Spring Cleaning Ideas for Your Home

Spring is just around the corner and your home may need a bit of help!  Get your home ready for fresh air, ray of sunshine, and a fresh and lively atmosphere by giving it a good clean and organization.  Here are some Spring cleaning ideas for your home!

 

Shake it Out: Shake out area rugs throughout the home.  Shake out throw blankets that are draped on chairs and furniture to give a fresh fluff to them.

Purge the Fridge: Get rid of unwanted and old food and give your refrigerator a good wipe down.  Open a box of baking soda and place it in the refrigerator to absorb any unpleasant odors.

Clean Out the Closet: Spring clean your closet and drawers.  Get rid of anything that you no longer wear or want.  Take everything out and reorganize your closet and drawers.  This is leave your home and mind feeling lighter.  It is also a great way to donate to local shelters or the Goodwill.  Switch out last season’s clothes with those for this season.  This is give you more space in your closet and dressers.  Store and label last season’s clothes in a storage bin in the basement or garage.

Gut the Gutters: Despite cleaning the gutter last fall, they probably could use another cleaning come springtime.  Twigs, leaves, and debris can gather in your gutters throughout Fall and Winter.  Making sure that you have clean gutters and proper flow of water away from your home can save yourself from a wet basement!

Toss the Toys: Spring is an excellent time to go through your children’s toys and get rid of any toys that your child outgrows, are broken, or simply just don’t want anymore.  Have your children sort through the toys with you.  Donate any unwanted toys to children in need.  This is a great way to exemplify cleanliness, organization, and charity. 

Clean the Garage: Let the fresh breeze flow through the garage while you go through your belongings and sort through what you want and what you can get rid of.  Reorganize your garage to make it easier to find stuff and for your children to access their outdoor toys.

Window Washing: Let more natural light enter your home by giving your windows a good washing.  You’ll be surprise how much can build up on your windows and can hinder light from brightening up your home.  Enjoy the sunshine while you power wash your windows outdoors as well as a simple cleaning from inside!

Clean the Carpets: Nothing is better than having clean and fresh carpets.  Rent or borrow a carpet cleaning vacuum if you don’t already own one yourself.  Lift food, mud, and other stains and smells that have accumulated on your carpets over the past year or so.  It will give a brand new feel to your home.

Prep the Patio: Get your patio ready for fun and festivities for the summertime by sweeping and power-washing.  Toss your outdoor pillows, cushions, and blankets into the wash to give them a new and fresh look and feel.  Remove flaking paint and rust from metal furniture using a wire brush and sandpaper, then give it a fresh coat of paint. Clean vinyl cushions of mold or mildew with a mixture of 1/4 cup of Borax and warm water.  Give your grill a good scrub and then fire it up for a fun-filled barbecue!

Allergy Proof Your Home: It’s allergy season.  Avoid runny noses, itchy eyes, and constant sneezing for those who are affected.  Make your home a comfortable and inviting place by allergy proofing your home.  Lay double door mats down at the door, both outside and one inside, to stop pollen from being trekked in.  Have guests remove their shoes to help with this too. Swap out heavy drapes for lighter weight curtains that can be machine washed.  Invest in a HEPA air filter or upgrade to a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter attached because air filtration is key to controlling the air quality in your home.

Green Sweep: Check your lawn for any damaged spots once the snow has melted and Spring is around the corner.  Rescue patchy lawn areas by removing deal soil, tilling the soil, and adding compost.  Once warmer weather hits, reseed any dead patches but, be sure to lay off of the fertilizer because it can result in the growth of cold-season weeds rather than grass.  Watch your beautiful lawn even out and enjoy your green grass!

Defunk Your Fabrics:  Fabrics hold a lot of smells, dust, and bacteria and that it why it’s crucial to tackle that problem.  Wash mattress pads, pillow coverings, and pillows from all of the beds in your home.  All pillows, other than foam pillows, can go right into the washer but, be sure to check labels for specific laundering instructions. Then do a second load with your bath mat, shower curtain, and even the curtain liner on the gentle cycle with color-safe bleach.

