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Minimize Stress While Selling Your Home
After years of collecting furniture, plants, and memories, the thought of preparing your home to sell and moving to a new one can be daunting and stir up a lot of emotions. But selling your home doesn’t have to be stressful; here are a few tips to help make it easier.
Involve your agent early
The earlier you involve your Windermere Real Estate agent, the better they can set you up for success. When you reach out to them, they’ll be able to evaluate your home with their expert opinion based on their experience, and determine what needs to be done.
You and your agent will come up with a plan and timeline that works for you. After they do a comparative market analysis, they’ll have a good idea of what it will take to get the best price for your home. They may suggest you move out so the home can be professionally staged and easily accessed by potential buyers, or if that’s not an option, they will provide insights on what you can do yourself so you can live there while it’s on the market.
They may also see opportunities that are easy to implement, like improving the landscaping for curb appeal or minor projects that can increase your home value.
Working with a real estate agent will help move you through the process of selling your home more efficiently. If you don’t already have an agent and would like to be connected to one, click the button below.
Get an inspection & make necessary repairs
Some sellers may be concerned that their property isn’t in the best condition and that this will impact their home’s value. While some repairs may need to be done before putting your home on the market, you might be surprised that you don’t have to fix everything.
By getting a pre-inspection you’ll know what all needs to be done right away and what can wait. Your Windermere agent will be able to help you understand the inspection report and make decisions based on the condition of your home and the current market. Some repairs will be more important than others, things like a new roof or water heater can help new buyers feel more comfortable in their purchase while a trending remodel may interfere with the buyers own plans for the space.
Split up the selling process into approachable pieces
Once you have a vision for everything that you need to do to get your home prepared to sell, it’s a good idea to split the full project into smaller pieces that you can tackle one by one. You’ll want to determine what needs to be done first, like an inspection or small remodel, and what items can be done at the same time, like moving out and staging. If you take this approach, the final preparations will feel less overwhelming.
When you prepare well ahead of time, the actual process of selling will be less overwhelming, and you’ll have the confidence that you’ve done everything you can to make the most of the investment you put into your home.
Then comes packing and moving, but don’t worry, we have some tips to make that easier too, read here.
Benefits, Risks and Things to Consider Before You Add an Accessory Dwelling Unit to Your Home
Have you ever rented the unit in someone’s basement? Maybe your spouse’s mother moved into your “Mother-In-Law Unit” above your garage? Or have you ever travelled and stayed in a pool house for your stay? Commonly referred to as “Mother-In-Law” units, homeowners use these as a way to fill the space in their home and gain residual income, either from vacationers or long-term tenants.
Simple Ways to Conserve Energy at Home
Whether you want to use less energy to reduce your carbon footprint or your monthly costs, there are plenty of easy ways to conserve the electricity and natural gas you’re using in your home. Energy conservation can be as simple as closing your curtains, changing a light bulb, turning down your thermostat, or closing the fireplace damper. Many of the most inexpensive solutions quickly pay for themselves in conservation, which you ultimately benefit from when you get your power bill.
Do Your Chores During “Off Peak” Hours
One of the biggest ways you can conserve energy is to take advantage of “off-peak” hours. This is a step that everyone can take because it simply involves shifting your use of major appliances, such as ovens, washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers, to a time when the demand on the power supply is lower.
Check with your power company to see if they have peak hour rate changes and adjust your schedule as you can to do your laundry and dishes during the off-peak times.
And when it’s time, upgrade your large appliances to Energy Star products for the most efficient and use of your power.
Small Changes in Your Laundry Cycle
Another way you can save energy is by washing your clothes in cold water and only running full loads. This reduces the need for your machine to heat the water and has the double benefit of keeping your clothes in good condition for longer, further reducing your textile waste when you don’t have to replace your clothes as often.
To speed up the clothes drying process, add a dry towel or two to your machine to soak up excess moisture. Another option is wool dryer balls which not only help clothes dry faster, but you can also add drops of your favorite essential oils in place of single-use dryer sheets, which cause dust build up in your dryer vents and add to the landfill.
