IT'S HARD not to notice your home's minor flaws. Maybe you want to move to something bigger and better, but your Realtor thinks you're better off staying put for a while.

You don't have to wait out the market in a house that makes you cringe.

Instead, real estate expert Loren Keim , author of "How to Sell Your Home in Any Market," offers a few simple tips to help you turn a flawed house back into your (temporary) dream home:

Honey, do it now

As you walk through the home, you're bound to see little things that have been on the honey-do list for years: dripping faucets, broken closet shelves, ugly caulk in the bathtub.

Set aside one weekend to tackle all these minor repairs; the house will instantly seem newer, and when it does come time to sell, you'll already have these things completed.

Treat your windows

Send those dated mini blinds packing. New curtains, drapes and modern blinds may be the quickest, easiest and least-expensive method of changing the entire look of a room.

Old or worn window treatments can make a room look drab and dated, but a bold new style or color can instantly update a room.

Splash of color

A home can be completely transformed by the addition of the right colors. A fresh coat of white paint on the ceiling brightens a room and gives the illusion of height, while bold wall colors drastically change the look of an entire space.

Paint wall and door trim in a contrasting color to make it stand out, or match the wall color to blend into the background.

Beware: dark colors generally make rooms feel smaller, and liberal applications of wallpaper tend to make a home look old.

The grass is greener

Beautiful lawns help sell homes because they make an entire house look new and fresh. Give your lawn an inexpensive makeover by trimming bushes and trees, weeding the garden and planting colorful flowers.

Additionally, remove any large plants that hide the home's facade and add new mulch to flower beds to really make the exterior pop.

Spread out

A major reason people move is for more storage space. However, you can add hundreds of square feet of storage to your current property with an outdoor shed .

They're weather-resistant, lockable, ventilated and they cost a mere fraction of what you'd spend on a home addition. Some come with decorative shutters and a wood-grain finish, so they'll look great in a newly manicured lawn.

- From wire reports