Check the Exterior: Winter can do a number on your home so take some time to walk around your house.  Check the roof for loose singles, gutters, or siding.  Be sure to keep an eye out for wood rot, pay particular attention to windows, doors, and trim.  Discard any sticks, leaves, or trash that got blown onto your property.  Fix or straighten up any trim, bricks, stepping stones, or outdoor décor that may be out of place.  Give your exterior a quick power wash to give your home that glisten that it deserves. 

Home Projects for the Spring

Spring time is a great time to liven up your home to give it a new and refreshed feel or to increase the eye-appeal for future potential buyers.  There are many projects to take on in the home and when else to do them than in the warm sun and brisk breeze!  The following are a few home project ideas for Spring.

Plant a Garden: Everybody loves pretty flowers!  Spring is the perfect time to plant a flower garden.  Visit a local flower shop to learn which flowers are ideal for your garden.  You don’t have to go crazy with it, just choose your favorite!  Gardening is a great way to get your children involved and to grow healthy herbs, vegetables, and fruits.  Not only is planting flowers therapeutic but it can also increase your curb appeal!

 

Interior and Exterior Painting:  Give a room a burst of color or the outside of your home a fresh coat of paint!  Browse through home magazines or look online to find fun and appealing colors for your walls.  Trending now is to give just one wall in a room a pop of color to give the illusion of space.  Save yourself some money and have a bit of fun with your partner by painting indoors yourself!  Giving your home a fresh coat of exterior paint will definitely catch the eye of potential buyers.

Replace Appliances: Just like Spring cleaning your closet, Spring clean your entire home!  Have an old ugly refrigerator or dish washer?  Replace it!  A clean, bright, and efficient new appliance will spruce up the feel of your kitchen and also add to your home value.

Landscaping:  Other than your adorable new Spring garden, landscaping can pose many benefits to your home this Spring!  Replace old broken bricks where bricks already are. Line your driveway with a brick border, create a walk way by laying stepping stones, or add mulch where needed.  Bring life and character to your outdoors by adding a bird bath, large potted plants or flowers, garden accessories, or anything else to up your curb appeal!  

Replace Carpeting: Give a room a lift by replacing the carpeting.  Choose a more current, modern, and versatile carpet.  New carpet can give a clean and fresh feel to a room.  Save some money by using self-adhesive carpet tiles rather than expensive yards of carpet.   

  
Liven Up Your Deck: Create an inviting space on your deck for friends and family to gather, barbeque, eat, drink, and have fun.  Add an outdoor bar area for delicious refreshments and a place for adults to mingle.  Scatter colorful outdoor throw pillows, an outdoor blanket, and seat cushions on your deck seating.  String some outdoor lights along the deck to illuminate a walkway or the border of your deck or outdoor table umbrella.

Remodel the Kitchen: Use this time of year to remodel your kitchen by replacing cabinet doors, door handles, expanding pantry and storage space, updating to a larger and more modern sink, adding more light and space to the kitchen, creating a common area for family and guests to sit and mingle while cooking, replace old appliances, or add a beautiful new counter top to your kitchen. 

Replace Windows: Give your home light and make it bright!  Add more natural light to your home by replacing old and small windows.  You could save up to $500 per year in heating and cooling costs with the right window selection as well!

Replace Siding: Get rid of that old, broken siding on your home and replace it with new and more eye-appealing siding.  Make your home more appealing to potential buyers by giving it an outdoor make over.  There are various options for siding to choose from so be sure to choose the best for your home such as vinyl, aluminum, wood and cement fiber.

New Entry Door:  What better way to give a great first impression than to have a beautiful entry door!  Replace your old, chipped door with a beautiful new door.  Shop around for great deals or search online for doors to refurbish!

