Brett Pickett

It may not be the best time of year to sell your house when it's cold, snowy, and dreary outside, but it can be done. Just a few simple steps will help put your house on the top of any buyer's list.

1. Keep pathways clear: If it's snowing outside, shovel a pathway from the driveway to the front door. If the steps are slick, apply sand or a de-icer to prevent guests from falling. Then place a mat inside the front door to keep guests from tracking snow inside the house.
2. Brighten rooms: Open blinds and shutters to let natural light in and turn on all the lights in the house during a showing. It will brighten the home and make it more visible.
3. Turn on the heat: Keep the thermastat just a few degrees warmer than usual, then turn down to normal. This will prevent the heater from turning on while the buyer is present as some units are loud. If you have a gas fireplace, turn it on to make a room feel cozy.
4. Music: Turn on some music...light classical or jazz is always soothing and CDs are better than a radio station.
5. Keep it clean: Wash the windows, clean out the refrigerator, empty trash cans, dust, and vacuum or sweep daily.
6. Share information: Attach printed cards to items and in rooms that provide further information the buyer might miss or may not know. Making an impression is crucial.

In addition to vinegar, baking soda is one of the most versatile and inexpensive ways to clean around your home. Best of all, it's non-toxic, eco-friendly, and cheap! Try these solutions the next time you clean:

1. Unclog a drain: Pour 1/2 cup baking soda down the clogged drain and follow with 1 cup white vinegar. (Note the cool fizzing sound!) Cover. After 15 minutes, rinse with a large pan of boiling hot water. Repeat if necessary.
2. All Purpose Cleaner: In an old spray bottle, combine 2 cups hot water, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon Borax, 2 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar, and a drop of eco-friendly washing up liquid. Use on countertops, refrigerators, cupboards and more.
3. Clean the oven: Add 4 tablespoons baking soda to 1 quart warm water and clean oven with sponge. For really deep cleaning, sprinkle inside of oven with paste of baking soda and water and let set over night. Scour and rinse the next day.
4. Stainless Steel: Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp cloth or sponge and clean. Rinse with water and dry thoroughly for a great shine.
5. Freshen carpets: Sprinkle with baking soda and let stand for 15 minutes. Vacuum and repeat if necessary.
6. Stubborn stains: Use a baking soda paste (3 parts baking soda to one part water) to remove stains from most surfaces. Apply, let sit, then scrub or wipe clean.

We all know first impressions are everything. It's the way you walk into a room, the way you smile and make eye contact. Your body language and even the way you dress can make or break your future interaction with a client (sad, but true in some cases).

First impressions are not only important when meeting a new client in person, but it's just as important to those you don't meet. I'm talking about the ones online.

My client was browsing through some listings the other day on my website and I noticed that she only commented on certain ones. "What's wrong with this one or this one?", I asked her, pointing at some that I thought for sure she would want to see.

"Look at the pictures...they're terrible!", she said. "Why even bother with the photos in the first place?"

Good point. I, for one, am an electronic geek, very detailed oriented, and great with Photoshop. So I make sure that my photos are the best they can be. I pay attention to the lighting, any shadows, that things are in focus, that I'm highlighting the best features of the house and more. I even fine tune the color and crop if needed. Then, I show the photos to my client so that we can go over together what photos to share in a listing or in a flyer.

So it never ceases to amaze me how many listings show pictures of a house that was obviously taken out of a car window. Or ones that are out of focus. Or how about the ones that show the master bedroom, with a forgotten pile of clothes in the corner. Or what about my personal favorite...the one of the backyard with the agent's shadow on the ground.

You don't need to spend a lot of money on an expensive camera. Any easy to use camera will do. Take the time to catch the details and learn how to use Photoshop or any similar program. If you were the seller, would you want your realtor to show blurry pictures of your house that you're trying to sell? Just those couple of steps alone can make a difference in moving a listing.

Not only that...It's a win-win for the potential buyer, the seller, and yourself...as the professional, caring Realtor.

Continuing with my series on living green, this week's topic? Junk Mail.

If you haven't already, it's time to start recycling all that clutter. The flyers, the weekly grocery ads, the pre-approved credit card offers, the catalogs and magazines are all your local recycling centers favorite collectibles. Or shred (via a cross cut or diamond cut shredder, of course!) those unwanted papers and use them as packing material, compost, mulch, or as bedding for your pet hamster.

But don't stop there! Give your mailbox a total makeover by taking your actions one step further..all while saving the environment one tree at a time...opt-out and remove your name from those pesky mailing lists. Similar to those "Do Not Call" lists, you can request to have yourself removed from direct marketing databases for up to five years.

DirectMail.com

OptOutPrescreen

DMAChoice

Visit these sites and not only will you take a step to ward off identity theft, but you'll also see a different in your mailbox and the environment within a few weeks. And it won't even cost you a cent!

With the ecomony and the environment being such "hot" topics in the media and at the water cooler, I've decided to start a new segment about living green affordably. Not everyone can afford to install solar panels, but there are some easy things that you can do now to help make a difference tomorrow...in your life and in your wallet.

Let's begin this new series with the simplest thing you can do in your own home. It requires no additional money or special trips to the hardware store...just you and your flashlight and a short visit with your water heater.

Time to implement: 5 minutes

Maximum cost: optional $20 for water heater insulation blanket

Most homeowner's should keep their water heaters at 120 degrees farenheight. Anything higher than that and you could run the risk of serious burns. If your heater has a low, medium, high setting, keep it on medium. If you find yourself having to add cold water to the hot water, then it's probably too high...turn it down.

For each ten degree reduction in temperature, you could easily save between 3 to 5 percent in energy costs.

But don't stop there! An insulation blanket around the outside of your heater can save you some green in the long run too. For $10-20, you'll reduce standby heat losses by up to 45 percent and save you up to 9% a year in water heating costs.