It’s also important to keep to a maintenance schedule with your washer and dryer. Clear out the lint trap after every load and make sure the dryer hose and vent are clear. Clean the filter on your washer once a month to keep things running efficiently.
More: Saving in the Laundry Room
Heating and Cooling Tips
Heating and cooling systems account for almost half of home energy consumption but luckily there are several easy ways you can reduce your home’s demand.
Conventional measures, such as setting back your thermostat, are effective at lowering your energy use and costs. In fact, the Department of Energy estimates you can save 10 percent on your power bill if you turn your thermostat temperature down by 10 degrees for eight hours a day. Here are a few ways you can reduce energy consumption and save money:
- Experiment with the temperature that you’re most comfortable with to determine if you can keep your thermostat set to a lower temperature.
- Set a schedule on your thermostat to change the temperature of your home when you’re asleep or not home, in the winter set it lower, in the summer set it higher.
- Close your blinds and shades to keep the air from escaping through the windows, and to keep the sun from heating up the air inside your home.
- Keep the fireplace damper closed unless you have a fire burning. Leaving the damper open can cause drafts and heat loss throughout your house.
It’s also important to keep your HVAC system clean and maintained. Change your furnace filter frequently, clear out any dusty ducts, and keep the air in your home clean with air purifiers. Doing so will enable your heating system to run more efficiently and be more cost-effective.
Update Your Lighting
It’s estimated that lighting accounts for 15 percent of your overall home energy bill, so another way you can conserve, other than turning the lights off when you leave a room, is by using energy-saving light emitting diodes (LEDs).
LEDs use about 90% less energy and last up to 25x longer than incandescent lightbulbs. They’re available in a number of shapes, sizes, and tones, making it an easy replacement for almost any bulb in your home. When shopping for LEDs, look for those with the Energy Star label on them—this ensures that you’re purchasing a product that has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
More: How to Find the Right Lighting For Your Home
For more information about energy conservation, please visit www.energystar.org.
To Buy New or Old, That is the Question
If you’re shopping for a new home, there are a number of factors you need to consider in order to narrow down your search criteria. Because before you can get too deep into your home search, you need to identify your needs, figure out your wants, and decide if there are any deal breakers that don’t work for you, such as the age, style, and location of your dream house. As you weigh the option between a new build or an older resale, here are six differences to note.
The Neighborhood
Surprisingly, one of the biggest factors in choosing a new home isn’t the property itself, but rather the surrounding neighborhood. While new homes occasionally spring up in established communities, most are built in new developments. The settings are quite different, each with their own unique benefits.
Older neighborhoods often feature tree-lined streets; larger property lots; a wide array of architectural styles; easy access to mass transportation, restaurants, and local shops; and more established relationships among neighbors.
New developments are better known for wider streets and quiet cul-de-sacs; controlled development; fewer above ground utilities; more parks; and often newer public facilities (schools, libraries, pools, etc.).
Consider your daily work commute, too. While not always true, older neighborhoods tend to be closer to major employment centers, mass transportation, and multiple car routes (neighborhood arterials, highways, and freeways), and new construction homes are usually found on the outskirts of city limits where there’s more land available for the development. The main exception being new townhouses on lots in the middle of established neighborhoods.
Design and Layout
If you like Victorian, Craftsman, or Cape Cod style homes, it used to be that you would have to buy an older home from the appropriate era. But with new-home builders now offering modern takes on those classic designs, that’s no longer the case. There are even modern log homes available.
Have you given much thought to what type of floor plan you want? If you have your heart set on an open-concept layout with an entertainment kitchen, spacious primary suite, and walk-in closets, you’ll likely want to buy a newer home—or plan to do some heavy remodeling of an older home. Unless they’ve already been remodeled, most older homes feature more closed floor plans with structural separation between rooms.
