8 ways under $100 to make buyers like your house

I've noticed that most advice for making your home more appealing to buyers involves spending $10,000. Seriously. But updating the kitchen or installing hardwoods just isn't in the budget for many home sellers — nor in their schedule if the decision to sell happens in a hurry. So as a veteran home buyer/seller, I offer 8 improvements that have a big impact but cost less than $100 — many are free. Here they are, pretty much in order of importance.

1. Make it not stink. No amount of curb appeal or updating makes up for being smacked in the face with Cigarette or Litter Box in Dire Need of Scooping when you walk in the front door. Smoke odor is hard to get rid of — start by washing the walls with TSP substitute and Febreezing upholstery, curtains and rugs. Treat pet accidents with Nature's Miracle Stain & Odor Remover. If you just want to freshen the air, go easy on the sprays and potpourri, which suggest you're hiding something. You can try the old tricks of baking cookies or warming a cinnamon stick in water on the stove, although both present logistical difficulties when an agent wants to show the house in an hour.

2. Degrossify the bathroom. Bathroom ickiness is death to a home sale. Replace the soap-scum-encrusted shower curtain. Open the window, turn on the fan and then blast the tile with mildew remover. Put away the Yo Gabba Gabba rubber toys. Organize the contents in the medicine cabinet and under the sink by size and turn all labels forward. Use drawer organizers to corral the chaos in the drawers. Wipe the fuzz off the vent fan, light fixtures and window trim.

Then keep it clean: scrub the tub, sink, counter and toilet; vacuum and then wash every square millimeter of the floor, especially behind the toilet; use window cleaner to get the spouk off the mirror and to polish the faucets.

Depending on the condition of your bathroom, also consider painting the vanity white to cover the brown 1970s veneer, replacing the towel racks and cabinet hardware with something sleek and putting out fluffy new towels that you don't get to use until you sell the house. We have a good video that shows different ways to make over a half bath in a weekend.

3. Now, about that flocked wallpaper. I've bought six houses and in only one did I like all the wallpaper. (Wait, I take that back. I didn't like the stuff in the basement). If you have any doubts about its appeal, take it down (the enzyme sprays work well) and paint the wall a neutral color other than white. Never paint over wallpaper, in the name of all that is merciful.

4. Tend to the exterior. The biggest horrors are trees growing in the gutters and peeling paint. Granted, you can't repaint the house for under $100, but you can sand, prime and paint the peeling areas. Replace the crumbling putty on the windows (reglazing is something of a lost art, but it's easy to do.) Patch divots in a concrete driveway; if it's asphalt, seal it.

5. Spiff up the kitchen. Yup, it's true — new cabinet hardware helps (if the hinges aren't especially obvious, you can get away with spray painting them to match the drawer pulls rather than replacing them). If the cabinets would benefit from being painted, paint them (oil paint is less likely to chip).

Despite the inconvenience, put away the toaster, electric can opener, bread machine, panini maker, popcorn maker, pizza maker, blender and food processor. But leave out a few well-chosen attractive items so it doesn't look like you put everything away. Wipe goop off the shelves in the pantry and cabinets, sort all the packaged food by type, and turn the labels forward; for boxes of cereal and the like that you put in sideways, turn them so side without the nutrition label shows.

6.  Do something about the closets. Get rid of all the stuff you never use or will never wear again.

• In clothes closets, hang pants with pants, shirts with shirts, and so on, and within those groups sort by color and face everything in the same direction. If you can't tame the stacks of sweater on the shelf or pile of shoes on the floor, stash them into opaque plastic bins with lids — label them if need be, but this is not the time to make their contents visible.
• In the linen closet, fold everything neatly and turn the folded edge toward the door. Organize the bottles and boxes, with the labels facing forward. Toss the little stuff into baskets.