 

Make Spring time YOUR time to give your home a new, fresh, and lively make over with these Spring project ideas!

Some Trends in the 2016 Real Estate Market

Social Media and the Internet

Social media has undoubtedly changed the way various business markets operate, including the real estate industry, for buyers, sellers, and realtors.  Customers seeking to buy homes turn to the online world before ever speaking with a realtor or a broker.  Websites like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com are usually the first place for a potential buyer or seller to search for a realtor.  Realtors are upping their online game by optimizing on websites such as these.  They try to provide the most attractive and informative profiles and many even pay for upgrades and “pro” versions in attempt capture the attention of potential clients.  Blogs are another popular tool for realtors due to increase in popularity of blogs and customer reviews.  Many realtors will have a professional Facebook page for their business to retain relationships with past clients, gain referrals, and to keep friends and family updated on new listings or blog posts.  Linkedin is a great way for realtors to grow their business and to network with other realtors and brokers.  Buyers and sellers use social media to try to learn more about realtors on a more personal and professional level before ever meeting.  They want to see what type of person their potential new realtor is like and what kind of experiences their past clients had.  Social media and the Internet are the best free source of marketing that a realtor can take advantage of.

Younger Buyers

Booming in popularity within the real estate industry is the rising amount of millennials as first-time homebuyers.  Rolling over as a growing trend from 2015, millennials are looking to buy rather than rent.  With the rise in rent prices and the improved availability of finances, millennials rather make the most out of their finances and investments and try to avoid wasting money on rent. 

Other Generations

2016 isn’t just the year for millenials and other first-time homebuyers but, other generations will be affecting the market.  The Gen Xers who are financially recovering and older boomer who are thinking about or entering retirement with both make an imprint on the real estate market in 2016.  Both of these generations are already homeowners but, they’re most likely to play a double role, both boosting the market as both buyers and sellers.  Approaching, or already in, retirement, older boomers are looking to downsize and obtain a lower cost of living while Gen Xers are in their prime earning years and seek to relocate to better neighborhoods for their families.  With the movement of these two generations, the millennials will have a great suburban inventory to choose from. 

Pushing Great Deals

A buyer’s market will emerge in 2016 with the increase of quality inventory available, especially in single-family homes.  Realtors will be getting creative with how they pitch the best deals.  With a decreasing trend in distressed sales, there will be an increased inventory of large, high-quality deals for new and experienced buyers.  Agents will have to understand the buyers that they are working with in order to really be successful this year. 

More Mortgage Brokers in the Office

In-house office teams are beginning to have more brokers available than ever before with the trending lower rates. 

Creative Gifting

Realtors love nothing more than building a business upon referrals.  In order to do this, realtors have sent gift baskets, magnets, calendars, and other traditional gifts.  The best realtors know the true importance of post-sale transactions so they’re getting more creative.  Hand-made address stamps featuring clients’ new home address are just one unique way for realtors to make their customers feel special.  Realtors who gift these tend to notice a boost in social media recognition from their client’s being happy about their new home.  Whatever the creative gift idea may be, realtors know that they can be critical in securing referrals and second-home purchases.

Second Tier Cities Taking Place

Some 24-hour cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Dallas, have been popular and ideal for many homeowners but, with a younger, trendier, and more frugal wave of homebuyers, second-tier cities are rising in popularity.  Some of these second-tier cities are Nashville, San Antonio, Austin, Portland, and Raleigh.  Residents of these cities benefit from lower cost of living (compared to 24-hour cities), more affordable and available investment opportunities, the ability to stay connected far from main hubs, and an increase in sophistication of realtors.

Sources:

http://www.curbed.com/2016/1/27/10842856/top-10-real-estate-trends-of-2016

http://www.inman.com/2015/10/21/10-real-estate-marketing-trends-to-keep-an-eye-on-in-2016/

http://www.realtor.com/news/trends/five-key-trends-for-2016/