For all the talk of the down housing market and the mortgage meltdown, you can still capitalize on home ownership by making improvements to your house or apartment. The amount of money you receive if and when you decide to sell your home depends on external factors like supply, demand and location, but you can take steps to enhance your home’s value by putting in some elbow grease and making it more appealing to potential buyers.

Here are a few ways to spruce up your home for sale:

Get Into Gardening

It’s natural for prospective home buyers to judge a property by what they see on the exterior. After all, first impressions are important. According to HomeGain.com, putting a little effort into refurbishing your home’s lawn and garden could add up to $2,000 in value to the property. You don’t need to go all out to make a change for the better. Simple flowers such as perennials, which return to bloom every year, could help your home stand out in the crowd.

Clear the Clutter

If your garage is filled with junk and your basement contains items that haven’t seen the light of day in years, it might be time to do a little de-cluttering. It’s not the right time of the year for spring cleaning, but doing some organizing could help you no matter the season. If your belongings are stacked around the basement or garage, buy some inexpensive plastic bins or boxes, sort your items, and put them onto some shelves, which you could build or purchase. When home shoppers come look at your house, they’ll see your garage as a place with plenty of room for storage instead of a giant mess.

Pay Attention to External Details

Some of the most important aesthetic enhancements you can give your home are at or around your front door. Prospective home buyers will certainly pass through your front entryway, so there’s no way to hide an old door or a rusty mailbox. Touching up your mailbox or address boilerplate can add a lot of character to your home depending on what colors and fonts you use. Replacing a door can be expensive, but opting for a heavy-duty material instead of fiberglass can be a sound investment.

Look at Light Switches

It might seem like nitpicking, but tiny details like light fixtures and switches can add quality of life points to a home and give it a livable feeling that could up the asking price. Standard light switches are fine, but adding dimmers can do wonders for a home’s interior look. Having the ability to choose your precise light levels instead of choosing between all or nothing is an often-overlooked perk. The wiring and circuity can be complicated, depending on how many different lights you have in a room, but having a customizable experience is worth the trouble.