Your home is your castle, and you might love every piece of it, but when it comes to selling your home, each potential buyer has their own idea of perfect. You might see the character in your rustic doorway, or have no use for the garage that is slowly being reclaimed by nature. You might love your wild garden, and are perfectly happy with the faded paint on the front of the house. But buyers won’t be. Making your house as appealing as possible is your job as a seller. You need to think about the curb appeal your home has; each person who pulls up to view your house will make a snap judgement about the whole property just from what they can see outside.

Driveway

Think of your driveway as the yellow brick road leading to the Emerald city - it has to be flawless. Are there weeds poking up through the cracks in the 1970s concrete? On a practical level, having a well-tended and level driveway will help you save money on the wear and tear of your car - which is something that your potential buyer will think as they navigate their way through the forest of dandelions. Have a look at simple weedkillers, and even invest in a pathed driveway. 

Garage

Quite often the garage ends up being the family dumping ground, but it can easily be turned into an organised storage space, a handy workshop or a whole host of other things. It might, also, need some outside TLC. Does the door need a lick of paint? Perhaps it needs replacing altogether. Shop around and invest in something that is practical and looks good. 

House

You can walk down a street and easily point out the houses that haven’t seen a paintbrush since the day they were built. Some houses played it safe and have a classically beautiful exposed brick exterior. But even they need looking after. The years of grime can turn yellow stone to black - all it needs it a good blast with a jet wash. Are the gutters, wooden edges and window frames in need of a touch up too? If your house that needs a full facelift then look into hiring someone to do it for you - it’s no small job. That way you know the materials will be right for the job, and that no mistakes are going to be made.

Garden 

Having a garden can be a massive plus in the day and age, particularly if it’s a good size and part of a family home. A lot of buyers will be looking to find a conservatory, and if you don’t have one, a large, well-presented garden can convince them to just pop one in their themselves. Keep the grass trimmed, weeds pulled and flowers pruned. Plant low-maintenance plants, and encourage ladybirds and bees so that your garden will flourish on its own.

Homeowners want to go green for the sake of both the planet and their bank balance. It’s isn’t shameful to admit that because there has to be something in it for you, too. The issue is the cost of building an eco-friendly crib. As the technology is relatively new, it’s pretty expensive and that puts off property owners. The direct knock-on effect is that the environment suffers because average people can’t afford the transition. What if the price wasn’t as high? Would you consider a change then? Good because there are ways to cut the cost of going green while making it at the same time. For the property owners that want to find out more, take a look at the following. They may be the difference between a healthy planet and a strong bank balance.

Buy Cheap Wood

Going green means reducing the house’s carbon footprint, which means turning off the central heating. In the winter, the thought is enough to send shivers down your spine, but don’t despair. With a trust fireplace and log burner combination, you can heat the entire house and only release a small amount of CO2. The problem is sourcing enough wood to keep the fire burning all the way to spring which isn’t easy. Buying it is expensive nowadays thanks to the clean energy shift, but wood isn’t always pricey. A quick search on the internet will reveal firms such as Woodcall that have affordable prices. To get it any cheaper, you can dumpster dive and chop up stray tables, chairs and anything else that resembles a dead tree. Let’s face it – it doesn’t get any cheaper than free!

Ask The Government For Solar

A few years ago, the authorities saw fit to help families install panels on their roofs. Why? They did it to encourage a surge in renewable power and make the inevitable transition easier. Predictably, the drive didn’t go as planned and the government got its fingers burned, metaphorically speaking. After the plan cost them money, they started to pull out and rethink the strategy. However, in the not-so-distant future the country will have to think about developing solar energy to offset fossil fuels. When that happens, there is going to be grants and bursaries and all kinds of state intervention. It may take a while, but if you hold off the country may pay for your solar panels itself.

Don’t Put The Pedal To The Metal

Stop driving and take public transport, they say. Another favourite is to share a car with colleagues to cut down on carbon emissions. These are two great tips, but they don’t eradicate the cost of driving altogether. Whether you do or don’t carpool, you will need a couple of grand a year to cover the already high expenses. Therefore, you have to get into the minute detail and cut costs to the bone. Always start with insurance because the chances are you are paying over the odds. Firstly, check with comparison websites like uSwitch for a better deal. Next, look through the cover and knock off any features which are unnecessary. Apart from insurance, consider trading in your car and buying a second-hand model that is fuel-efficient.

Upcycling furniture, or bringing old pieces back up to their full potential, has become incredibly popular these days. Which is great, because there are actually lots of amazing benefits of reusing old furniture rather than buying new. Here are some of the reasons you should hop on the bandwagon and get upcycling!

When you buy a piece of furniture from a shop, you know that you're bringing home the exact same thing as what many thousands of people own too. Upcycling will give you a finished product that's much more unique. You can be safe in the knowledge that once you're finished, you're probably going to be the only person with a piece just like it. If you want to bring in something a little different into your home, this is a good way to go. You don't even have to start with a piece of furniture. For example, an old wooden palette can easily be transformed into a chic coffee table!

New furniture is expensive, there's no doubt about that. However when it comes to old pieces, you can find them cheaply in junk shops and on Craigslist. People often sell them cheaply or give them away because they looks worn and shabby. But with a bit of patience and TLC, you can totally transform how it looks so this is a great way to save yourself some cash. Tap into this market early and score the best pieces, while people are still viewing them as junk. Perfect for anyone decorating on a budget.

Factories that make furniture burn fossil fuels which is of course harmful to the environment. In some cases it can't be helped, and there are certain pieces of furniture that it's always advisable to buy new such as mattresses and sofas. However when it comes to other things, especially those made from wood, there's plenty you can do to bring them back up to scratch. Unlike a lot of todays furniture that uses cheap chipboard and veneer, older pieces tend to be made out of solid wood. Providing it doesn't get exposed to moisture and rot, this stuff is built to last.  Upcycling also helps the environment as it means that old pieces that are still perfectly good aren't going to landfill.

Do you upcycle?