It's an old realtors' trick to buy
potpourri or a scent reminiscent of fresh linens to sprinkle around
a house up for sale. Sometimes they even get the owner to bake some
bread or cookies just give potential buyers a whiff of what a warm
and comfortable home is supposed to smell like.
The reason is that they know our olfactory glands play a crucial role in decision making and that a nice smelling house is going to improve chances of a sale.
Most home sellers don't have the time, inclination or talent to bake bread. You barely have time to get rid of the clutter and clean the rooms. So here thanks to Heather Levin, a columnist for the Money Crashers personal finance blog and U.S. News, are a few simple and easy ways to make your home smell ready for sale.
1. In the fall and winter months, you might try putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. Then toss in a couple of cinnamon sticks and a few cloves. Let it simmer on low an hour before your showing begins. Your home will smell spicy and warm, like you're getting ready for the winter holidays. You can also experiment with other ingredients too such as allspice, fresh ginger, vanilla and orange peels, which Heather says work great as well.
2. Next, she recommends using baking soda, especially if your home smells less than fresh. Sprinkle some baking soda on your carpets and sofas and let it sit for 10-15 minutes, then vacuum it up. Baking soda absorbs odors, and will leave your home with a neutral pallet so that you can add a more pleasant scent. You can also sprinkle baking soda in your garbage can to eliminate unpleasant odors.
3. Vanilla is one of those scents that almost everyone loves. Make your prospective buyers and guests feel at home by leaving carefully hidden, open jars of vanilla extract around the house. As the alcohol evaporates the pleasant smell of vanilla wafts out.
4. Your kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house because for prospective buyers, women make most of the buying decisions, and they're often the ones who will look closest at this room. This means your kitchen must not only be sparkling clean, but it needs to smell great. Make sure your garbage disposal has a pleasant scent. Toss in some lemon or orange rind along with a few ice cubes and turn on the disposal. This will eliminate stale or unpleasant odors.
5. Burning essential oils right before a showing or holiday party is also an eco-friendly way to scent your home. Remember, however, that you want to burn oils that appeal to most people. Avoid strong, polarizing scents such as patchouli or sandalwood. Instead, go with relaxing scents such as lavender or uplifting scents such as grapefruit or satsuma. You can also unobtrusively add wonderful scents to your bathroom by adding a few drops of essential oil to a cotton ball, and hiding them on shelves or by the sink. You can also add a few drops to your lamps' light bulbs.When you turn them on for the showing, the heat will release the scent into the room.
6. With the holidays coming, many people love to smell the fresh pine scent of a Christmas tree when they walk in. If you're going to put up a tree this year, choose a live one over an artificial tree. The scent of fresh pine will fill your home, and put potential buyers and guests in a holiday mood. If you don't celebrate Christmas or want to save some money, you can still do something simple by putting up a simple wreath of tree trimmings, or even some fresh garland on your mantelpiece, both of which are great homemade Christmas decorations. These items also happen to be some of the cheapest local family dollar store items.
7. Some plants like roses, eucalyptus, rosemary, and lavender release a wonderful fragrance into the room and set a good vibe for when you have guests. Plants also represent life and growth, so they're beneficial to have around your home when they're on the market. Of course you can save money with a home garden and grow your own plants as well.
Choose natural alternatives to commercial fragrances because many commercial scents are full of harmful chemicals we shouldn't be breathing them in at all. Also, natural fragrances will give you a truer scent, which is often much more pleasant to breathe in anyway.
