You are fixing up your home either for yourself or for selling.  You have heard that kitchens and bathrooms sell homes so you have decided to pull out the pink plumbing fixtures, go white and go green.  Six litres of water sounds like a lot less than the Niagara Falls that flows down your toilet with every flush.  Be careful.  Not every low-flow toilet is able to handle waste.  Two flushes to get the job done? Well, you won't have saved Mother Earth.  When you decide to replace one of the water guzzling old toilets that actually functioned and wonder what will work: look for a dual flow tank, talk to the sales people and go on the internet to find evaluations of toilets using 6 litres that will leave you ......  Flushed with Success. Photo credit:  Every toilet should be made in Sweden ... 06/03/2011

Buyers want to find a bright sunny home.  Agents and stagers tell Sellers to take down heavy drapes and pull back the windo treatments to bring in the natural light.  Are the windows clean? In spring and in late fall, wash your windows inside and out.  If you live in a new development or near construction, you will want to wash your windows more often.  Afraid of heights?  Hire help.  There are lots of companies with ladders and climbers willing to do your second and third floor windows. Let the sun shine on your sale. Photo credit:  Window wash 03/23/2011

Have you noticed that the edge sealer around your tub / shower stall is poorly applied and turning black in the corners and along the edges.  This is a sign of mould.  If you notice it, rest assured, so will Buyers notice it.  It worries Buyers.  Water may have leaked behind the sealer.  Is there damage somewhere?  If the tub has TILE around it, caulking that bottom joint  is exactly the wrong thing to do and is what causes the black line.  The caulk is blocking the drainage from behind the tile and trapping water behind it.  It should be grouted.  If it is a tub surround or glass panels then it is likely caulk.  Refer to Charles  and Dana's comments for the problems with using the wrong material.  BIG TIP:  After taking off the old sealer, fill the tub and sit or stand in the tub when... 03/07/2011

As I watch CNN television this morning, it is all about what people have done or will be doing tomorrow on Valentine's Day.  I feel a little like Miss Rose.....  When I saw that the background had a colour, I decided it was time to go out and buy a light box for photographing small things.  This was done before I got the right equipment.  02/13/2011

The is the story of the CLEAN DISHWASHER and DIRTY OVEN  As I go out with Buyers looking at houses and host Open Houses on Sundays, there are things buyers seem to notice repeatedly.  Clean Dishwasher.  On a weekend buying trip, a buyer and I saw nine homes.  In every home we opened the built-in dishwasher.  In almost all cases there were dishes in the dishwasher.  That was not a problem.  You expect to dishes in a dishwasher.  What we did notice was that a number of people had kept the dishwasher door clean all around the inside edges. The inside and outside were well maintained.  To us, this was an indication of people who cared about cleanliness and was seen as an indicator of good housekeeping and maintenance around the rest of the home. Now we get to the Dirty Oven.  In this day o... 02/03/2011

I was out with Buyers looking at homes.  Of course we had done our homework by looking at the listings on the Internet and evaluating the worthiness of viewing the homes based on the pictures, price and location.  One set of home pictures stood out for two reasons. It seemed that the Seller was overly fond of dark maroon paint - it was on the walls inside the home and on the exterior bricks.  It was the same colour and it was everywhere.  The rooms seemed too dark and depressing but sometimes photos are misleading and not just because of wide angled lens.  Secondly, it seemed the Seller was running a craft / country store of kitsch from her home.  Every bit of wall space and every horizontal surface was covered in craft-like items.  It was difficult to see the rooms beyond the stuff.  ... 01/06/2011