Repaint a few walls and touch up any faded or cracked places on the interior and exterior of your home. Not only will this freshen up the look and feel of your home, but it’s a great time to put in an accent wall or border colors to really make your house stick out from the rest. If you have outdated tiles, wallpaper or paintings on the walls you can also redo those at this time, too.

Install crown molding on the tops of your walls in just a few simple steps- this softens the often harsh lines of a room and can create a warmer, more sophisticated feeling in a room or hallway. In addition you can invest in new curtains or blinds, electrical outlet plates, and doorknobs which are often scratched, faded and forgotten as we don’t tend to think about them very much. Having a set of nice curtain rods and updated fixtures can brighten a room, pull it together through little details, and still be a cheap and easy way to add value to your home.

One way to save money now and add value later is by installing or updating your ceiling fans and windows. Ceiling fans are an unobtrusive way of saving on your electric bill but are over overlooked and dusty. In addition, outdated windows can be a major energy sucker and cost you lots of money in terms of lost heat (or AC in the summer) through bad seals, drafts, and warping.

One huge way to add value to your home is by taking out the carpet! No matter how hard we try it is nearly impossible to keep carpets looking new and clean. Underneath our carpets are often great hardwood floors that, with a bit of polishing and some careful placement of area rugs can really bring a new personality to your house in addition to aesthetic appeal for potential buyers.

If you have bookshelves, kitchen cabinets, bathroom drawers and closets observe if they have a lot of wear and tear and consider re-staining them. Repainting or re-staining is a time consuming job but you’ll have a great looking product after everything dries! While you’re at it consider replacing the old knobs and handles on the drawers as this will bring an added element of style and shine to your kitchen and bathroom.