If you have a specific home décor style in mind, you’ll want to take that into consideration, as well. Professional designers say it’s typically best if the style and era of your furnishings match the style and era of your house. But if you are willing to adapt, then the options are wide open.
Materials and Craftsmanship
Homes built before material and labor costs spiked in the late 1950s have a reputation for higher-grade lumber and old-world craftsmanship like hardwood floors, old-growth timber supports, ornate siding, artistic molding, etc.
However, newer homes have the benefit of modern materials and more advanced building codes, such as copper or polyurethane plumbing, better insulation, double-pane windows, modern electrical wiring, earthquake/ windstorm supports, and so on.
Current Condition
The condition of a home for sale is a top consideration for any buyer, whether you plan to do a little work or not. However, age is a factor here, as well. For example, if the exterior of a newer home needs repainting, it’s a relatively easy task to determine the cost. But if it’s a home built before the 1970s, you have to also consider the fact that the underlying paint is most likely lead-based, and that the wood siding may have rot or other structural issues that need to be addressed before it can be re-coated.
On the flip side, the mechanicals in older homes (lights, heating systems, sump pump, etc.) tend to be better built and last longer.
Regardless of the age of the home or the apparent condition, it’s important to get a home inspection from a professional.
Outdoor Space
One of the great things about older homes is that they usually come with mature trees and bushes already in place. Buyers of new homes may have to wait years for ornamental trees, fruit trees, roses, ferns, and other long-term vegetation to fill in a yard, create shade, provide privacy, and develop into an inviting outdoor space. However, maybe you have the patience and interest in building the yard you want, or you’re one of the many homeowners who prefer the wide-open, low-maintenance benefits of a lightly planted yard.
Car Considerations
Like it or not, most of us are dependent on our cars for daily transportation. And here again, you’ll find a big difference between newer and older homes.
Newer homes in developments almost always feature ample off-street parking: usually a two-car garage and a wide driveway. Some new construction even includes electric vehicle charging stations as electric and hybrid cars become more mainstream. An older home, depending on just how old it is, may not offer a garage—and if it does, there’s often only enough space for one small or mid-sized car. For people who don’t want to leave their car on the street, this alone can be a determining factor.
Finalizing Your Decision
While the differences between older and newer homes are striking, there’s certainly no right or wrong answer. It is a matter of personal taste, and what is available in your desired area. To quickly determine which direction your taste trends, use the information above to make a list of your most desired features, then categorize those according to the type of house in which they’re most likely to be found. The results can often be telling.
If you have questions about newer versus older homes or are looking for a real estate agent in your area, we have professionals who can help you.
Windermere Foundation Brings Cheer, Laughter, and Basic Needs in the Final Months of 2023
Windermere Real Estate offices throughout the Western U.S. brought holiday cheer and laughter to their local communities during the holiday season of 2023, wrapping up a year of giving that raised over $2.9 million for the Windermere Foundation, bringing the total raised since 1989 to more than $53 million.
Here are a few examples of the support provided by Windermere offices through the Windermere Foundation in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Bringing Holiday Cheer
Under Cover Elves in Central Washington
Windermere Group One continued a tradition and brought some holiday cheer to 21 deserving local families with their “Under Cover Elves” program. Since 2010, they have worked with the counselors at local schools to find and “adopt” families who were not able to buy gifts due to their financial situations. This year, some of the families were homeless, others were struggling after layoffs.
The school counselors mentioned too, that many support programs were not happening this year for families in need and they were grateful that the local Windermere offices were making this happen with Windermere Foundation funds.
More than 40 Windermere Real Estate agents and staff volunteers went shopping with the kids to buy presents for their parents and siblings. Many of the kids didn’t ask for things themselves, most lists consisted of everyday essentials like food, clothing, and cleaning supplies. But the volunteers were determined to add a few surprises too, so they did some digging while they shopped to find toys that they could add to the presents under the tree.
“The families were blown away from this event, so many thank you’s and tears of gratitude,” said Mikaya Blossner-Hill, the Marketing Director for the Windermere Group One offices.
