Stage that home to sell!

A picture is worth 1000 words, especially when selling your home. Make sure your home is staged before listing and that you have great photos for the MLS. We offer not only home staging, but a photography service as well. Just bartered getting my toes done in exchange for professional photography for the mls :-)

Household Tip of the Week

Flexible vacuum

To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Green Tip of the Week

In my never ending quest to find new uses for old items, I came across a multitude of creative ways to repurpose today's worn out nylon pantyhose

• Tie up tomato vines and other plants to keep them off the ground.
• Fill a tube with old soap slivers to use every last bit of lather.
• Corral bath salts the next time you soak in the tub.
• Store wrapping paper. Use one roll per leg and hang them in a closet. The edges won't fray and they will stay organized.
• Cover your rolling pin with a tube of pantyhose to prevent wet flour from sticking.
• Next time you lose something small and valuable, wrap a piece of pantyhose over the nozzle of your vacuum cleaner. Sweep it over the floor and your lost item should stick to your new pantyhose filter.
• Crumple up a pair and use as a pot or dish scrubber.
• Fill a leg with lavender or cedar chips and hang in your closet.
• When repotting houseplants place a circle of pantyhose in the bottom of the pot to prevent soil erosion.

sources: green planet, daily green

Lisa Ryan is owner of Smart Move Design, a home staging and redesign company serving Syracuse, central, and northern NY.

The Rules of Lighting

To improve the look of your home, its best to know the types of lighting and how to use them. The first is ambient lighting. The purpose is to create evenly distributed light in a room. These can be ceiling lights, recessed lights, and lamps.

The next is accent lighting. These are secondary lights in a room. They help visually separate a room or highlight an architectural feature or art. They must be 3 to 5 times brighter than the ambient lighting. Examples of this type of lighting are spotlights, a sconce, or even candlelight.

The next is task lighting which is used for just that, performing a task. It needs to be 6 to 10 times brighter than the ambient light.

The next is natural light, which we spoke about in the previous blog post, and the last is outdoor lighting. Outdoor lighting is important as it provides security and gives your exterior a nice look.

Try layering all types of lighting in a room for an impressive look.

Source: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/home/5-ways-to-light-up-your-home5.htm

Letting Light In

A big difference can be made in the appearance of your home with the use of natural lighting, and also has proven health benefits. Having more light in the home increases productivity and makes you feel better! Having skylights is a great way to utilize day lighting, but if your home doesn't have them there are still ways to use natural light. Get rid of heavy draperies. Use curtains that are more transparent to let more light in. Opt for no curtains or a valance. Consider adding transom windows above your current windows. It is also a good idea to utilize large windows, or any window in the home as a focal point. Bringing more natural light into the home is like bringing the outdoors in! When staging your home to sell, potential buyers love a home that is light and bright!

Feng Shui in the Home

Feng shui can get quite in depth, however the basics are easy to follow. Color is something that gives a room a new energy. In Feng shui, there are five color elements. They include wood, water, metal, earth, and fire. Wood promotes development and creativity in the home. Metal creates attention and energy in a space. Earth represents the stability of a home, fire represents energy and passion, and water shows wealth and promotes communication. Earth is light yellow or beige. It is to be used in the northeast part of the home or the southwest. Then there is metal which is white and gray. It is to be used in the west and northwest part of the home. Water is blue and black. It is for the north part of the home. Wood is brown and green. It is for the east and southeast parts of the home. Feng shui has many categories and elements to it. The key is to bring in color and light into your home to make it a better place and make you happier and healthier!

Source: http://fengshui.about.com/, http://www.thespiritualfengshui.com/

Green Tip of the Week

Aluminum Foil - who knew there were so many ways to re-use it?

* Paint and plaster texture: Use crumpled up foil to add interesting texture to painting and plastering projects. Also when you're painting, old foil is handy for masking doorknobs and other fixtures you don't want painted, and wrapping your paintbrushes and rollers in during a lunch break.

* Wash it and use it again, and again, and again. Wash it with soap and water, lay it flat and smooth it with your hands or a rolling pin. (Do not use it again for food purposes if it has been contact with raw meat.)

* Sharpen scissors and garden shears: fold the foil so it's six to eight layers thick, then cut thru it a few times with dull scissors to instantly sharpen them. To sharpen hefty garden and pruning shears, fold the foil so that it's even thicker.

* Reduce static cling: I don't understand how it works, but if you throw a crumpled piece of aluminum foil into the clothes dryer, it seems to magically reduce static electricity. A true miracle of cheapskate science.

* Deter pets and other animals: cats, dogs, and other animals can't stand aluminum foil! Use it to break their bad habits.

* Make metals shine: Scrub rust off of steel and chrome with a wad of aluminum foil, it works even better than steel wool!

* Shim a table leg: Ball up some old foil for under the short leg of an uneven table to make it a level field once again.

* Scrub grills and baked-on messes: A wad of used foil makes a great scouring pad for cleaning the gunk off BBQ grills and stuck-on food from pots, pans, and inside ovens.

* Repair stripped threads: got a nut, bolt or screw with stripped threads? Wrap a little aluminum foil around the bolt or screw and try gently tightening it again. A quick temporary fix.


Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/blogs/save-money/aluminum-foil-recycled-460210#ixzz0lqNfATLx

Lisa Ryan, Owner
Smart Move Design
Professional Home Staging and Redesign
Serving Syracuse, NY and surrounding areas.