(BPT) - Everyone knows spring and summer are the best months in which to sell a home. If your house has lingered on the market, you may be eager to find ways to freshen its appeal for potential buyers. Perhaps you’re even ready to go big and invest in upgrades that will improve the home’s value, curb appeal and interior allure so much that potential buyers just won’t be able to walk away from it.

So your mind is made up, and you are ready for a home renovation project. You have met several contractors, some referred, others you found, reviewed many estimates, laughed at a few, and feel you have nailed it. Countless pictures have been shown to you, vision has been sold, and you have enough samples in product selection to open your own home improvement store. Are you as ready as you think? True, it took you weeks, maybe even months of researching to help make that final decision, and you feel that the contractor of your choice is going to bring your vision to light. This all may be true, but there are mistakes you do not want to make that tend to get overlooked. If you are looking for your upcoming home renovation to be headache free, these are 5 mistakes to avoid running to the medicine cabinet.

(BPT) - Builders are back in business, and new-home construction is up in areas across the country. So is remodeling, as plenty of Americans choose to stay put and upgrade their current homes rather than tackle the challenge of buying and moving into something new.

(NAPSI)How much do you know about the honey bear bottle in your pantry? With recent confusion over pollen and filtration, the National Honey Board (NHB) wants to clarify any misconceptions surrounding this natural ingredient with harvesting, filtration and nutrition facts about honey. With more than 300 varietals of honey in the United States, honey adds its own unique profile to every recipe. Plus, honey has many benefits before and after it gets to the pantry.

The sun is out and natures first green is our gold. Thank God, Spring is finally here. We are feeling it with the warmer days. Our energy levels are up, and now we find ourselves making weekend trips to the local Home Depot or Lowe's department stores. Some of us are looking for ideas, while others have a plan. Any home improvement big or small will have an impact.Whether you are looking to sell your property in the coming months or tired of being the worst house on the block, any improvement is better than none at all. Some home improvement can be value added, while others are personal preference to the way you want to live.

(BPT) - Do the words “aging in place” and “home improvement” conjure images of institutional-looking grab bars in bathrooms and overhead kitchen lights that could illuminate an airport runway? Many people eschew certain types of home improvements for the same reason others refuse to wear hearing aids – the negative connotations of age.

With the six-month anniversary of Hurricane Sandy next week, two organizations are seeking to help the storm’s victims keep their kitchen cabinets stocked as they continue to focus on rebuilding.

Family-to-Family, Inc., and Peapod, a grocery service, are running a 90-day campaign for people to donate a care box full of groceries to affected families in the Rockaways and other hard-hit areas.

(NAPSI)—There’s good news for those who want to get a handle on cleaning their home but don’t know where to start.

(BPT) - You’ve made the decision to sell your home – now you want to position yourself for a quick and successful sale. What’s the most important thing you can do to entice buyers?

Do you have a slow drain issue in your bathroom or kitchen sink? Even after using the handy plunger? If you are like most, we hope that time will remedy the problem and miraculously drain away. Unfortunately, this problem left unattended can create a bigger issue over time and become an expensive job to repair. Before you reach the phone to call the super, plumber, take a run to the local store for Drano or some other toxic substance; try an environmentally friendly route first. You may already have what you need in your cabinet to combat this small problem. All you need is washcloth/rag, water, vinegar and baking soda. Are you ready for battle? You just might win this one if you caught the slow drain issue on time. So this is what you need to do:

(BPT) - A new report reveals houses are selling faster and for more money, yet another indicator of a rebounding housing market. According to the National Association of Realtors, full-year sales of previously owned homes increased by 9 percent in 2012 over the previous year. Plus, home prices jumped up 12.3 percent, the biggest percentage gain since January 2005.  

(BPT) - If you’ve been thinking about selling your home, there’s no time like the present. House hunters come out of the woodwork in warm weather months and “for sale” signs pop up everywhere. Your job is to set your home apart from all the others. In most areas around the country, it’s a buyers’ market. So how do you get a leg-up on the competition?

(NAPSI)—The high-traffic areas of your home don’t have to be decorated in mayhem. A few hints can help you have a welcoming home and cozy home decor.

(BPT) - After a long winter, spring is finally in sight. Before the season is in full bloom and outdoor chores pile up, take advantage of spring showers to tackle the indoors first with easy home cleaning and organizing projects. To get your home in tip-top shape, start by breaking down your to-do list room by room, so you can create an easily achievable goal that will leave your house looking fabulous and you feeling refreshed.

(NAPSI)—The federal government says we spend about 45 minutes a day cleaning. The secret to effective cleaning is to make the best use of your time:

(BPT) - As the weather gets warmer, everything outside becomes fresh and new – so why not make your home as nice inside as the weather is outside? In just a weekend, you can complete a few quick, easy projects that will make a big difference in your space. Get inspired to give your home a spring spruce-up with these handy tips.