5 Tips to Keeping Your Home in Tip-Top Shape for Your Family (and Your Cat)

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FreeandCleanLiving #CollectiveBias

Having a clean home is both a luxury and a necessity, and having a family makes this statement even more true.  We all want for our homes to be a safe and clean environment for our family, but this requires constant, never ending work.  Having pets in your home adds even more challenges to your housekeeping routine, but if you are like me, you love your cats and there is no challenge you won’t tackle for them!  Lucky for us, Purina® New TIDY CATS® Free & Clean™ Unscented Clumping Litter is here to see us through!  Today I’ve got 5 Tips to Keeping Your Home in Tip-Top Shape for Your Family (and Your Cat), plus information on the newest product from TIDY CATS.

Use a High Quality Cat Litter Product

Ever since I adopted Rebel 10 years ago, I have a been a TIDY CATS user.  I currently have 3 cats in my home, and they prefer TIDY CATS.. (That is to say, they’ve never avoided or gone outside the litter box while using their products.)  And I’ve been satisfied with how their products block odors when you scoop regularly.

Their latest and greatest product is TIDY CATS® Free & Clean™ Unscented Clumping Litter.  This new product features Unscented Odor Control with the Power of Activated Charcoal.  Obviously controlling odors is my number one goal, and I love that Free & Clean offers you the odor-absorbing power of activated charcoal plus TidyLock® Protection to lock away odors.  (It gives you the clean you need without the extra perfumes, fragrances, and dyes).

The product is also 99.% dust free.  This is also extremely important to me; I hate pouring litter in the box and seeing a cloud of dust!  Plus, my cat Mina has allergies and other upper respiratory issues, so she needs a product that is dust free.

The product also features strong clumps for easy cleanup. As the person who usually scoops the litter box, this is definitely a plus.  Not only does it make clean up easier, but it also means we don’t have to replace the litter with new product quite as often.

TIDY CATS® Free & Clean™ Unscented Clumping Litter is available for purchase at Target.  Target is my favorite place to shop, because they carry all my favorite brands, and it is always easy to find what I’m looking for.  The pet products and housekeeping supplies I need are also conveniently located right in the front of the store, which means I can get in and out of the store quickly.

Target also frequently has TIDY CATS on sale.  Before making my Target run, I always check the Target app for their weekly ad and I look through Cartwheel is to see if there are deals on anything I am planning to buy.  The other day I used my Cartwheel account to get 20% off the 35 pound container of litter.

Proper Litter Box Maintenance and Placement

Most cat experts recommend daily scooping of the litter box; however, we usually scoop ours every other day.  We may scoop more often if company is coming over or if there just happens to be a special need.  You should also be prepared to top your litter box with additional litter as needed and completely empty out your litter box, clean it and replace your litter with all new product.  (I usually top ours off a couple of times a week, and we completely change out the litter and clean the box about every 6 weeks or as needed.)

To clean the litterbox when putting in all new litter, we start by taking the box outside for emptying, and we give it a good rinse with the water hose.  I then use dishwashing liquid to give it an initial cleaning, and then I pour in a little vinegar and a few drops of essential oil like lemon or peppermint to get things smelling nicely.  Then after it dries I usually sprinkle in a small layer of baking soda on the bottom of the box before adding all new litter.

Litterbox placement is also important. Your litter box should be placed in an area of your home that is easily accessible to your cat, and it should not be placed in a high traffic or noisy area of your home or any place your cat may be anxious about using.  If possible place the litterbox in an extra bedroom or small room not in use.  Alternatively, it can placed in a laundry room, small bathroom, or mud room.  Do NOT place the litterbox near food and water bowls.

Quantity. Experts also say you should have one litterbox for each cat, plus an additional litterbox.  As for us, we have just one very large litterbox.  It is actually an under-the-bed storage bin that we’ve repurposed as a a litterbox, and our cats are fine with sharing.  (But if your cats fight or have other issues, you should get more litterboxes.)

Floor Cleaning

Another way to keep your home looking and smelling fresh is with regular floor cleaning.  I like to sweep up and clean up the room where we keep the litterbox about once a week.  (This room is carpeted, but I keep a large vinyl mat in the room for easy cleaning.  It just needs a little vacuuming and a little mopping or spot cleaning with a little all purpose cleaner and rag.)

It is also very necessary to clean the floors in the rest of home quite often (otherwise we’d be overrun with pet hair and litter rocks).  I like to vacuum our carpets and all hard floors once a week.  We also mop all the hard floors; this makes them look shiny and bright, and it also leaves a nice refreshing scent.

I also keep carpet cleaning spray on hand for the occasional pet stain on the carpet and I spinkle the carpet with baking soda or fabric refreshing before vacuuming when I want things to smell really great.

Deodorizing Your Home

In additional to proper litter box cleaning and maintenance, you should find other ways to deodorize your home.  One way is with a good essential oil diffuser.  There are a lot of oils that are specifically for getting rid of odors and refreshing your home.  I like peppermint or anything from the citrus family, but you have to be careful as some oils can be irritating to your pet or other people in your home with allergies.  We also use scented oil plug-ins when we want things to smell really great.

Additionally I sprinkle baking soda on our carpets, rugs and upholstery before vacuuming to absorb odors, and I occasionally spray these areas with fabric refresher.

Pet bedding can also be the source of odors, so you should wash your pet’s blankets and other bedding on a regular basis, as well as keep toys clean and replace toys and bedding as needed with something new.

Surface Cleaning and Other Household Maintenance

You should also remember that pets are not the only ones who can make a mess or make odors in your home.  Take garbage out regularly and immediately take garage outside that maybe contain leftover foods, packaging from raw meats, and anything else that may smell bad.

Also, avoid leaving dirty dishes in the sink, as well as food containers or dishes on your countertops and stove top, and wipe down all counters and surfaces daily.

If you any tips to help refresh your home and especially your pet area, I’d love to hear them!  Please join the conversation by commenting on this post.

And if you are looking for a new way to refresh your cat’s room try new Tidy Cats Free & Clean Unscented litter at Target!