Many years ago, back in the early 1980's, we had a murder mystery party and I asked the guests to come dressed as a famous detective. I came across these photos recently and thought it might be fun to see how many of these crazy sleuths you can identify.
Some of them are more easily recognized than others.
A word of caution: guessing correctly automatically dates you!
Do you know anyone who enjoys cleaning their tub or shower? I don't. It is one of those jobs that people put off as long as possible. I've been in a lot of homes, and I continue to be amazed at the lack of cleanliness when it comes to bathrooms, more specifically tubs and showers.
I've seen some showers that I wouldn't step into fully dressed with my shoes on.
If your house is not for sale and you don't mind black grout lines, that's your business. If you are selling your home then you better scrub those lines back to white.
Of all the rooms in your house, the bathroom is the most important when it comes to cleanliness and the most important when it comes to de-personalizing.
Buyers know, of course, that someone else has been using the bathroom, but buyers don't want to see evidence of that someone else. They need to see a fresh, clean room and emotionally they need to feel comfortable at the idea of making it their own.
Once you have thoroughly cleaned your shower or paid a professional to clean it, here are two ways to prolong the time in between cleanings.
Switch from bar soap to liquid soap. I don't know exactly why, but the bar soap creates much more soap scum buildup. Using liquid will reduce that buildup.
Dry shower after each use. Wipe off excess water and soap residue with a squeegee and then use your bath towel to wipe down walls and floor. Keeping the shower dry prevents mold growth, which thrives in moist conditions. You won't believe how long the shower will stay clean if you get into the routine of drying it. It really doesn't take that long and it will save you a lot of elbow grease in the long run. All family members should develop this habit.
Whether you are living in a "for sale" situation where you have to keep the house in show condition, or just busy and have better things to do than spend time scrubbing the shower, a little extra effort each day can add up to a lot less time scrubbing soap scum and mold.
If you are considering building a green home and would like to visit other green homes to get some ideas, here is your chance to visit some properties and get more information on Green services and professionals available.
If you are interested in reducing your energy footprint and would like more informtion on how to help save the environment through green building, or just want to hear more about the options available, check out this event.
There will be over 75 buildings, located all over the state, opening their doors to the public.
NHSEA is a group of homeowners, business owners and building professionals that want to make a change by helping and educating others on New Hampshire's energy future. You can contact them for more information at:
NH Sustainable Energy Association 54 Portsmouth Street Concord, NH 03301 Tel: (603) 22NHSEA (226-4732)
Here is a very informative post for those sellers thinking about listing in the Spring. It's not too early to start preparing and you can save some money!
Here's 10 great reasons to start thinking about your Curb Appeal now, and what you can do to save hundreds, even thousands of your Spring project today!
1. Contractors, Craftsmen, Landscapers, and Laborers all feel the holiday pinch this time of year. Jobs always dwindle for these hardworking folks in the fall and winter. That means quotes will be leaner as competition gets stiffer. Scheduling any work that fall into these fields of expertise now could really free up your budget to include more than you thought you could afford to have done. Call on these good people NOW, and you'll have more $$ to work with. Stretch that contractor budget to the MAX!
2. NOW is the proper time to fertilize your grass and feed your perennials one more time before they go dormant for the winter. One afternoon dosing your lawn, shrubs, and flowers on a single crisp fall day will allow you months of longer-performing, healthier plants for months in the growing season.
3. Pruning trees & shrubs now will also go a long way to improve the overall appearance and health of your existing greenery. Removing unnecessary branches and leaves now allows the plant to concentrate it's nutrients on the remaining branches, allowing for a more lush look in the spring - and pruning is FREE if you do it yourself!
]4. Ever been to the nursery in the fall? They are GIVING those plants away! Perfectly good plants, too. They may need a bit of winter TLC, but you can easily find a $79.99 wisteria for $29.99, sometimes in a nice pot, too. Take advantage of the bargains, and baby them a bit through spring, and you'll be rewarded with a beautiful plant, and a job well done, as well as saving a TON off your landscaping costs. The plants you buy in the spring had to be babied, so it's not like you are buying "old" plants. You are just doing the babying, and saving HUNDREDS in the process!
5. Time is on your side - look NOW for patio sets, water features, automated watering systems,door mats, door bells, and flowerbed edging! A deal is only a deal if you take time to shop around. Do your comparison shopping, know a good price when you see one, and buy all sorts of things you'd be paying for a MUCH higher price in the Spring.
6. It's a great time to do minor DIY repairs - fixing the window caulk, replacing the weather stripping around the doors, & swapping out a beat up threshold for a nice new one, or replacing a cracked piece of window glass. Start ticking off your honey-do list now and maybe save a buck or two on the energy bill in the process!
7. While you are plotting out where to put your exterior holiday finery, go check out www.RoofReviver.com. They have an excellent D-I-Y solution to get that black streaky smut off your roof for less than $100, no scubbing, not even bending! It will shave YEARS off your homes appearance, and it leaves your roof not only clean, but protected!
