I recently read a booklet on Home Renovation Help. There were so many articles on dos and don’ts that I kinda freaked out. Jeeze Louise, if you did even half the cleaning/repairing stuff mentioned in this booklet, you would be doing something major or relatively major, every single day. For homeowners like my husband and myself that are definitely not “handyman” type people, this booklet was daunting. And if you are still working outside your home and/or have kids that require your attention, you probably do not have the time or energy to do all this “stuff” mentioned in this booklet. Let me give you some examples. The first one I’ll tell you about concerned the care of your garbage disposal. The author said that you should run your disposal at least once a day. Well, since we use it multiple times a day, this was no worry. But I have a family member who lives alone and hardly ever uses his disposal. The author says that a disposal can rust in just one week if not used. He goes on to say that if you go on vacation to pour about two tablespoons of vegetable oil into your disposal. When you return, he says, pour a small amount of dishwasher detergent down the disposal to clean out the oil. Now, I don’t know about you, but getting out the door to go on a trip is a major undertaking in our house. About the last thing on my mind would be to put oil in the disposal. Trying to remember to take my phone and charger would come way before that. Anyway, it sounded worth mentioning.

There was another article about how to care for your air conditioning filters. This was so dang complicated I finally gave up. We do try to change the filters every three months. When he got into MERVs (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value) and HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters I was yawning. For those of you out there also not that interested in all the different sizes and particulars,   my advice is to change your filters every three months, and be sure to use the right size and put them in correctly. Follow the arrows for that. The arrows are to tell you which way to place them in terms of which way the room air is to flow. In other words, the warm air is to go to your air conditioning unit to be cooled so place the filter as if the arrow is a finger telling you which way your unit is, so place the filter with the arrow pointing in that direction. For those of you that want “all” the dos and don’ts, I suggest you get a book on it. And Good Luck.

Another section was about how to get your house ready to sell. I think I have a special blog on this but it is important enough to mention a few things here. If you want to sell it yourself, ask around and find a good real estate lawyer. Then check around to make sure you price your home correctly. This is vital. I have had good luck with “FSBO” selling and buying but I have also had good luck with realtors. Find the absolute best and most experienced realtor for your home. I have had some disastrous results from not taking this last bit of advice. Then rent a storage unit and get rid of about half the stuff in your home. In other words, “stage” your home. Make your home as clean and neat as possible. Get rid of as much personal stuff as you can. If you paint, do not paint your rooms dark colors, or garish colors. Use light, neutral colors and coordinate colors from room to room. Pay attention to the outside. Your yard should be appealing. Your front door should also be inviting. Be sure your home smells good inside and outside. I once walked up to the front door of a home I was interested in only to smell this awful musty odor surrounding the front porch. That was the end of that. These are just a few tips from me and from the booklet I was reading.

I might mention that before I even finished the dos and don’ts booklet, I was convinced that the next move we make will be into a “rental.” We love our home but we are getting up in years to the point that home maintenance is harder and harder. We have some dear friends (younger than we are) that are very happy with renting.

I hope I have helped someone out there. If so, I would love to hear from you.