dog from knocking the can over. If possible, consider putting your trash can into a cabinet or similar, secure location. 

Dogs can swallow poisonous items in the trash can, eat something inedible, or even suffocate due to the trash bag itself. Securing your trash is essential, especially for food-loving breeds such as Goldendoodles.

2. Cover Cords

Teething puppies often chew on just about anything they can find, including cords. This can cause accidental shocks, which can lead to burns in your dog’s mouth or worse. Luckily, there are cord covers available today that can block your pet’s access to these dangerous items. Move the cords you can and cover those that you can’t. 

Furthermore, you should provide your dog with plenty of chew toys to ensure that they have an appropriate outlet for their need to chew. 

3. Put Up Dangerous Food Items

Most people know that dogs can’t have chocolate. But did you know that grapes, raisins, sugarless gum, and other human foods are also poisonous to dogs? Tree nuts (excluding peanuts, which are not tree nuts) are another common poison for dogs. Be sure you brush up on what human foods are poisonous for dogs and carefully put these items somewhere out of reach. 

Be sure others in your household know that these items are not safe as well, just in case they’re tempted to give in to your dog’s begging.  While you’re at it, also consider poisonous houseplants, which are strangely common. Check that all your houseplants are okay for pets and move potentially dangerous ones out of your pet’s reach. Watch for falling leaves and such as well. 

4. Put Away Medication

Be sure that all your medication is put up somewhere that your dog cannot get it. Secure cabinets that are above the ground are perfect for this purpose. Be sure to do the same with supplements and similar items, as these can be dangerous if your dog consumes them. Many canines like the smell of certain medications, but human-grade medicine can often cause overdosing in dogs. 

It is also a good idea to store your dog’s medication somewhere separate from yours to lower the chance of getting them mixed up. 

You should also move anything containing Xylitol. This ingredient is common in sugar-free gums, medications, hand cream, and similar products. It is extremely poisonous to dogs. 

5. Provide Them with a Safe Space

You should provide your canine with a safe space that is absolutely puppy-proof. The best spots are usually crates or playpens. You will not be able to watch your dog constantly. These spaces will keep them safe and give them the opportunity to play when you can’t keep a close eye on them. You should not let your puppy roam the house until they get older and understand the house rules.

6. Secure Dangerous Chemicals

Many people have all sorts of chemicals in their homes that can be dangerous to dogs. For instance, cleaners, detergents, glues, and pest chemicals can all be seriously harmful to puppies. These should be put up somewhere safe to prevent your puppy from accidentally getting into them. Remember that puppies love to chew, so they may not actually be interested in what’s in the bottle. However, if they take a liking to the lid, they can easily chew it off and become exposed to whatever is inside. Safety caps cannot withstand puppy teeth, so don’t rely on them. 

Put all of these items out of reach and somewhere safe to prevent your canine from accessing them. 

7. Keep Height in Mind

Someday, your puppy will be able to scale the couch. However, that day may not be when they are very small. Tall furniture is fall-risk to puppies. It may seem very small to us, but puppies are very small. They don’t need to fall very far to become injured. It is best to keep your puppy on the ground until they are old enough to jump on and off the couch by themselves. The same goes for any large piece of furniture. 

You may simply have to sit on the floor to pet and play with your puppy.

Don’t let children carry around the puppy either, as accidental drops can cause serious injuries. Children should remain seated while holding the puppy. 

8. Consider Batteries

Batteries are not safe for dogs in the least, but they are plentiful in most homes. Consider what items in your house have batteries, including toys, remote controls, key fobs, and other devices. Put these up where dogs cannot chew on them. Many of these devices are not chew-proof, and the battery can easily be punctured by your pet’s teeth, which can cause serious problems. 

Everything Else

You’ll likely find other things in your home that need to be put out of your puppy’s reach as well. The important thing is to supervise your puppy when they are out of their completely safe area. This will allow you to spot dangerous situations before they happen. 

Guest Post - Summer Hang: How to Make Your Backyard the Hangout Spot This Season

Summer is almost here, and vaccinations are on the rise. If you are like the rest of America, you're getting ready to set aside social distancing and put the social back into social animals. You scramble to the back door to scope out the old hangout spot, and you are astonished to find it in total disrepair! Winter wasn’t kind to your backyard.

So, how do you turn your backyard into the premier post-COVID hangout spot? This post will go over some tips for making your backyard the envy of your friends and family! 

Clean Your Home’s Exterior

If you want to impress guests, you should take a walk around the exterior of your house. Take note of any mold, vines, or damage to exterior siding or stucco. Usually, you can remove mold and dirt by using a power washer with a strong outdoor detergent. 