Image Sources: Windermere Bozeman, MT on Facebook
Giving Back in Bozeman, Montana
The team at the Windermere Bozeman-Downtown office is fully devoted to supporting their neighbors in need and have a collective commitment to bettering the community they call home. One example of this is the $5,000 donation they made from the Windermere Foundation to the during the Greater Gallatin United Way weeks leading up to the holidays. The Greater Gallatin United Way raises funds from the community in order to invest in local non-profits working in four impact areas: basic needs (shelter, food security, transportation, and childcare), early learning, youth success, and behavioral health and mental well-being. The members of the Windermere Bozeman-Downtown office say that they feel incredibly fortunate to have the Greater Gallatin United Way looking out for their neighbors and their community.
Image Source: Melissa Freels, Director of Marketing Windermere Services, Oregon
Raising Funds with a Crowd Favorite in Portland, Oregon
The Windermere Johnson office in Portland, Oregon held a fundraiser that made many people smile and raised money for the Windermere Foundation. At the end of 2023 they put together a “Dogs of Windermere” calendar for the year 2024. This adorable fundraiser earned over $1,100 for the Windermere Foundation by selling copies of the calendars and with submissions from agents who sent in the cutest photos of their dogs they could muster; it wasn’t that hard. With such a successful first run they plan to do it again next year.
Windermere For Kids in Bellevue, Washington
Continuing their yearly tradition, Windermere East, Inc. helped deliver holiday spirit to low-income and homeless families from in and around Bellevue, Washington with their “Windermere for Kids” event. In December, they invited over 100 local children to the Marketplace at Factoria to do their holiday shopping with 250 agents from six Windermere offices.
Each child and their families received $250 to buy gifts at Target, which were then wrapped by the Windermere Real Estate agents while the families enjoyed snacks and took photos with an elf. And as an added treat, the agents who helped them shop added a surprise gift for each “Little Shopper.”
Image Sources: Windermere Missoula, MT on Facebook
Can the Cats in Missoula, Montana
The agents in the Windemere Missoula office continued their tradition of collecting and donating food to the for their annual “Can the Cats Food Drive”. Now in its twenty-fourth year, the Can the Cats Food Drive is held every November leading up to the University of Montana vs. Montana State University “Griz-Cat Brawl of the Wild” rivalry football game. Missoulians are encouraged to donate food and cash which benefits thousands of households experiencing food insecurity in Missoula County. The Windermere Missoula team collected over 2,000 pounds of food from their local community which was delivered in bags donated by WinCo Foods Missoula. This was the eighth year Windermere Missoula participated in this event which Managing Broker John Brauer says is great fun and an incredible team-building experience.
Bringing Laughter and Raising Funds in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington
Comedy Night
The Windermere Foundation expanded the annual comedy night held in Portland, OR for the last 22 years to bring even more laughter and raise more money with another event in Seattle, WA.
Both events in 2023 featured Saturday Night Live comedian, Colin Jost. Together they raised over $1.1 million for local organizations supporting youth and families in need.
The annual Steve Allen Comedy Show in Portland, OR was founded by Windermere and benefits non-profit organization New Avenues for Youth, which is dedicated to the prevention and intervention of homelessness for Portland-area young people. The event helps New Avenues for Youth provide programs and services to young people in Portland that focus on the individual – their experiences, identities, needs and goals—and helping them make positive changes in their lives. From meals and counseling to job training and housing, their equity-based services address the many barriers to stability and well-being that young people face.
The inaugural Windermere Foundation Comedy Night in Seattle was organized by and benefited the Windermere Foundation, which has been giving back to the local communities where Windermere Real Estate agents live and work for 35 years. More than 400 people came together for a laughter-filled evening that included dinner, drinks, and an amazing amount of generosity. The money raised from ticket sales and the paddle raise will support organizations in the Seattle area that provide services to low-income and homeless children and families.
