Often overlooked in the prepping your home for sale arena - Carpet cleaning!
I know we mention that your home should be clean, ditch the stains, but for some reason most people jump straight to the "I don't want to replace the carpet!" response! Folks, you'd be amazed at what a good carpet cleaner can do for your carpets!
For the Wichita area, I personally have tried oh, about 8 carpet cleaners.
And have finally discovered the one I will be sticking with. 
Let me preface this with the fact that I have 3 kids, 2 being rowdy boys who spill everything, and the 3rd being of the drooling, bottle dropping variety. I also have 2 dogs, 1 large to get the majority of the carpet dirty, and a small one to reach the spots that the bigger one can't fit into! So needless to say, my carpets get filthy quick and need cleaning often. Popsicles, milk, candy, mud, potty accidents, you name it, it's probably been in my carpet!
So I'd get them cleaned every few months. Sometimes it'd stay sticky afterwards - YUCK!!! Sometimes the old stains would be back, albeit lighter, within the month! Then I got lucky and met Andrew Armstrong, owner of City Steam Clean. At that point, I'm skeptical of carpet cleaner claims. But gave it a whirl. He came over and cleaned my living room, hall, and 1 bedroom. Then he sat there and talked to me about how to take care of carpets, what damages them, what damage looks like, life expectancy and how to maintain it, and more! The good part - he was actually one of the cheaper ones I used! The best part - no stains came back, the carpets weren't sticky, and they smelled wonderful for quite a while!!
He is now my exclusive carpet cleaner, and I've also had him do a few of my listings too! Everyone has been thrilled!
If you're thinking of putting your home on the market, and you've got sticky stains, don't think you need to replace the carpet! Call City Steam Clean and see what a wonderful job Andrew can do for you! If you're not selling but looking for a good carpet cleaner, he has my hearty recommendation!
Give him a call at 316-641-4784 !! You won't regret it! And tell him that Sheree sent you!
Need more tips to get your home ready to sell? Schedule a walk-through today! I'll preview your home and leave you with a honey-do list to get ready!
I've had cats since I was oh.... born. We've never been without a cat in my household until recently when I married my severely allergic husband. We're working on that....
But I'm extremely fond of them and you'll find me lingering at most any listing that has its own feline inhabitant. I have even adopted the neighborhood Tom cat and he has a dish in my garage!
So I'd like to think that I knew quite a bit about cats and how to take care of them, having spent the last couple of decades with kitties!
I found this site: http://www.yourspecialcat.com/ and learned several things I didn't know!
For instance, did you know that kitties are lactose intolerant and should not drink milk? But they do sell a special variety of milk on Amazon just for poor little kitties to drink. Check out Four Common Foods your cat should avoid for a couple of more surprises!
The site even has a health section helping you ease your cat's symptoms when they too get the common cold or become the never-ending hairball machine.
All in all, it was a neat site and had a few surprises for me, so I wanted to pass that on to the kitty lovers in my life!
There are 19 locations in the Wichita and Sedgwick County area that are accepting trees for recycling. They take the tress and chip them into mulch. The mulch is free to anyone who wants it! They do ask that you remove all decorations, of course, before dropping it off.
They are open until January 23!
Here's some locations for you:
Boston Park - 6655 E. Zimmerly
College Hill United Methodist Church - First/Erie Street
Edgemoor park - 5815 E. Ninth St
Great Plains Nature Center - 6232 E. 29th St N.
Buffalo Park - 10209 Hardtner (near Central/Maize)
Extension Center - 7001 W. 21st St (21st/Ridge)
Old Cowtown Museum - 1865 Museum Blvd
Osage Park - 2121 W. 31st St South
Linwood Park - Hydraulic/Mt Vernon
Cheney - East South Ave/Garfield
Clearwater - Aquatic Center Parking Lot
Colwich - 115 S. Third St
Garden Plain - 23rd St/Main
Kechi - 107 Sioux St
Maize - 12000 W. 29th St N
Mt Hope - 400 S. St Thomas
Mulvane - 117 E. Main St
Park City - 6801 N. Hydraulic
Valley Center - The City Park near the Railroad tracks
Turn those poor trees into something useful, even after the glitz and lights are gone! And hey, maybe you need some mulch too!