8. Give even the littlest kids something fun to do... and save even MORE money! Consider starting some seeds for a few cents rather than buying 20 filler plants or color plants for $17.99 a pop!
9. And don't forget the older ones! Spend some quality time with your teen and help them build a garden bench, flower boxes, a couple of pair of mock (non-operable) shutters or an entire picnic dining set.
10. And our most important time-saving, cost-saving tip of all...
Take advantage of the 10% Fall & Winter discount off the our exclusive Curb Appeal Strategy Package- a 12+ page assessment of your property's "appeal" , including specific advice with precise remedies for creating cohesion & balance. You'll not only get our best customized advice, you'll get a suggested color palette with LARGE paint chips and a cutting edge conceptual image of what your house will look like if you take our advice and execute the plan. Call us and order yours today! ONLY $159.99! Don't forget to ask for your 10% Off-Season Smarty-Pants Discount
Best of Skill to you!
Michelle Molinari
Certified Staging Professional, Feature This... Real Estate Staging,www.FeatureThisDotDotDot.com
Last Saturday I had a yard sale. For anyone who has yet to have one, it is a tremendous amount of work. Hauling all the "stuff" up from the basement, sorting and organizing it in the garage, finding tables to put it all on, and pricing everything is not only time consuming - it's exhausting. And yet...
I've had many yard sales over the years and really enjoy the experience.
As I stood in the garage, late Friday afternoon, painting cardboard signs to hang at the end of my street, I wondered if it was all worth it.
What is so appealing about opening my yard to strangers and hoping that at the end of five hours my stuff will be gone? It certainly isn't the money...if you put a $5 sticker on something you originally paid $75 for, you end up getting $3 for it.
I actually had a woman ask if I would "take less" on something I had marked twenty five cents.
Less? Less than twenty five cents?
This is what is so great about having a yard sale...human nature! I love the interaction and the overall carnival atmosphere of it all. Sure, it's a wonderful thing to "clean house" and make a little extra money, but it's the people that make it fun!
Yard Sailors are happy, fun people. Happiness is contagious so there's a lot of joking and laughing and smiling at yard sales. Treasure hunting puts people in a good mood...and when they find their treasure in your garage it's a wonderful thing.
Among all the happy shoppers in my garage on Saturday, there were two special moments that made me smile:
The Football Mom: She was so happy to find a like-new duffel bag for only $2 for her little boy's first year of football. She told me that she couldn't afford a new bag and he never would have gotten such a nice bag if not for my yard sale. The little boy was so excited as he proudly carried his new bag down the driveway.
The Perfume Lady: She asked if I had any makeup or perfume I didn't want. I had a bottle of Opium, practically full, that I didn't want. I sold it to her for $5 (along with a small powder and a tube of lotion) and you would have thought I had given her the moon. She told me that she can't afford luxury items like perfume and this meant a lot to her.
The preparation may be a lot of work, and most people probably think a waste of time, but I enjoyed opening the garage door and letting those treasure hunters in. It's a great feeling knowing I had some part in making someone else smile.
There used to be this national name brand oil filter company that said, "Pay me now or pay me later." Essentially if you didn't change out that oil filter regularly (with theirs) in your car, well, you'd find that rust bucket engine of yours frozen up at some point. And then that cheap ten buck filter looks pretty high value in hindsight. But also,
Pay Me Now Or Pay Me Later Applies to Home Maintenance.
Why do we or our homeowner clients defer maintenance at times? A myriad of reasons when you think about it.
Time /Commitment/Focus - we just don't apply ourselves, as other things take priority or we are distracted.
Money - we have concluded we don't have the funds for the project(s).
Laziness - this is more common than you think.
Lack of Knowledge - we don't have ladders to repair the roof, are not good at painting, don't know how to replace light fixtures high up on the ceiling, etc.
Energy - our lack of energy in particular, particularly true of the elderly. They are worrying about getting the right presciption medications taken today.
So a suggestion for all you Realtors and perhaps home inspectors cycling through your sphere of influence on a followup regular basis. Mention handymen, painters, roofers, foundation repair, lawn sprinkler repair people, fence installers, etc. along the way.
Everyone needs all of them and more. You can say if maintenance is done along the way you don't end up losing value in your home and worst case selling as is. They may listen to you, or not. But be the conduit of resources for people to NOT have them fall into that pay you now or pay you later trap.
Paying you later is a huge financial, energy, time, and wall of a monster headache none of us want. Serve your fellow man. Boost them along during the journey.
Do you know anyone who enjoys cleaning their tub or shower? I don't. It is one of those jobs that people put off as long as possible. I've been in a lot of homes, and I continue to be amazed at the lack of cleanliness when it comes to bathrooms, more specifically tubs and showers. 
If you are interested in reducing your energy footprint and would like more informtion on how to help save the environment through green building, or just want to hear more about the options available, check out this event.
Take advantage of the 10% Fall & Winter discount off the our exclusive 
As I stood in the garage, late Friday afternoon, painting cardboard signs to hang at the end of my street, I wondered if it was all worth it.