7. Buyers love light. If you've not washed your windows inside and out in the last 3 months, get that task out of the way. Replace heavy or shabby curtains or blinds with sheers. Add floor or desk lamps to dark rooms — they're more flattering to a room than the ceiling light. Switch to bulbs that cast an attractive light (easier to find in incandescent than in CFLs).

8. To catch a buyer, you have to think like a buyer. I close with a general tip that covers anything the other suggestions don't cover. Visit your home as if you're seeing if for the first time, starting where buyers and agents park. Bring someone with you who doesn't know the house and isn't afraid to tell you the truth. Walk through the house and yard like a buyer would, complete with opening closets and pulling back shower curtains. Because it's hard to see familiar places objectively, take digital photos of each room and the yard from several angles — the camera reveals what the eye conceals.

Do you have other suggestions? Leave a comment!

-Erin, The Editor

10 things to do before summer ends

Today is July 31. If you consider Labor Day the end of summer, you have 6 weekends to cram in all the summery things you didn't do because every weekend thus far was too hot/cold/wet/dry/busy. Thank goodness August has 5 weekends this year! Here's your list for living it up and accomplishing a few things.

1. Pack a huge picnic lunch and spend a whole day at the beach. Remember the SPF 40.

2. Vacuum the inside of the car, but wait until you've gone to the beach.

3. Seal your asphalt driveway. Scrub stains and patch holes one day, and spread the sealer the next. By the way, if stones come loose when you scrub a stain, the asphalt there is shot — stop scrubbing and start patching. For more detailed directions, see Seal coat an asphalt driveway in our Project Center.

4. One weeknight after dinner, while it's still light out, drive to a town you've never been to within 20 miles of your house. Get ice cream and then walk around the neighborhood just as people begin turning their lights on. It's a great way to get real-life decorating ideas under cover of darkness.

5. Scrape, prime and paint spots where the exterior paint is peeling. It should only take about few hours, not including finding the paint in the corner of the basement, stirring it and allowing drying time between priming and painting. If it's going to take more than that, you need to paint the house. Next summer. To learn how, check out Paint your house's exterior in our Project Center.

6. Visit a public garden. For a list of gardens nationwide, visit the gardenweb.com garden directory.

7. Clean out the garage. Come winter, you might want to park in there. Even though you're not relocating, you can find tips in Pack your garage in our Project Center.

8. Go to one of the jazz in the park, blues on the green, or family movie nights on the town square that just about every town (or shopping mall) hosts during the summer.

9. Volunteer to help with a park cleanup, food drive or other event that benefits your community. For volunteer opportunities in your area, visit allforgood.org.

10. Get a bottle of wine and show up one evening at the backdoor of the neighbor whose been saying "We should get together for a glass of wine one of these evenings" all summer. Better bring some crackers and cheese too, since everyone has to go to work the next morning.

-Erin, The Editor

Lipstick and dryers don't mix

Late the other night I dragged myself from beneath the warmth of this very laptop and descended into the basement to pull the final load from the dryer. I was greatly looking forward to sleep, so you can imagine my disappointment at discovering that my brand-new tube of MAC lipstick ("Mystic," to be precise) had gone through the dryer, and not unharmed.

The worst casualties were two pairs of Land's End UltraFit Side-Zip No-waist Slim Leg Pants (one brown, one black), which are staples in my work wardrobe and which I love for their Mary Tyler Moore vibe (they look way better in real life than in the photo).

The still-warm lipstick wiped easily from the inside of my Kenmore dryer, but what to do about all the Mystic pink spots on my clothing? It was too late to call any older sister or laundry hotline, so I was on my own.

Drawing upon my limited supply of laundry products and even more limited domestic skills, I drenched the Land's End pants and assorted other casualties in Spray 'N Wash (thank goodness I had a gallon of it, which I bought at one of those places that sells everything by the gallon, case or ton) and washed them in hot water.

Four times.

And that did the trick! Which is why I am at this moment wearing the black UltraFit Side-Zip No-waist Slim Leg Pants, reeking of Spray 'N Wash and feeling very Mary Tyler Moore.

