Way back in the early 90's, my children attended a school Prince of Wales in Barrie that believed the children should not bring anything to school in their lunch that would have to be sent to a landfill.
Their solution to this was as follows-
In each classroom there was a container with 4-5,000 worms in soil inside a box. All vegetable and fruit scraps would be placed in the box and the worms would take care of it from there. It is called vermicomposting.
Of course it was only a matter of time before there was a box of worms in our home. Children are early adapters to things that make sense. They could see immediate results to their actions and how those choices effect their environment.
Any container that was brought had to be reusable (first choice and heavily promoted) or recyclable (distant second choice).
This pretty much took care of any waste that had previously been taken to a landfill.
A list was provided to the children to post on their fridge with ideas for a healthy lunch that did not produce waste.
Does anyone know of any schools that are practising this method of reducing waste in their town?
It makes more sense to not create the waste in the first place instead of trying to figure out how to dispose of it afterwards. You have the choice in how big your carbon footprint is. How about it? Ready for some worms in your life? They are quiet, you don't have to clean up after them and they cost nothing to feed except your scraps that were previously going to the landfill.
In this example I would like to show Realtors and Homeowner's the importance of creating a neutral dining room to allow buyers to see themselves entertaining their family in the home.
Before staging, the dining room was a real conversation starter with the purple walls and the pink dining room set. The beautiful crystal chandelier was lost in the room and was not even noticed.
All I did in this dining room was to paint a calm, neutral colour, remove the floral draperies to add to the serene effect, add artwork and an area rug. The chandelier is now a selling point in the room. A simple floral arrangement has been placed on an updated dining room set to allow the buyer to see how they could entertain in this room.
Investment minimal.
Impact priceless.
Advantage Staging will market your property to stand out from the competition every time.
On the most basic level Home Staging is about marketing a home to appeal to potential buyers.
But what it is really about when you dig deeper, is getting the buyer to find one thing about your listing that they absolutely love and cannot live without. They just can't get it down the street or around the corner.
As a Professional Home Stager it is your job to find that ONE THING that makes the buyer say this is the house for them. You create an inviting feeling throughout the home, but if your aim is true, you will find the one thing that makes the buyer say ..... this is the house for me.
This property is on 3 acres, out in the country north of Barrie. A little out of the way and the price point is one that is not moving very well in our area. Although the property was stunning, they only had four showings in four months. Each couple through always commented on the mirror that I placed above the fireplace in the family room that was seen upon entering the double door foyer.
It absolutely made an awesome impact when buyers came in the front door.
In the end, the couple buying the house said they would pay the full list if they could have the mirror over the fireplace. I asked the homeowner how much he charged the buyers for the mirror.
He just smiled and said $ 699,000. The Homeowner said that it was the mirror over the fireplace that held the interest of the potential buyers every time. The Staging did it's job. I found the ONE THING about the property that no other house could offer to a buyer. It was the totally jaw dropping view through to the family room that would make an impression on all who would visit this house.
This is the ONE THING that I did that had the impact required to move a $699,000 house in a very slow market.
I called up a broker owner to ask if I might do a 10 minute presentation on my Home Staging services for their weekly sales team meeting. He stopped me right after I introduced myself and said... "Why should I have you in here when I have how many other Stagers calling me up every day? What makes Advantage Staging so special?"
I was glad he asked as I know I offer many services that other Stagers do not such as-
-over $30,000 in rental props and accessories inventory
-over 250 pieces of rental artwork
-a construction background for the jobs that require extra prep work before a Staging takes place
-a Live Green, Live Smart certified trainer for Realtors that want to get certified as a "green" Realtor
-the "go to" person for referrals to painters, renovators, electricians etc. that show up on time and on budget
-specialize in senior transition
as well as having a killer presentation. I have Realtors from Barrie to Toronto stop me in stores and say... I know you. You were in my office about 6 months ago. They only saw me for 10 minutes but they never forget my presentation.
What do you do that makes you so special? What separates you from the pack? Why are you outstanding in your field?
Take the time to find out what your niche is and I guarantee you will find a clientele for your work.
I was just listening to our national radio station, CBC ONE, and was inspired to learn that the state of Utah has just gone to four, ten hour days instead of five, 8 hour days to save energy in the state buildings. One day a week, the buildings are closed.
Of course they had to look at employee issues like childcare and public transit to get to work.
Also, how it would effect the public. The public loves it as they can now do their business before and after their regular work day.
The four day week was started as a movement in the 60's as a lifestyle choice, but as usual, the only way things move ahead is when it comes down to saving money corporately.
It is a good move for both reasons and I say Kudos to Utah for taking a lead in this method to save tax payers money by conserving energy.
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Marketing your Property for Sale. Incorporate a Professional Home Staging consultation in your marketing plan to attract attention, create desire and initiate action on the part of your buyer.
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