There’s nothing like having a family pet. But, when welcoming a furry or feathered family member to your home, you must take extra measures to ensure they are living in a healthy and pet-friendly environment.

Just as having good indoor air quality is important to humans, it’s also important for your pets. You’d be surprised by how dirty your air filter can get, so change it regularly to ensure your air conditioner is blowing clean air in your home. Additionally, aerosol sprays are hazardous to birds, so never spray around them. Avoid using softwood shavings in your hamster’s cage, as they emit dangerous fumes that are deadly to your fur baby.

Many objects may look like toys to your pets, however, they can be dangerous — or even deadly. Store rubber bands, ropes, holiday lights, and medicine out of reach or in cabinets to eliminate curiosity and harm. While chocolate may be delicious to humans, it hazardous to dogs and cats, so don’t leave it out on the counter or table. You can also avoid nosy sniffers from getting into food by using childproof locks.

When it comes to the outdoors, we all love looking at a beautifully landscaped yard. However, be mindful of what you’re using to keep the grass green and weeds at bay, as fertilizers and plant food can be toxic to animals. If you’ve just fertilized, keep your pets inside. And once you’ve finished your yard tasks, store everything in sealed containers and out of reach.

Keep your precious animals safe by taking a few extra measures to ensure your home is as pet-friendly as possible.

Window treatments not only bring beautiful style to your home, they also offer necessary privacy. However, when you start looking for window treatments, you might find they’re out of your budget. If this is case, consider a few of these top ways to save money on your window treatments.

Turn Rod Pocket Curtains Into Grommet Curtains

Rod pocket curtains have sewn-in pockets at the top of the panel for the curtain rod. On the other hand, grommet curtains have large grommet openings where the curtain rod slides through. Although rod pocket curtains are often less expensive than grommet curtains, they’re also not as easy to open and close as grommet curtains. However, by simply attaching clip rings to the top of rod pocket curtains, you can pay less for your curtains and still enjoy the convenience of curtains that are easy to open and close.

Make Your Own Roman Shade

If you have a small window in your bathroom or kitchen, a Roman shade offers a sleek and elegant look. However, if you browse for Roman shades, you’ll likely find them ranging from $65 to $75. Luckily, it’s possible to make your own Roman shades with very little sewing involved. You’ll need fabric that’s about 2 inches wider than your window on both sides. You can create the hems using adhesive tape and use hot glue to attach ring tape. After you’ve threaded nylon cord through the ring tape, you can hang the shade using a header board.

Create Your Own Blackout Curtains

Blackout curtains offer many advantages. They can block out streetlights so you get better sleep at night. Additionally, they can keep the sun from beating in your windows and making your HVAC system work harder, which increases your heating and cooling costs. Luckily, it’s very simple to make your own blackout curtains. You can either buy blackout panels that clip directly on your curtains, or you can buy black fabric and sew it on your curtains.

Consider Shutters

If you want something unique for your window treatments, consider installing exterior shutters on the inside. You can sometimes find old shutters at flea markets or antique stores. Brighten them up with a fresh coat of paint to match the interior of your room. Then simply attach them to the sides of your windows. If you’d like them to open and close like real shutters, all you have to do is hang them using hinges.

Get Creative With Your Curtains

The nice thing about curtains is that you can make them from nearly any type of fabric. You can pick up some drop cloths at the home improvement store and embellish them with paint or other fabric. To get a funky look in your kitchen, consider hanging burlap coffee sacks as a window topper. You can even sew long pieces of clearance fabric into panels to create a one-of-a-kind and inexpensive curtain.

With a bit of creativity, you can save money on your window treatments and create beauty and style that’s unique to your home.

Nursing is no longer a cookie cutter job of emptying bedpans and assisting doctors.While there are programs such as Gwynedd Mercy’s ABSN program that will give you the training to enter the nursing profession, nursing has diversified to include a number of specialties. Nor are all nursing specialties paid the same. Here are the six most profitable nursing specialties, some of which are also among the fastest growing disciplines.

Nurse Anesthesiologist

Nurse anesthesiologists perform almost all the tasks of anesthesiologists, and they are paid almost as well, too. Depending on where you live and the type of facility you work in, pay ranges from $100,000 to $130,000 per year. If you’re willing to work nights and weekends or work in the emergency room, pay rates could hit $150,000 per year. Conversely, if you work part time at a surgical center or for a dentist’s office, you could earn $30,000 a year working one or two days a week.

If you already have a bachelor’s degree in nursing, you can become a certified registered nurse anesthesiologist. You will have to complete CRNA continuing education courses at an institution like Valley Anesthesia to retain this certification.

Legal Nurse Consultant

A legal nurse consultant provides medical expertise for lawyers. This may arise as part of wrongful death suits, worker’s compensation cases, or disability cases. Depending on the jurisdiction where you live, you will need a registered nursing license of some kind to work in this area, though a bachelor’s degree is not always required. The pay for full-time legal nurse consulting is around $60,000 a year, though it is often held as a second job or part-time job in retirement.

Nurse Researchers

A nurse researcher or research nurse works for a medical lab, university or non-profit. You may be writing grant proposals, assessing patients in medical studies or crafting reports based on gathered data. Research nurses earn anywhere from $75,000 to $100,000. If you work for a university, you may qualify for free continuing education courses through the school or free to reduced tuition at the institution for your own children.

Mental Health Nurse Practitioners

Mental health nurse practitioners earn between $70,000 and $90,000. They provide medical supervision and support for the mentally ill, those dealing with substance abuse, and nursing homes. Pay is correlated with demand, conditions, and risk. If you work overtime in high-risk environments like correctional facilities, you could hit or exceed $100,000 per year given how few are willing to work with there.

Certified Nurse Midwife

Certified nurse midwives earn an average $75,000 to $80,000 per year. This career is overwhelmingly dominated by women and it is an excellent choice for women who want to work in one of the most hopeful areas in medicine – bringing new life into this world. Midwives may work in birthing centers, visit the client’s home to aid in home births, or work in a hospital. This fast-growing nursing job category is driven by those who simply cannot afford to be attended by an OBGYN, so growth is expected to hit 31% by 2022.

As you can see, nursing goes far beyond the usual registered nurse positions. All these positions have their own specific advantages and some may cater to your strengths more than the other. Please make the time to evaluate each option and see which one would be a perfect match for you.