Global news rivets our attention for the briefest time and occasionally serves to affect a change in our daily habits and routines. Every so often, however, the changes endure and lead to a shift in the way we live. The recession, the movement towards less consumerism and living “green” affect daily habits and have led to a welcome change from past excesses.
Fire Island has always been a haven from life’s excesses. Fire Island visitors don’t seem to miss the noise, crowds, cars, trucks and buses which populate everyday life in the real world. And because of the unique geography of Fire Island, people here have always lived carefully, conserving resources. Hoarders were bred on Fire Island because you never knew when you would need something and not have it. If you did not have a screw, you could not just run off the beach to get it. This is why many houses are jammed with things that we do not “need” at the moment. I know a number of owners who have been on Fire Island who have storage sheds that are a treasure trove of items we do not need every day. These are the people we run to when we need a new chain for our bikes, a bike seat or a particular kind of tool. This mentality has been in place on Fire Island because of the geography of the Island. It was not always easy to get things over here. Now, for the most part, money will buy anything you want from anywhere in the world and the ferry companies will send it over. With the shift in emphasis away from consumption, however, we are looking at money in a new way and conserving and caring more about the things we do have. Mostly, this is for the better. Consumption has driven this economy for a long time, but a return to a more fundamental appreciation of the world around us is a welcome relief. So how do you live a life on Fire Island, taking ever more care and respect on an island which has never seemed more fragile? How can we live life respectfully and making do without the things we have come to take for granted? We need our blackberries, our DSL lines and air conditioning. On Fire Island, there has been change in the way we live, but the changes in some towns are more profound than in others. Lonelyville, for example, is much as it has been over the past 20 years with the exception of two large, contemporary homes and a few second floor additions. At first glance, some of the walks, in some of the towns, look much the same. But turn a corner and you will likely see a recently renovated year-round home newly occupied. The real estate boom affected all things Fire Island. People had more money to do more to their homes. It used to be that the off-season was really the off season. No one was ever seen here in January because there was no water, electricity or heat. Now, houses have year round services and access is dictated by desire and the condition of the bay. What are the small changes we can make in our daily lives here on the beach that can lead to a renewed respect for the geography and the unique landscape which we all love? • When you need to replace something, shop for the most environmentally friendly option. We have changed all of our cleaning supplies to include common vinegar and baking soda. Put up a clothes line. If you do not have room for a clothes line, hang your clothes on a drying rack. I keep one in my outdoor shower, take it out daily and hang our laundry on it until it is almost dry. The clothes are transferred in to the dryer so that they can fluff. Recycle, re-purpose, reuse. There are many community yard sales on Fire Island. Donate the stuff you no longer use. People love yard sales. In Ocean Beach, the Woodhull School organizes a huge sale every year in late spring. All proceeds go to the PTA. This year it was May 22 and 23. A group of my friends in Saltaire have undertaken to help me organize and run a yard sale every year. This year the sale will be held on Saturday, July 10. Gently used furniture, furnishings, recreation gear, fishing tackle, antiques and collectibles are sold every year. We also sell both used adult and children’s bikes. It is a great event and all proceeds are donated to the FSH Society, an organization spearheading the effort to find a cure for a form of muscular dystrophy. Plant a garden. It will cost some money for you to hire someone to turn over a garden and to fence it. You will need to fence it, otherwise the deer will eat everything you plant. We have always had a vegetable garden. I have learned over the years to plant only those vegetables that we use in abundance and taste significantly better than the vegetables that we can buy. I have also learned not to plant cherry tomatoes or the grape variety of tomato. The plant takes up too much space in the garden and they fail my test of being that much better than store bought. Nothing, however, absolutely nothing, compares to a beefsteak tomato allowed to fully ripen on the vine. If it were up to me, this would be all that I would plant. Man, however, does not live on tomatoes alone and we also grow arugula, two varieties of lettuce, beets and another favorite, asparagus beans. • Repurpose metal office clips. I hate those plastic bag clips because they always break. We use the black metal clips from the office. They are much better for keeping a bag closed, in the long run they are cheaper and they don’t break. I would also invite you to check out FireIslandSwap.com, our newest endeavor here on the beach. This Web site allows Fire Islanders to sell or give away their unwanted “stuff” and find a new home for it here on the beach. Have too many bikes? List them at FireIslandSwap.com and find them a new home. Buyers and sellers deal directly within the communities that they have easy access to. It is not likely, for example, someone in Davis Park will venture down to Fair Harbor to buy a mosquito net. But someone in the Pines may need one and want to purchase it from a Cherry Grove seller. Take a look at the site and get rid of your stuff! Re-use, re-purpose, and recycle. Grace Corradino lives and works year-round in Saltaire. She owns Fire Island Living Real Estate and Fire Island Swap.
House & Garden 