However, if your home has damaged stucco, then a power washer can worsen the problem by chipping away at the cracks. You may need to contact a stucco remediation contractor to fix your issue if you see exposed brick or other structural materials.

If you see vines or other types of plant growth on your home’s exterior, check the affected area for damage to your siding or stucco. Usually, you can remove vines by hand without damaging your home’s exterior. 

Landscaping DIY

The demand for landscaping and outdoor services is on the rise, but the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a skilled labor shortage. This means the cost of landscape services is generally higher. There are a few DIY landscaping tricks you can employ to get that professional landscape look on a pandemic budget.

Choose an Outdoor Focal Point

You want to plan your landscaping so that visitors are drawn naturally toward some sort of focal point. This focal point can be a fire pit, a porch, a pool, a garden, or some other centerpiece.

Create a Path and Accents

Using old stones or bricks, which can be purchased in bulk or found cheap, try to create a logical path connecting this focal point to a driveway or door. Using the same stones or bricks, line other features, such as bushes and flowerbeds, with similar accents, so that there is consistency to the characteristics of your backyard. 

Directional Lighting Makes all the Difference

Another way to draw people towards your focal point is to use directional lighting. By lighting up bushes and other features along a path, you can draw attention to the focal point at the path's end. At your focal point, whatever that may be, make sure there is ample lighting so visitors can see well and move about safely at night. 

Solar lights, outdoor LED string lights, weatherproof lanterns, and other creative lighting options can help you direct people safely and aesthetically throughout your outdoor space. By highlighting outdoor features from a consistent angle, you can create a feeling of depth and space, even if space is limited.

For Furnishings: Have a Theme and Stick to It

When thinking about furnishing your backyard space, you should have a guiding aesthetic theme or principle. The principle can be anything, but there should be a consistency in how it's implemented. Your theme could be anything from unpainted wood to modern minimalist furniture.

Your theme can go beyond the type of furniture and cover furnishing concepts like mismatched furniture, kitschy antique furniture, or stark uniformity. The point is to have a unifying theme or aesthetic idea behind why you have what you have.

Make Your Backyard the Envy of the Neighborhood!

Using this article as a guide, you can turn your backyard into the place everyone wants to hang out when the weather is nice this summer. Consider the cleanliness of your home’s exterior. Also, take into account how landscaping and lighting play a role in the perception of your backyard space. Then, decide on some sort of stylistic theme or principle when furnishing and decorating your outdoor space. 

Finally, send out the invites and show off your hard work!
About the Author

Jennifer Bell is a freelance writer, home designer, blogger, dog-enthusiast, and avid beachgoer operating out of Southern New Jersey.

Guest Post - 5 Key Features and Considerations When Selecting a Modern Home Design

Designing a modern family home is an exciting process, but it also comes with its own list of challenges. There are a lot of decisions that need to be made, and many homeowners simply don’t know where to begin when planning home design. To help you out, we’re listing five things to keep in mind when selecting a modern family home design.

Take an intentional approach to floor planning

First and foremost, when planning a modern family home design, it’s important that you take an intentional approach, especially when it comes to floor plan. Organized, well-thought-out, and logical room layouts are hallmarks of modern family home design. This is opposed to traditional family home design whose floor plans aren’t as intentional.

For instance, in a traditional home design, the rooms’ shape may be irregular. While some rooms may be connected logically, others may end up being located in awkward positions (e.g. laundry room close to nursery/kids’ room, powder room not being connected to either a bedroom or a bathroom).

Instead of using the rooms to simply fill in the gaps in your floor plan, be intentional with each and every room. You can do this by factoring in your family’s needs, creating balance between space and style as well as making sure that every inch is used efficiently.

Implement adequate storage solutions for a clutter-free home

Speaking of putting every nook and cranny to good use, another important characteristic of modern family homes is the abundance of storage space. This is a must-have for most modern families, and a prerequisite for a tidy and clutter-free home.

To keep your home well-organized, functional, and easy to maintain on a daily basis, aim to introduce storage solutions that correspond to the room’s style, design, and color scheme. Freestanding, vertical, built-in, or modular? It’s up to you to decide.

As for the decor, it’s important that you accessorize sparingly if you want to maintain that contemporary vibe. Think about it this way: If it doesn’t add value to the room’s design or hold any sentimental value, you’re better off storing it instead of putting it on display.

Take advantage of custom building design opportunities

One of the biggest perks of opting for a modern family home design are the endless customization opportunities. Being able to build a home according to a custom plan allows more room for both creativity and flexibility which is why these homes are such an attractive option for homeowners around the globe and particularly in Australia.

