Home staging greatly helps sell a house by making it more appealing and attractive.

A stager knows what buyers are looking for and helps you have those aspects in the home. Homes that were staged sell faster and and get higher bids than those that were not. A picture of a staged home looks better then one that was not, so it gets more potential buyers to come look at the home. These homes even have an edge over competitive property,  even

sway buyers to chose  the staged home over the competition.

Staging is an art or an illusion.  It’s more than cleaning and decorating, it’s creating a mood for the buyer. It can take away from the negative areas of some more difficult homes, by lighting, mirrors or many other tricks stagers use. Home staging is what you do after the cleaning, painting and repairs, it is dressing the house up for sale. It’s all about making people want to buy a house by making it look bigger, brighter, warmer, and more loving.  Really, it’s about creating a place where your buyers can see themselves living in.

…or the whole house if you want.

Here are some staging friendly ideas from Better Homes and Gardens on decorating your home this season:

• Miniature cypress trees are a great bargain at $5 – $10 a piece. They will survive outside and look better than empty planters and urns.
• Poinsettias come in a variety of colors to coordinate with your decor.
• Add sprigs of greenery to shimmering place settings. Go for an all white and silver theme with just a touch of natural evergreen.
• Spray paint branches silver and add them to a vase.
• Try a nature theme that is unique such as berries and ferns.
• Make your own wreath using an old frame and objects such as evergreen (blue juniper, norway spruce, holly, balsam, or blue spruce), ribbon, garland, fake snow, etc.
• Place electric candles in the windows rather than strings of lights outside. They are much easier to take down, friendly to all religions, and more forgivable if you leave them up past the holiday.

No, not the rock band; the philsophy. Keep It Simple, Silly. Well, that second S varies, depending who you ask, but we’ll leave it at that.

We know you live in your house. Prospective buyers know you live in your house. Well, really, deep in their subconscious, prospective buyers try to envision themselves living in your house. Having as few personal effects visible as possible makes it a whole lot easier for them to do so.

With this in mind, pack up and store all but the most prized nick-nacks. Then, go back and pack up half of what you left out. If it’s something you’re likely to use before you move, or packing it away would leave a wall or display case completely bare, by all means, leave it. But, if it’s not in a display case or it’s not the last thing hanging on that wall, pack it and get it out of the house. Storage units aren’t that expensive and many are climate controlled and feature gated access and on-site security.

You’ve just made your house a whole lot more inviting to buyers and, as a wonderful side-effect, protected your most treasured posessions from damage or theft.

If you have pets, there are a few things you definitely need to keep in mind when selling your home. I know you love them and don’t want to be without them, but your options are limited if you want to get top dollar for your home and sell as quickly as possible.

When a prospective buyer sees a cat or dog, the first thing they think is pet stains. You know, those stains and odors which (although there are a number of products on the market that remove them permanently) everyone just knows will never come out. That thought alone is often enough to turn someone off of buying your home.

If you’re living in your house while you sell it, ask a friend or family member to take care of your pets. If you can’t find someone willing to watch them for a while, find a reputable kennel or pet motel where they can stay in the interim. If you’re moving out of the house while you sell, all is good, take them with you.

Once you have your pets out of the house, you’re almost home free. Be sure to vacuum everything, carpet, rugs, hard floors, drapes, furniture, lamps; everything. You want to get up every bit of pet hair.

Once you’ve done this, look around for anything that may have been scratched or chewed by your favorite furry (or hairless) friend and get it out of the house. If what’s been damaged is part of the house, repair it.

If there are any pet stains, use an enzyme-based product, such as OdorOut-222, to remove them. OdorOut does not contain any alcohol or perfumes, it does not hide or mask stains or odors; it chemically breaks them down, removing them permanently. There are many other products on the market that can do this, but I’ve used OdorOut and know it works, not just on pet stains, but on smoke odors and nicotine film, as well (I don’t smoke, but the previous resident of my apartment did). A little off-topic, but it also does wonders for cooking odors that may have been absorbed into walls.

Once you’ve moved your pets out, buyers can picture themselves moving in. You’re well on your way to selling faster, for the highest price you can get!

So far, I’ve written about 9 color picking tips. I’m pretty sure I promised you 10, so here’s the last one…

If your home has windows, what’s outside them is something you should definitely consider when selecting colors for what’s inside them. Look out the window, find a color out there that you like and have some paint color-matched to that color.

If your color of choice is a dominant color through your window, make it a dominant color in the room by painting at least one wall that color. If it exists more subtly in the landscape, go ahead and use your new color on moldings and baseboards, like I mentioned in the previous tip!

Of course, if your house doesn’t have windows, I hope you at least get out a lot.

