2. Give your lawns edges, and your sidewalks will look much better. Basically, you want the distinction between the grass and the walkways to be firm, so pull out the edger and trim the areas up. It takes seconds and makes a huge difference in your curb appeal.

3. Trim your shrubs down, you want your house, not your overgrown shrubs to be the focal point. Start with some severe pruning to get the plant back in line. Then remember regular pruning will minimize your workload and the stress on the plant.

4. Use ground cover for those hard to maintain areas, such as slopes, or places with poor soil. Ground cover thrives, and while it takes a few years to fill in completely it will make your yard look much better, and build your curb appeal while allowing you to relax more instead of trying to keep grass growing on a slope.

5. Create flower beds and planter boxes around trees and in areas where you want flowers etc. By using cast concrete blocks to create planters, and flower beds, you get distinction and ease, as concrete blocks are durable, environmentally safe, and don't need footings installed below the frost line. These are easy to install and you can then fill topsoil in behind them and add shade-tolerant plants.

6. Planting beds near the house generally get neglected because they take so much time to weed and water properly. Lay in some mulch, which holds in moisture and prevents weed growth, and they will be easier to maintain. There are different looks that come with mulch, for a formal look, stone mulch is a good choice; for a more casual approach, organic mulch, like wood chips, is better.

7. If your lawn is sparse in some areas this can be a real eye sore, build your curb appeal by thickening the turf. The best way to do this is to over-seed your lawn by planting new grass without tearing up the old. Choosing the proper grass seed for your area is crucial, and you won't be successful without it, so check with a local nursery to find out what is best.

8. Wash your siding. How can your curb appeal be good if your house is dirty? Clean away the dirt with a pressure washer. When it comes to cleaning siding, start at the bottom and work up. When you get to the top, rinse down to the bottom. You can rent a pressure washer, make sure the stream is wide, but effective, too intense of a stream can damage the siding.

9. Fix peeling paint, a little touch up goes a long way. First ask yourself why the paint is failing in certain areas, whether it is cracking, peeling, or chipping. Address the problem, scrape off the loose paint, prime and then paint with a finish coat. For touchups, latex paint is a good choice because of its long-term resistance to cracking.

10. Restain decks or patios that look weathered, make sure any outbuilding are not an eyesore, and do some general clean-up.

These ten simple tasks will really help build your curb appeal quickly, efficiently, and at low cost to you. The increase in the value of your home could be substantial with a little TLC.