Pantone 2024 Color of the Year: How to Use Peach Fuzz in your Home
The global color experts at Pantone have spoken, announcing the 2024 Color of the Year to be “Peach Fuzz.” Leatrice Eiseman, the Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute shared this explanation on the website, “in seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance.”
The gentle color brings to mind an embrace that’s calm and nurturing. Reminiscent of the sun on the horizon, or a fruity drink that promises refreshment, Peach Fuzz has a lot of potential in our homes this year.
Pantone Color of the Year: Peach Fuzz
Peach Fuzz is a light pink-orange hue and is described by Pantone Color Institute as subtly sensual, calm, and comforting. Chosen because of its ability to conjure feelings of tenderness, community, and collaboration, PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz is as modern as it is vintage and “reflects the past yet has been refashioned with a contemporary ambience,” making it accessible for homes and décor of any decade.
How to Use Peach Fuzz in Your Home
While recent trends have leaned into the monochrome look, Peach Fuzz is versatile in palettes that range from earthy to colorful to neutral. The warm hue can be integrated with a variety of existing décor styles and is only restrained to the homeowner’s preferences.
Using Peach Fuzz with an Earthy Aesthetic
If you’ve already developed a warm palette in your space using earthy browns, greens, and blues, Peach Fuzz can offer warmth and interest. Similar to that pink-orange golden hour that casts a warm light across the landscape, this color of the year can bring sunshine to your space through glass elements like candle sticks, vases, and pendant lights.
Consider lighting your space with tapered candles in transparent orange candle stick holders, or tea lights in short peach hurricanes. Or hang a light with an orange pendant to diffuse the lightbulb and bring that sunset look inside your home all evening. Peach vases are another option to combine your love of nature with the sunny warm hue. Consider a translucent glass vase, or maybe one shaped like a mushroom.
Image Source: Naseem designer on Pinterest
Adding Peach Fuzz to a Colorful Room
Do you prefer a colorful approach to your home’s décor? Peach Fuzz can add a lovely backdrop to help gemstone colors pop out even more. Any good palette is a balancing act, and this peach color can sway that balance supporting your jewels and highlighting their rich shades. Add PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz to your background pieces, like throw blankets, rugs, and walls, then layer your gemstone pieces atop.
Image Source: Hunker on Pinterest
Peach Fuzz in a Neutral Room
Many homeowners find that a neutral palette of light and warm off-whites, beiges, and natural woods is more pleasant and easier to maintain. If your home enjoys this minimalist simplicity, and you would like to add another warm color to your aesthetic, Peach Fuzz may be the right one for you.
Adding throw blankets and pillows is a great way to add color to your neutral room, as is replacing your rug with one that includes the pink-orange color in the design. You may also consider swapping out some decorative pieces like coffee table books, vases, and figurines for Peach Fuzz colored replacements.
Image Source: Brighten Made on Pinterest
Ten Qualities to Look For in Your Real Estate Agent
Buying a home is one of the most significant financial and emotional purchases of a person’s life. That’s why it is so important to find an agent that can not only help you navigate the home search process but one who can also answer your questions and represent your needs from start to finish.
Managing Your Investment Property: DIY vs Hiring a Professional
Owning real estate is an efficient and productive addition to your investment portfolio. For an investment property that you don’t plan to live in, whether it’s your second home or you’ve done this a few times before, you’re faced with decisions about how to best use that investment for your goals.
Some investors will remodel their new property and sell it for a return. Others will use it for their vacation home, rent it to other vacationers, or both! But if your goal is to earn income over the long term from this property, you’re likely asking yourself, now what?
Renting to long-term tenants is a great strategy to build your wealth, but it is by no means a passive endeavor. From finding tenants, to managing the property, to finding new tenants again, you’ll need to weigh your options of taking on all the responsibilities or hiring a professional property manager. Managing your own rental takes time, money, and organization that can get in the way of life’s other responsibilities. Between accounting, adhering to local laws and regulations, property maintenance, and creating procedures for working with tenants, your plate will be full. If these responsibilities are too much to handle, the commission charged by a property management company may be a welcomed expense.