Identity theft is a major issue today. Recently, I’ve talked about my experience as a victim of the horrible crime and provided some basic tips to protect yourself online. These articles are a great start, but there’s a lot more to know if you want to be truly protected.

It’s a simple psychological fact that people want to believe that everyone thinks the same way they do. It’s very much an untruth, however, and it results in people often ignoring the ways in which they are at risk. Even if you don’t bank or shop online, don’t rule out the possibility of someone else doing so in your name.

US law allows residents to receive one free copy of their credit report each year, from each of the three major credit bureaus. You can (and should) request these free copies at the AnnualCreditReport website. Checking your credit report allows you to identify any inaccuracies, as well as any potential fraud being carried out in your name. That’s why it’s so important!

You now know how to identify potential identity theft and fraud after it has occurred, it is important that you are equipped with more of the information you need in order to ensure that you never will.

If you ever get an email from PayPal, you bank, or any financial institution asking that you click a link and log in to your account or provide any information, do not click the link. Do NOT provide the information. If you get an email from anywhere asking for your password, disregard it. Literally nobody legitimately requests sensitive information via email.

If you’re ever unsure, though, it’s worth looking in to some of these requests. When researching, do not use the links or addresses provided in emails; always type the address by hand, as links can say they lead one place and really lead to another, like so: http://www.mystagedlife.com

Another important thing to note is that the addresses given in emails are often fake, as well. Only use addresses provided by your financial institution, never trust addresses provided via email, even when you can verify that the email is legitimate!

If you’ve read the rest of my identity theft articles, you know I have to cut this short. Don’t worry, I won’t keep you waiting long for the rest!

If you’ve been keeping up with my color picking tips, you’ve probably been waiting for this one. If you’ve just come across the series, you might want to start at square one.

If you’re thinking of using a bright tone like yellow or orange but the idea of your entire room being that bright frightens you, there’s a simple solution. If you paint the walls white and put your color of choice on doors, moldings and baseboards. You really can have your cake and eat it too!

Want more? Sorry, you’re going to have to wait for it. Don’t worry, I’ll have it for you soon!

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Hey, I said I’d have it soon, didn’t I? Here it is!

If you’ve been keeping up with my color picking tips, you’re in for a treat with this one. If not, please read my previous tips!

There are literally thousands of paint colors available from the catalogs of almost every business that sells paint. That’s absolutely wonderful when you’re not sure which color you want! Even more wonderful, when you want the absolute perfect color in a room is that most places will color match almost any item you bring them and sell you paint in that exact shade, usually for no extra charge!

Find your favorite color somewhere, bring it with you and get a color nobody else has by ordering outside the catalog!

I have two more color tips for you, check out the next one!

Earlier this week, I wrote a brief account of my experience with identity theft and gave several tips to prevent yourself from becoming a victim. As promised, I’m back to provide more tips to help you protect yourself from identity theft on the internet.

I’ve already explained the importance of keeping physical documents behind lock and key in a secured cabinet. I’ve covered the importance if not giving out or writing down your passwords, ever. These are the most important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft, in general; however, they’re really only the tip of the iceberg.

Also important is choosing strong passwords. A strong password will contain a random mix of uppercase letters, lowercase letters and numbers, as well as punctuation marks when allowed and will be, at the very least, eight characters long. A longer password is better, in cases where it is allowed.

To be truly secure online, just as in the physical world, you must be willing to forgo some convenience. Security questions are a great idea, in theory, as they allow a method of verifying who you are in order to allow you to reset your password should you every forget it. The problem is that they are often answered by easily researched information, which anyone who knows you probably already knows and anyone who doesn’t can find out with minimal effort. Even if the password reset option relies on email to complete the task, try to bear in mind that your email password can likely be reset with the use of security questions, as well.

Don’t worry, there’s a simple solution. Pick someone you know and answer those security questions as though you were that person; never tell anyone who you picked and try not to pick someone obvious such as a family member, best friend or current or former lover. This way, no matter how well someone knows you, they won’t be able to have your passwords reset to gain access to your online accounts.

So far, everything I’ve covered has been about keeping your data locked up and secured. There’s much more to it than this, which I would love to cover right now. Alas, I hear about it in meetings if I make these articles too long. I’ll fill you in on the rest of the details shortly; in the meantime, start putting what you’ve learned so far to good use!

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As promised, the next article is ready!

Many of you have been following my series of color-picking articles. Those of you who have not, please start from square one. Everyone else, please, read on!

If you truly want to create a space you can love, start with something you love! Look at the predominate color in whatever you pick. That’s the color you should paint the walls. Accents should be colored after the remaining colors on the object of your affection.

The only limitation on what you can pick from is this; please, pick something you love, not someone you love. Trust me, it won’t turn out as well as you think it will.

That’s not all, read on to find out how to get any color you want, even if it’s not in the catalog!