Brightness is a valuable ally for homes for sale. When a room is dark, it not only feels uninviting, but it can also seem smaller than it actually is. This can cause someone who was otherwise interested in making an offer on the home to feel as though it's too small for his or her needs. By making each room in your house brighter, you'll avoid such problems. There are several ways to brighten a room, including painting it a lighter shade, adding light fixtures, or even making a window larger. These projects, however, take time and money. Here are three inexpensive ways to brighten any room.

Clean Your Lights

Over time, the lights throughout your home can accumulate a layer of dust. In places such as the kitchen, a thin film of grease can coat the lights.  Dust and grease can dampen the brightness of any light, even to just a slight amount. You can overcome this problem by thoroughly cleaning your lights. Wipe down the bulbs with a microfiber cloth and use a damp rag to clean any covers over your light. You'll commonly notice a fair amount of debris left on your cloth and rag, and when you turn the light on again, you'll be impressed at how it seems brighter.

Check The Wattage

Sometimes, brightening a room can be as simple as changing a light bulb. With the light turned off, remove each of the light bulbs in any light fixture and check their wattage. Then, check the maximum allowable wattage for the light itself. Sometimes, you'll find that you're using bulbs that are below the maximum allowable wattage — perhaps an old bulb burnt out and you replaced it with a lower-wattage bulb and forget to buy the proper bulb. Removing three 40-watt bulbs and replacing them with three 60-watt bulbs, for example, will go a long way toward making the room brighter.

Adjust The Curtains

If you have a lot of curtains on a single curtain rod to cover a window, it may help to really darken your room when you want it dark. However, even when the curtains are open, they could partially obstruct the sides of the window and make the room not as bright as it could be. For example, if you have four curtain panels, remove two of them. You'll still get the look of a curtain hanging on each side of the window, but they won't block as much of the light coming in.

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