 |
| Home & Garden |
 RISING WOMEN EXPERTS... I am getting ready to sell my home and I want to present a healthy environment to potential buyers. How can I prepare for showings? By Vicky Blaine of Inner Space Home Styling Spring is here and with it, moving season. As a seller, you’ll want to make your home as appealing as possible. With the growing interest in health and the home environment, the cleaner and “greener”, the better. Many people have allergies, chemical sensitivities, asthma or other environmental illnesses. It will be to your advantage to take these issues into consideration while preparing your home for sale. Consider the materials you will be using for all renovations. If repainting, for example, make sure to do this well in advance to give time for the “new paint smell” to dissipate. Choose paint that has low- or zero-VOC’s to reduce the outgassing of chemicals. After the job is done, open the windows frequently to keep the area ventilated. New flooring is a bonus for a buyer, but reconsider replacing old carpet with more carpet. Solid flooring, such as a laminate or natural linoleum, is easy to keep clean, and won’t trap allergens, dirt, dust or mold. When preparing to sell, your house - literally - cannot be too clean. However, conventional cleaning products have harsh odours and contain harmful chemicals that can be aggravating to people with sensitivities. Choose non-toxic products instead. You’ll want the house to smell as fresh as spring itself, but avoid store-bought air fresheners. They are loaded with chemicals and contribute to poor air quality. Natural options, such as lemon, baking soda, vinegar or essential oils, actually deodorize, rather than just masking odours. Houseplants not only bring nature and beauty into your home, they are excellent air purifiers as well. Finally, pay special attention to de-cluttering. Decorating to sell a house is very different from decorating to live in a house. We tend to have more furniture, accessories and “stuff” than we really need. Remove anything that makes the space feel cramped or crowded, overly busy or visually chaotic. Besides giving the home a more spacious and serene feeling, it will keep dust, dirt and allergen-collecting surfaces to a minimum. By keeping these points in mind while you prepare to sell, you’ll be able to show a space that inspires health, comfort and well-being...the essentials for creating a home. For more advice on creating a healthy home, contact Vicky Blaine of Inner Space Home Styling at 542.6456 or email inner-space@shaw.ca www.innerspacecalgary.com |