Your Local Landlord Tenant Laws and Regulations
The laws and regulations for rental properties differs across states, counties, and cities. Some locations are more regulated than others and whoever manages the property will need to be an expert in each.
If you decide to do it yourself, you’ll need to make sure you’re aware of the responsibilities and requirements for landlords in leasing, property maintenance, and payments. Check your local government’s website for more information and consider joining a local landlord association who provides support and updates for its members. To avoid getting into legal trouble, you’ll want to make sure your procedures are within the law, including how you tour and ask tenants to apply. It’s also recommended that you have a lawyer review your lease contract before accepting tenant applications.
Most professional property managers are aware and practiced in the local laws and regulations. They will also likely have a lease template that has been reviewed by lawyers, so they know it’s legal and enforceable. When talking with your local Windermere Property Management office, be sure to ask them about their processes for following the local laws, including their leasing procedures.
Investment Property: Managing the Money
Another important consideration is how you’ll manage the monies for your investment property. You’ll need to manage the security deposit, any fees you plan to charge, a way to take the monthly rent payment, and a savings account for property maintenance.
If you plan to manage the unit yourself, you’ll need to set up bank accounts in accordance with the local laws and keep track of the accounting for tax season. You’ll also want to make it easy for your tenants to pay rent. Check to see if your bank offers some form of ACH that you can set up or inquire about where tenants can send checks for deposit.
Professional management companies will have an accountant who manages the funds and tracks the income and expenses for property owners. You’ll likely set up a deposit and withdrawal agreement to make it easy to get your monthly check and pay any invoices. You can imagine the amount of time this saves!
When interviewing with a property manager, ask them where they hold deposits and their systems for rent payments. Oftentimes they’ll have software that makes it easy for tenants to pay online and track the monies they receive from tenants. Be sure to understand how you get paid as well and when you can expect those payments to be made each month.
Image Source: Getty Images – Image Credit: Hispanolistic
Moving In Tenants and Investment Property Maintenance
The beginning of a tenancy can set the tone for the rest of the lease. Build trust and respect with your tenants from day one; be upfront with your expectations for communication, especially about maintenance issues. It all starts with a move-in condition report.
A move-in condition report is a detailed document that notes the state of the property before the tenants have lived in it so that you can compare that to its condition when they move out. This helps you understand what damage, if any, is the tenant’s responsibility and what comes out of your pocket.
If you plan to manage the property yourself, you’ll want to find resources online or from your local landlord association about the best practices for move-in to make sure you don’t miss anything important as you inspect the exterior and interior of your rental property with the tenants.
Professional property managers have a wide range of services, which means even if you don’t hire one to handle every aspect of the rental, they may offer support with move-in. Their experience and knowledge will come in handy, along with their tried and tested procedures, leaving less to chance when the tenants move out.
Maintaining the property will differ for each investor depending on the condition of the home, the appliances, and your local laws that outline responsibilities for all parties involved. In some cases, you may never hear from a tenant about an issue or request, while other cases will require more hands-on work.
As a landlord, it’s a good practice to have a list of vendors you trust to handle common issues and emergencies. You also have the option to do the handiwork yourself if you are nearby and equipped to do so. Be sure your tenants know and understand how you’ll handle maintenance requests and work with them to schedule appointments.
Property managers usually already have a list of preferred vendors who they have worked with before. They will likely have someone at the ready for a wide range of issues which comes in handy, especially in the wake of large incidents that can book up the service providers in the area.
When interviewing professionals, be sure to ask them about their experience with moving tenants in, and their procedure and vendor list for maintenance requests. You’ll also want to know how they’ll communicate with you and manage payment for the invoices.
Which One Is Right For You?
After taking these factors into consideration, it’s up to you to determine what makes the most sense for your needs and lifestyle. If you feel comfortable managing your investment property and you know you have the time and ability to handle maintenance requests in a timely manner (especially emergencies), then being a landlord is right for you.
