Shedding's a Mess But Dog Hair Can Be Useful

Is spring time also known as shedding time in your household? We're trying to keep up with the hairy mess around here. Some of the things you can do:

1. Cover up. It may seem obvious, but instead of spending hours cleaning up after the dog hair, you can just protect your furniture by covering it up...toss a sheet or throw over your couch, armchair or sleeper sofa to keep it safe, then whisk it off for laundering. I figure our couch is lasting longer (even if I can't see it under that throw blanket!)

2. Protect the car too. We need to put a mat over the car seat too, or else the car is covered with Kelly hair. I didn't know there were so many different products made specifically to protect car seats. CSN Stores.com has offered to send me a beautiful quilted dog mat to review, and I'll be trying that out and posting a review in a week or so. Check back soon.

3. Vacuum often. That pet hair really accumulates fast. Sometimes I need to vacuum twice a day.

4. Keep one of those lint brushes or sticky picker upper things by the front door. Nothing worse than attending that important business meeting with furry pants.

5. Most importantly, brush your dog or cat often. Or possibly have him or her shaved down for the summer, if you like.

And what can you do with all that dog hair you've collected? There is a great answer: Send it to Matter of Trust. They are collecting dog hair (and cats, alpaca, llamas, horse and even human) to help clean up the oil spill in the Gulf Coast. They make "boons" by stuffing old nylons with hair that absorbs the oil. Wow, there's a benefit to shedding!