Have a wonderful New Year!
~Sheree ~
After performing wrestling moves that should have won me an Olympic Gold medal, I have finally gotten my 3yo dressed. Knowing the acrobatics needed, I have yet to do my makeup and hair, so I leave Jamie happily playing with toys in the living room as I sneak off to brush my hair and apply my face-cover that lets me pretend I've slept lately.
A mere 7 minutes later, I stroll out with my laptop, ready to pack my briefcase and load the car, when I hear my husband scream. Dashing into the kitchen, I round the corner and see:
My husband is holding aloft the offending weapon, moaning "Permanent, it says Permanent marker, permanent!" Jamie has dashed off to hide somewhere, knowing he's about to lose all toys to pay for a countertop.
Now on the one hand, I want new countertops, and I am proud of his good lettering (he spells very very well for 3, although he does like to make up words like wielwxe and he has excellent handwriting!), the other side of me is banging my head into the wall. The laminate floor incident was one thing, but this! This says Permanent!
Remembering the last adventure, I whipped out a Magic Eraser, recommended by many readers. That gets a good bit off, but you can still read the letters. Hmmmm.....
So I brought out my gold standard - the good ole Soft Scrub with Bleach. Yes, the same soft scrub that removed the hi-liter from the white laminate tiles. I apply to a paper towel, close my eyes and scrub a bit. Peeking an eyelid open, scared of seeing the definition of Permanent, I almost screeched to see an 'e' nicely erased! 
Soon my boring blah countertops were back to their usual, my 3yo was saved from having his Christmas presents garnished, and my husband's heart medication was able to kick in. Yay!
The end of another adventure of Captain Jamie!
Now.... to figure out where that marker came from.... kiddie contraband????
Adios!
Previous Episode:
http://activerain.com/blogsview/419200/Hi-liters-and-Laminate-Flooring
What can I get in Wichita for that much $$$?
Many times I find folks coming here from areas are surprised by how much home they can get for their money here. I thought it'd be fun to do a quick review and show you some of what you can get in various price ranges here in Wichita!
What can I get for $50,000?
You could get this 1940's starter home in South-East Wichita, all brick, no basement or garage.
* 2 beds
* 1 bath
* 1001 sq ft
What about $100,000?
Or this 1978 ranch home on the west-side with fenced yard, and by the park:
*3 beds
* 2 baths
* 1600 sq ft
* 1 car attached garage
* Finished basement
Wow, how about $200,000?
Try a 2008 West-side home with tons of room in a new subdivision:
*5 beds
*3 baths
*2590 sq ft
*3 car attached garage
*Finished basement
*Fireplace
Well, what if I've got $300,000 to spend?
Or maybe a 1984 built estate size home with a walk-out basement and room to lose each other in and on the lake!
*5 beds
*3 1/2 baths
*4322 sq ft
*2 car attached garage
*Full Finished Basement
*Fireplace
Let's go hog wild, here's a $500,000 home for sale in Wichita!
Check out this 1996 built custom home 20 minutes outside town, with over 68 acres of land and 2 ponds:
*6 beds
*5 1/2 baths
*4083 Sq Ft
* 3 car attached garage and detached workshop
*Inground pool
*2 Fireplaces
*Granite countertops
And for grins, here's what you can get for a cool $1,000,000 in Wichita, KS! 
A gorgeous one-of-a kind home on a rare acre lot in College Hill - the place to be!
*4 beds
*7 baths
*9564 sq ft
*Inground pool with pool house and guest apartment
*3+ fireplaces
*Wine Cellar, Nursery, Theatre room, butler's pantry, master has 2 sitting rooms, Library, Titanium roof underlayment, and a kazillion other features!
For easy searching, click on any of the photos above and you'll go to a page where you can click an area of town and instantly view homes in set price ranges without messing with setting search parameters at all. Quick easy way to compare various areas of town and what you can get for your bucks!
Ready to shop for some of these homes? Drop me a line and we can get started!
Sheree Wilkerson
316.461.0575
sheree@ksgreathomes.com
Realty World Alliance
www.kansashomebuzz.com
Sheree and Kelly Wilkerson in Wichita, Goddard, Maize Kansas Residential Real Estate! We operate on the Golden Rule principle to make your dreams come true in home-ownership!
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