However, if you prefer to be more hands off and use the property for passive income with less effort on your part, hiring a professional for a commission might be worth it.
Windermere Property Management
Featured Image Source: Getty Images – Image Credit: Giselleflissak
Staying Safe When Selling Your Home
Staying organized while uprooting your life and moving from one home to another can feel impossible. There’s also the pressure to keep your home clean and tidy for showings to prospective buyers, but your personal safety is an important consideration as well.
The Benefits of Adding a Catio to Your Home
Cat owners are often faced with many considerations as they fill their homes with toys and cat trees to appease the kings and queens of the household. One such consideration is how to best use the space. Adding a catio to your home will help keep your cat entertained and safe and can be easily customized to fit the needs of any living space.
The Benefits of Adding a Catio to Your Home
A catio can offer a wide range of benefits for you and your cat, including daily enrichment opportunities. Catios provide easy access to the outdoors where they can stimulate their senses. By providing this connection to the outside world, cats can independently spend their days as they please with a wide variety of options to choose from.
Catios also keep your feline friends safe from the dangers that lurk outside. While they’re able to enjoy the outdoors, the enclosed space keeps them nearby while keeping predators out. This prevents accidents with cars on a busy street and run-ins with potentially harmful animals found in residential areas such as raccoons, and in certain areas, coyotes. It also keeps out other cats, preventing exposure to diseases and accidental pregnancies.
Image Source: Getty Images – Image Credit: ahloch
In addition to the benefits catios provide for your furry friend, you will also improve the livability of your home by reducing the damage to your furniture and rugs or carpet. When your cats can enjoy that space, they are less likely to exert their pent-up energy on your carpeted and upholstered pieces.
For those cats who act on their hunting instincts, a catio is also a great way to keep local wildlife out of your home. From their perch in their enclosure, they will get to smell and watch birds, mice, and rabbits, but they won’t have the opportunity to hunt them. Saving these lives helps your neighborhood’s ecosystem and saves you from having to clean up the mess afterwards.
Providing a litter box outside can also improve your indoor air quality by reducing smells, chemicals, and bacteria associated with cat litter. Of course, it’s not wise to replace an indoor litter box with an outdoor one, but by adding another one that’s nearby, your cat will use the indoor box less.
What Can You Do with a Catio?
The simple answer: anything you want. Catios are customizable for your space and your cat’s interests. Answering these two questions will help you start the process of designing or choosing a design to build.
- How much space can you offer to the enclosure?
- How will the cat(s) enter the enclosure from the house?
You may also want to consider what kind of exposure to the elements you’re comfortable with, whether it’s open air or if you need a little more protection from the elements with a solid exterior. While in some areas wire fencing might be all that’s needed, regions with harsher climates may require a more robust setup, such as insulated windows.
Catio Options
If you have a smaller space, you may consider a catio attached to a window, which won’t take up any additional square footage. Much like a garden box, you can attach a small shelf-like enclosure just outside your window and stretch it as far out as desired. The entry point can be the window, making it easy to open and close.
Image Source: Shutterstock – Image Credit: SvetMedvedeva
Image Source: Getty Images – Image Credit: ahloch
If you have a yard, you can give your cat a tunnel. A simple addition to the home, attach an elongated box that juts out into the yard for your cat to explore and get a 360-degree view of the elements. You can attach this to an existing cat door or add a cat door on an exterior wall.
For those with a larger space, or if you already have a patio set up, you can build out a catio like an extension on your home. Attach the large enclosure to the exterior and use either a window or cat door for entry. Use the structure to offer a multitude of options on the outermost walls, like shelves, ramps, and hammocks. Customize it with your cat’s favorite things, like scratching posts and pet-safe plants. You can even add a chair for yourself in there if you want!
For more ideas on caring for your pets, home maintenance, and more, visit the Living category of our blog:
Featured Image Source: Getty Images – Image Credit: Moyo Studio
