Did you know that your house guests or potential buyers for your home follow their noses when it comes to determining the cleanliness of your house? Here is an easy way to make your own natural carpet freshening powder using scents you love for your home.

1. Use plain baking soda and pour the desired amount into a sealable container.
2. Sprinkle in a few drops of essential oil, available almost anywhere; craft stores, herb shops, and healthfood stores.
3. Secure the lid and shake your mixture together.
4. Sprinkle lightly onto your carpeting, letting it sit for a few minutes, then vacuum.

Try a nice and spicey essential oil for fall. The beauty is, you will be able to control the intensity of the scent you choose.

-- Julianna Hind

Is your kitchen a frightful mess? You can get organized with some basic handy man skills and just a few hours of labor. All it takes is a hammer and a little sweat equity to produce some fabulous storage solutions that can make the first step to an organized home a delightful treat. Even if you are scared that you're not up to the task of spending your weekend sawing & hammering, hire a carpenter to tackle any of these organizing ideas:

• · To organize mail, paperwork or other small items, add a row of 4x6 cubbies underneath an overhead cabinet.
• · Placemats and napkins can be kept orderly and easily accessible by placing sliding pallets six inches apart in a cabinet near the kitchen table.
• · To make setting the table easy, hang an open cabinet near the dining area and stock it with your most frequently used dishes.
• · Stop wasting valuable space in a broom closet by hanging them on hangars on the back of a door. Instead fill the space with a glass-fronted cabinet and show off your china.
• · To keep your precious little ones safe, install a Dutch door at the kitchen. Open the top half to socialize while keeping guests and children out during heavy cooking.
• · Build out a simple banquet with deep drawers in the eating area. Here you can store extra linens, games, or household supplies. Or for easy access, opt for large cubbyholes and fill them with big baskets with sturdy handles.

~ Amy Owens

From an Unliving Room ~ this loft room was seldom used because the homeowners didn't know how to arrange the room with all of their left over furniture and accessories.

To a Living Room ~ By rearranging the furniture we were able to give the homeowners a comfortable reading area complete with all of their favorite books right at hand.

~Lori Brasseur

What is fear? It is False Evidence Appearing Real. What are some of the fears people have when they consider staging their home for sale?

• First, they do not see the value of staging for them.
• Second, they fear that the appearance will not turn out as they expect.
• Third, it is too expensive.
• Fourth, it takes too much time and energy.

Let us now look at the facts.
First, Staging increases the perceived value and decreases the time a home will sit on the market before it sells. The housing market is extremely competitive. First Impressions Are Lasting Impressions. A buyer will decide to buy your home within the first few minutes. Studies repeatedly show that a non-staged home will sit on the market a minimum of 30.9 days compared to a staged home of 13.9 days or less. The selling price of a staged home will be a minimum of 6.3% more than the asking price compared to a non-staged home of 1.6% over the asking price.

Second, the seller needs to keep in mind that the object is to sell the home and keep the prospective buyer in mind. If your home is not inviting, warm and spacious the buyer will have a difficult time seeing themselves and their furnishings in this space. If there is too much clutter, furniture, disorganization or too much empty space in a room they will have a very challenging time in considering your home to become their future home.

Third, the average cost of a staging is about $300.00 - $450.00 per room. After the initial consultation, your Interior Redesigner and Stager can give you a bid on the actual cost so you will know ahead of time what it will be. The reality is that anything you do to prepare your home for sale is tax deductible which includes staging.

Fourth, you can leave all the work to a professional Interior Redesigner and Stager to do if you do not have the time or knowledge to do this yourself. We come in with objective eyes and see what will be done to get your home sold in the least amount of time with the most amount of market value for you. It usually takes one to two days depending on how much is needed to get the job done.

Finally, my realtor told me that another realtor had a $450,000 listing that did not sell for four months. After staging, it sold in two days! Don’t hesitate to call your professional Interior Redesigner and Home Stager to Sell Your House!

~Irene Woodworth, One Day Redesigns, Inc.

Please, please, please, click on the link below to go to a marketing questionaire I have on my web site. I want this place to be everything you want, and need, but in order to do that I need your imput.

Everything is completely confidential so please fill out everything you feel comfortable with and leave blank anything you wish.

Your comments are greatly appreciated so feel free to add your own words also.

Thank you so much for your time and interest. I will keep you posted on the progress.

I can't wait to tell you whats happening!!! :)

Lori ~ LB Designs