This may not come as a surprise since Aussies are a house-proud nation, and while they’re in love with all things DIY and renovation, when it comes to building their homes, they’ll often turn to a reputable building designer in Sydney to help them with the construction process and ensure their finished project is beautiful and functional. By breaking down the process into actionable steps, builders make the process seamless and simple for their clients. That way, all that’s left for homeowners to do is to figure out the features that matter most to them.

Simplify your design

Customizing your modern family home design is the best way to create a home that’ll fit your individual needs, and aesthetics play a vital role in the design process. Modern family homes appear to be rather simple in design, often embracing minimalist interiors that boast sleek lines, streamlined furnishings, and of course, a neutral color palette.

The key to creating such interiors lies in simplifying the approach to both design and decor. To do that, try to minimize any additions that feel unnecessary, incorporate aesthetically pleasing elements, add homely touches to warm up a neutral palette, and most importantly – aim for cohesiveness. Ideally, the overall look will be pleasing to the eye while allowing for complete comfort and efficiency for everyday living.

Consider including different eco-friendly features

Last but not least, another thing worth mentioning when it comes to building modern houses is that they are focused on minimizing environmental footprint. Energy usage is something that many homeowners are actively working on reducing, and builders and architects are taking notes.

As a result, many modern family home designs are centered around increasing energy-efficiency, and this is usually achieved by implementing a variety of eco-friendly features. These include installing sustainable flooring (e.g. bamboo), using recycled materials in the building process, and maximizing natural light.

Additionally, homeowners should consider going solar as well as making smaller, yet equally effective green investments such as choosing LEDs over traditional bulbs and purchasing efficient, Energy Star certified appliances over conventional ones.

Wrapping up

Choosing a modern family home can be challenging – you need to find a place that meets your requirements, fits into your budget, and is situated in an ideal location.

While this is something that’s easier said than done, if you keep in mind these key considerations, you’ll manage to design a modern family house that ticks all the right boxes and build a home you’ll love coming back to.
About the author: Mike Johnston is an avid blogging enthusiast and experienced freelance writer. He’s a regular contributor to numerous online publications where he writes about real estate, construction, home improvement, and interior design.

6 Reasons to Use Self Storage While Moving into a New House

Americans often move for lifestyle or work-based decisions, and when they are in transition between an old home and a new one, the convenience of storage units to keep their belongings in a safe place serves an important need.

A good number of storage facilities are appearing all over the country because people often have more stuff than they have space in their homes to keep.

Here are 6 common reasons to use self-storage while moving into a new house.

1. You don't have enough space in the new house for everything from the old house.

If you are moving to a new city, you might discover that you had underestimated how much room there is in your new home for all their belongings. Often new construction homes may not be as spacious as older homes because of a shortage of land space.

Putting your belongings in self-storage provides you with a convenient place to put things away safely until you can figure out what they want to keep and what you want to sell.

2. You are renting a home until you can find one to buy.

Sometimes you might decide to rent a home after a job relocation. You plan to rent a home until you have enough time to find a property in the new location that you would like to buy. Putting your extra belongings in storage gives you a place to keep them until you buy a spacious home.

3. You decide to declutter after moving.

You may decide to rent a self-storage unit because you want to declutter your new home. You did not have enough time to declutter before you moved from your previous home.

Renting a storage unit helps you to declutter quickly and efficiently without wondering where to put everything. Since you're working in stages, you first want to declutter and then decide what to keep and what not to keep.

4. You need space to renovate a room.

When renovating your new home, a certain room may have to be completely stripped of everything in it for workers to have enough room to set up the new structure.

During a kitchen renovation, for example, you will have to find a place for all their appliances and kitchenware so that there is enough space for workers to move around as they install new cabinets.

5. You want to do some interior decorating.

When doing interior decoration, you may find it convenient to use storage units as a place to keep your old furniture while they switch out to a new style.

You'll decide what to do with your old furniture after the interior decoration project has been completed.

6. You need a place to store your recreational vehicles.

Storage units are often spacious enough to store vehicles. Sometimes it is necessary to rent space to store recreational vehicles because there is not enough space in the garage or in the driveway.

Using a storage facility is a convenient place to park seasonal vehicles, such as motorcycles or snowmobiles.

Overall, storage facilities provide an invaluable service if you are moving to a new home and don't know what to do with your belongings. Renting a self-storage unit is both inexpensive and extremely convenient if you have an overabundance of things that you don’t have enough room for in your new home.