Ways to add instant appeal to your home

Front Door Makeover: Potential home buyers and even house guests can spend a lot of time at the front door while awaiting access.

A fresh coat of paint or a new door can make a big difference in their first impression of your home. Keeping door furniture such as a doorbell, letterbox, door knocker or even your security camera clean and free of cobwebs can make a big difference. Got a separate mailbox? Make sure it is pristine and fully functional.

Give the front door a fresh coat of paint. If summer flower pots, planters, window- boxes or hanging baskets are coming to an end consider refreshing them, or investing in an artificial alternative, choose something that looks season relevant, to keep things fresh.

Upgrading your house number can make your home look more polished and modern. Don’t forget that giving your garage door a makeover can make your home look more stylish too!

Clean and/or Update Exterior Lighting:

A well-lit exterior can make your home look more inviting and safe. Consider motion sensor lights –these are a great way to add security and convenience to your home as they turn on automatically when someone approaches your home.

If you are watching your energy outputSolar powered light strips are an ecofriendly way to light up your home. LED strip lights are another energy-efficient option that can be used to highlight architectural features or create a warm ambiance. Use flood lights to illuminate large areas of your home’s exterior. Wall lights and sconces can be used to highlight architectural features or create a warm ambiance while Flush-mount lights are a great way to add subtle lighting to your home’s exterior. Landscape lighting can be used to highlight trees, shrubs, and other landscaping features

Household cleaning hacks

The internet is full of great ideas! Mostly popping up when you don’t need them! Here are some of the most useful suggestions we’ve found online.

Use vinegar to clean your showerhead. Fill a plastic bag with vinegar and tie it around the showerhead. Leave it overnight and rinse it off in the morning.

Try using baking soda to clean your oven. Mix baking soda with water to form a paste and apply it to the inside of your oven. Leave it overnight and wipe it off in the morning.

Use lemons to clean your microwave. Cut a lemon in half and place it in a bowl of water.

Microwave for 5 minutes and let it sit for another 5 minutes before wiping it down.

Use dryer sheets to dust your blinds. Wipe each slat with a dryer sheet to remove dust.

Hydrogen peroxide can be used to clean your cutting board. Pour hydrogen peroxide over your cutting board and let it sit for 5 minutes before rinsing it off.

Try using salt to clean your iron. Sprinkle salt on a piece of paper and run the hot iron over it. Use coffee filters to clean your screens.

Wipe your screens with a coffee filter to remove dust. Use toothpaste to clean your trainers. Apply toothpaste to your

SPIRIT of Translink Awards 2023 attract over 30 facility entries

Bangor Bus & Rail Centre prepares to demonstrate safety, environmental and community engagement performance sneakers and scrub them with an old toothbrush. Use vinegar and baking soda to clean your drains. Pour baking soda down the drain followed by vinegar and let it sit for 10 minutes before flushing with hot water. Use baby oil to shine stainless steel appliances. Apply baby oil to a cloth and wipe down your stainless steel appliances.

Translink, in partnership with Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful (KNIB), has launched the 2023 SPIRIT of Translink Facility Awards. The initiative supports Translink staff in developing a culture of continuous improvement, giving public recognition to the extra mile taken by staff in creating a more attractive environment for passengers and colleagues.

Assessed by KNIB, each facility is judged across a set of key criteria examining key areas including resource efficiency, energy and carbon, biodiversity, health and wellbeing activities, stakeholder, employee, and community engagement as well as employee culture, behaviour, and leadership.

Bangor Bus & Rail Centre has entered the awards hoping to maintain last year’s top Platinum standard performance.

Launching this year’s awards, Chris Allen, Environment, Social and Governance Manager, Translink, said:

“By showing leadership and commitment to being a good corporate citizen we aim to inspire our colleagues to make things even better for everyone that uses our services and works at our stations.

“Embracing 4 key themes around Safety, Environment, Health and Community, staff create a strong positive culture to make life better connected for all which further drives more people to use public transport as their first choice for travel, today for tomorrow. These positive steps not only help to improve lives locally but also feed into wider global sustainability development goals helping to create a better world around us.

“Following the high standard of entries last year, we’re looking forward to more strong performances across the public transport network as colleagues display a real sense of pride in their workplace and I’d like to wish everyone good luck in their efforts this year. “Attractive facilities play an important role in the overall visitor experience. During the summer months we’re looking forward to welcoming passengers to our stations and would encourage them to take advantage of bus and rail services plus good value tickets to enjoy all that’s on offer across Northern Ireland – find out more at www. translink.co.uk/daysout .” said Chris.

Ian Humphreys, Chief Executive, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful said: “We look forward to getting this year’s SPIRIT of Translink Facility Awards underway. This important programme recognises and celebrates best practice across Translink in terms of safety, positive environmental action and engagement with local communities.” Awards results will be announced in October 2023.