family & you

Dana Eisenberg

Pets

Little Life-Changers: Cat Care Products

Is your cat the king of the castle? Then you need these feline-friendly goods.

Cats and dogs are so much more than just animals—for some of us, they’re members of our families. We love them, we care for them, and in some cases, we treat them just as well as (or, let’s be honest, better than how) we treat our human relatives. If you’re a cat person and you fall into that cat-egory (see what we did there?), here are some little life-changers that will make your feline friend feel like true royalty.

Pawslife® Pocketed 24” x 16” Litter Mat

If there’s a negative to having a cat, it would have to be the litter box. Not anymore, with this kitty-approved litter mat. The dual layers catch even the tiniest pieces that fall from Fluffy’s paws. It’s waterproof and dries quickly, making it super low-maintenance. Think of what you can do with all that free time normally spent picking up nasty litter nuggets!

Pawslife® Deluxe Window Cat Perch

Does your cat love your couches and chairs? Do said couches and chairs not love your cat back? Get him his own furniture! This cat perch, which secures easily to a windowsill, is the perfect place for your pet to bask in the sun and wait for you to come home. Couch? What couch?

True Touch™ Right Hand Grooming Glove

You’re in between groomings (and your cat won’t let you near with a brush), but you don’t want cat hair everywhere. Enter the grooming glove. Use it to remove loose hair before it falls to the ground; hair peels right off the glove. It’s so easy to use, you can do it every day.

Paw Perfect Pet Nail Trimmer

Pets’ nails need to be trimmed, but it’s not always feasible to get to the groomer or DIY. This trimmer is easy to use, works quickly, and is safe to use at home. Might we suggest a treat afterward to make it a regular habit?

SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post

A scratching post is a must-have for cats: It allows them to care for their nails, leave their scent, and tone their muscles, too. This post is durable and 32" high, so your cat can stretch fully. Customers love it, too! One writes, “Best scratching post we have ever owned. Our cats love it, and it saves our furniture.”

Travel Like a Pro: Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Luggage and Packing

Tips

Heed these packing tips and travel confidently.

Traveling can be stressful but also simultaneously exciting. Packing, on the other hand, is mostly just stressful. You need to pack enough without bringing too much, have the right size toiletries, consider inclement weather, and ultimately, make sure your suitcase isn’t so cumbersome that you can’t get it from one place to another on your own.

We talked to Barbara Reich, a New York City–based professional organizer at <a href="https://www.resourcefulconsultants.com/" target="_new">Resourceful Consultants</a>, who knows all too well the headaches of packing. Here, she shares expert tips on luggage selection, paring down, and what to bring along for pain-free travel.

Luggage

Three is the magic number of pieces, according to Reich. “You should have one large piece of luggage, a carry-on roller, and a collapsible piece,” she says. “For luggage on wheels, spinners are great.”

“There are also trackers you can buy to put on or in your luggage,” says Reich. “It will never get lost again!”

As far as storage, there aren’t many rules. “Put luggage under the bed, at the top of your closet, in basement storage lockers—wherever you can find room!” says Reich. “Fold the collapsible duffle, and store it inside another piece to save space.”

Packing Tips

Separate your clothing: “For airline travel, employ ‘the rule of fractions,’” says Reich. “If there are four people in your family, pack a fourth of each person’s clothing in each piece of luggage. If your luggage is lost or stolen, everyone will have enough to wear until it’s found.”

Simplify your shoe situation: Reich says: “If you can, plan your wardrobe around three pairs of shoes: one pair of sneakers, and one pair of shoes for daytime and another pair for all your nighttime outfits.” Store rarely used items separately: “If you have clothes that are specific to a type of vacation, such as a skiing trip, separate it at home. By keeping the gear separate, in one spot, you’ll stay organized (making repacking easier) and save on drawer space.

Remember laundry: “Consider traveling with pop-up laundry hampers for your whites and colors; your hotel room will look much neater,” she says. “At the end of the vacation, pack the dirty laundry into separate bags and fold up the hampers. It will be ready to wash when you get home!”

Keep valuables and medications with you: “Carry prescription medicines, cameras, laptops, and any expensive jewelry on board with you,” Reich says.

Gifts

Why You Need a Housewarming Registry for Moving Must-Haves

If you’re moving, get yourself registered.

When you relocate your worldly possessions from one home to another, there is a lot of logistical planning to do. It can be overwhelming, but with a new place, you have an opportunity to start fresh, and, of course, you get to have a housewarming party!

You’ve probably dealt with wedding registries, but you may not have heard of a housewarming registry. Why create one? The most obvious reason is that your friends and family want to get you something. You might as well steer them toward items you need. A registry also works great as a pre- and post-move checklist, allowing you to track the things you want and then tick them off as you receive them. You can easily purchase the remaining items yourself, if you didn’t receive them as gifts.

Here are a few things our experts recommend registering for:

Google Home

If you don’t already have a Google Home, moving into a new place is a great time to get one. Use it to keep track of your to-do lists and tell you the current time, temperature, and game scores, or to control your Nest thermostat and stream videos. Life = changed.

Keurig® Coffee Maker

If you’re one of those people who swears they’ll stop buying coffee every day, and then keeps buying coffee every day, you need a Keurig®. It makes preparing your own coffee a no-brainer and eliminates any excuses to buy an overpriced latte. Dedicate some convenient counter space to your new machine, and ditch the money-draining habit for good.

Personalized Decor

Everyone loves giving (and receiving) personalized gifts. They’ll give your space a fresh, homey feel. And hey, they pack a ton of sentimental value.

SodaStream®

Our personal version of heaven includes limitless amounts of seltzer, on demand. With the SodaStream®, you can make any kind of soft drink you like. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and—bonus!—you’ll use way fewer disposable plastic bottles and aluminum cans.

Kitchen Gadgets

Kitchen and baking gadgets can get lost over the years. As you pack, assess what you have and add what you don’t have (and need) to your registry. Your friends and family can pick one or mix and match a few, depending on how much they want to spend.

Pet Gifts

“New home, new pet bed.” We’re trying to make that a saying. In all seriousness, your dog was the goodest dog during the move, and your cat was pretty patient, too (we hope?). A comfy new bed is a great housewarming gift, especially when it’s paired with a familiar blankie or toy to make them feel right at home.

Little Life-Changers: Cat Care Products

BY Dana Eisenberg

Pawslife® Pocketed 24” x 16” Litter Mat

Pawslife® Deluxe Window Cat Perch

True Touch™ Right Hand Grooming Glove

Paw Perfect Pet Nail Trimmer

SmartCat Ultimate Scratching Post

Why You Need a Housewarming Registry for Moving Must-Haves

Travel Like a Pro: Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Luggage and Packing

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