-Erin, The Editor

Now roadkill has a prayer

I say a little prayer for animals I see sleeping by the side of the road. I figure that if there is an afterworld, animals are no doubt welcome in it, and I want to do my part to help them get there by alerting A Higher Power(s) to the need to transport a little furry soul to eternal life.

Fortunately, it looks like there are plenty of efforts afoot in Europe to reduce the number of prayers I have to say. In the latest issue of The Avant Gardener newsletter, I read about Holland's National Ecological Network, which includes wildlife crossing passages that make it safe for all form of walking, crawling, slithering and hopping creatures to cross the road (even chickens I suppose, although no one really knows why chickens cross the road).

I did a little research and found that similar work is getting underway in the US. One ecopassage project is complete in Florida and another is in the works. To learn more and to support ecopassages, check out http://www.ecopassage.org.

-Erin, The Editor

Jonesing for dirt

I'm addicted to gardening. By that, I don't mean that I enjoy gardening. I mean that I'm happiest when I spend every daylit moment of the weekend digging in the garden, ignoring the need to eat or rest. I mean that when I walk into a garden center, my skin tingles with euphoria and I'm a few breaths away from hyperventilating. And I spend money I don't have on plants I don't need, and then feel — well, not full-blown shame, but certainly a little sheepish. Baaah.

As it turns out, there's actually a biochemical basis for my gardening Jones. British researcher Chris Lowry has found that the soil-dwelling microorganism Mycobacterium vaccae enhances mood by increasing serotonin production. So, in effect, when I garden I'm breathing an SSRI anti-depressant. To which I say "Hooray!" You can read more about it in Psychology Today.

As you might imagine, winters are not good for a gardening junkie. And by "not good" I mean very very bad. This winter I think I'll try hauling a tub of garden soil into the house and digging around in it every few days. Perhaps bury my face in it. If it works, I can skip the expense of a February trip to someplace sunny. I'll keep you posted.

-Erin, The Editor

Guerilla Gardening

Gardening hardly seems like a form of activism, but around the world gardeners are taking over abandoned lots, sullied sidewalk strips, ailing alleys and other wobegone parcels to plant flowers and vegetables. In Los Angeles, London and other cities, the surreptitious sowing of these vegetation vandals has revitalized blighted blocks, produced food for food kitchens and unified neighborhoods.

If the idea of sowing sunflowers beside the railroad tracks makes your green thumb twitch, there's plenty of information in books and online about getting plants for cheap, asking the forgiveness of city officials and improving sorrowful soil. A good starting places is guerrillagardening.org. Golly, they look like nice people in the photos.

-Erin, The Editor

Amuse yourself with Sunshine Farm and Gardens

I like unusual plants and I like funny people, so it's worth writing about when I find both in the same place. Just now I spent a shameful amount of time poking around on the website of Sunshine Farm and Gardens, which is set in the far-flung hills of West Virginia and run by Barry Glick, who I suspect sharpened his wit defending his name as a child (but now makes good use of it in the Glick Picks section of the site).

As you'd except of a plant vendor, Barry packs his useful/educational site with plant photos and in-depth descriptions. But it's the thread of humor running through his writing that makes it worth a visit even if you live in a high-rise condo and fear worms. Plus he likes cats, and I like people who like cats.

-Erin, The Editor

P.S. For more funny garden writing check out the Renegade Gardener for his amusingly realistic gardening advice and myth debunking.

Invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer

This week is officially Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week. I'm not quite sure how one observes such an event, but chocolate is always appropriate.

Hilarity aside, the Emerald Ash Borer is a quite serious menace to ash trees that has killed tens of millions of them in the US and Canada. The borer was first identified in 2002 near Detroit, and officials suspect that it snuck into the US in wooden shipping material from its native Asia. The pest has now spread from Michigan to 14 more states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, New York, Kansas and Nebraska. It's also in Canada.

The adult beetle is 1/2-inch long, slender, and metallic green. Its the immature larvae, not the adult, that does the damage. It tunnels under the bark, breaking the tubes that carry water from the roots to the leaves (the xylem) and sugars from the leaves to the roots (the phloem).

Because woodpeckers find the beetle tasty, an early warning sign is many woodpeckers feeding on an ash tree. Other symptoms include dying branches, starting at the top of the tree and progressing downward, and a lot of small branches sprouting from the trunk. An infested tree usually dies within 5 years.

To keep the beetles from spreading outside infested areas, the USDA recommends the following:

• Keep firewood in the county where you bought it.
• Know where your firewood comes from — and don't accept any from infested states.
• Never bring firewood when you go camping or hunting — buy it at your destination.
• Burn it where you buy it. And burn every piece of firewood by May 1, before the beetle can escape to cause more devastation.

The borer has its very own website where you can learn what an ash tree looks like, what your treatment options are, what other beetles you might mistake for the Emerald Ash Borer and much more. It includes several videos, notably how to identify the beetle and what symptoms to look for.

-Erin, The Editor

Easy roses

In days of yore, roses were tough, wild, gangly plants with viscious thorns and small fragrant flowers that bloomed once a year. Then Victorian horticulture enthusiasts succeeded in hybridizing roses with bigger but fewer blooms. Thus was born the hybrid tea rose, which had lovely velvety flowers but was vulnerable to all sorts of diseases and insects. So roses gained a reputation for being difficult to grow unless you were a spinster named Blanche or Mabel and didn't mind blasting your plants with toxic chemicals that shortened your lifespan considerably.

But thanks to our frantic lifestyles and concerns about poisoning the planet, rose breeders have been dedicating themselves to coming up with roses that aren't fussy about growing conditions, resist diseases and bloom throughout the summer instead of just once. So when you hit the garden center this spring, keep an eye out for these easier roses.

Roses labeled Earth Kind have proven themselves to need little watering and no fertilizing, pesticides, pruning or deadheading. And they tolerate heat, humidity and alkaline soils. Sixteen roses now have the Earth Kind designation.

Easy Elegance® roses are low-maintenance and come with a 2-year guarantee. The website has great photographs and a cool tool called the Zonefinder to help you find roses suited to your winters.

The Canadian Explorer series of climbing and bush roses require minimal care and were bred to tolerate Canadian winters to –35°F. Each cultivar is named after a Canadian explorer (get it?) such as Henry Hudson and George Vancouver. The only downside (for me) is that the genetic material for hardiness isn't in roses with yellow flowers, so the whole series is in sahdes of red and pink.

Flower Carpet® roses are low and spreading, so you can grow them as a low-care groundcover in full sun.

Also look for Parkland roses, Pavement roses and the website-less Oso-Easy roses.

-Erin, The Editor

Worms Worms Everywhere

It's been raining steadily here in Chicagoland for more than 24 hours. It's It's what they call a soaking rain — I understood that term more fully after running outside yesterday morning. This morning, it looked like someone had smashed an earthworm piñata on the sidewalk from the parking lot. The water had forced the little wrigglers from their subterranean passageways. Tiptoe, tiptoe. The air had that wormy fragrance, too.

Coincidentally, just last week I explained to a coworker the importance of earthworms in the lawn and garden — how their airways aerate the soil and their excretions enrich it, and how they drag organic matter below the soil surface. They're also a good indicator of soil health; you won't find many of them in a yard that's been treated with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers.

You can encourage a healthy population of earthworms by using natural fertilizers and spreading organic matter such as shredded leaves or compost over the ground — use a whisper-thin layer over the lawn, and about 3 inches in the garden.

If you're a huge fan of worms, you can use a different type in your very own home to digest kitchen scraps. It's called vermicomposting, and you can read about it here.

-Erin, The Editor