I am often asked by Fire Island homeowners what changes they can make to improve their home either for themselves or to make their home more marketable as a rental. Long time readers of this column will not be surprised to know that my response is that step one is always to de-clutter. The best time to undertake this is now, in the spring. Although the beach beckons, it is not as compelling as it will be come July and August. You may be inside your house a bit more now in the early summer. In addition, come the fall when we are putting our houses to bed for the winter, most of us just want to get on to the next thing... our real lives.

Here are some suggestions for easy changes which will have a dramatic and immediate impact on the appearance of your home. Try to limit the amount of work you do to no more than two or three hours. That way; the prospect of this kind of chore, to be undertaken, again, will not seem so daunting. We have good friends who have a three hour rule about spring cleaning. They never spend more than three hours per day. No matter what the chore. I think this is a good rule... one which I sometimes find hard to keep because once I get going, it is hard to stop.

Take the time to look at your rooms critically and remove those items that clutter your home. Surfaces that are covered with decorative items, whether they are lighthouses or shells, may not add to your décor. Do an assessment and pack up those items that do not make your house better. Start with any one surface; a shelf, a dresser top, a table.

Clean out one closet. It does not matter which closet you choose. Just do one. My suspicion is that you will feel so good about cleaning out one closet that you will want to go on to the next one.

Obtain a good sized basket; one with a lid is best. Collect all those bug spray cans and sun tan lotions and put them in a basket. Put the basket in a convenient location so that anyone going to the beach can grab the lotion as they head out to the beach. These items are not decorative... really they are icky to look at.

Get new pillows for your beds. Have you looked at your pillows lately? If you have covers over them, take them off. The pillows are likely not too clean. Throw them away and plan to bring new ones over or order them on line and have them sent over.

When was the last time you purchased new sheets or towels? I like all white towels because I can bleach them. It is also easy to add to them if you need more down the road. Replace those beach towels too. The ones that are shredded and faded... you know if you have them.

Assess your window coverings. Do they have a function? My bedroom is on the second floor of our house. A street lamp seems to be directed right at my eyes as I lay in bed. I need shades on my bedroom windows.

Do your window treatments make your rooms more attractive or do you have them on the windows because you thought you "needed" something? If you need privacy or room darkening, woven shades are always a good selection for the beach. It is my experience that any of the wovens with a line of bamboo in them hold up better than the matchstick shades. Do one room at a time if you have budget concerns. It took me five years to get wovens on all of my windows.

Clean your yard. Just like the inside of your house, the outside needs de-cluttering too. Sweep your walks. There are million dollar houses with trash on the lawn. How hard is it to pick it up? Start there. Heavy pruning should always be done in the off-season, but it is a good idea to meet with a landscaper during the summer to assess the garden at its peak. That way, you can decide what you want to eliminate for next year. Clean the yard first. Plant second.

Would you like to add square footage to your home? The easiest thing to do is to eliminate those space eating dressers in the bedrooms. I recommend that you look in your bedroom closets. It is likely the space in the closet is not being well utilized. This is the beach. We do not have a lot of hanging clothing. We have bathing suits, shorts, shirts, sweatshirts, jeans, etc. Install shelves and drawers in the closets and get rid of the dressers. You will be amazed how this change will affect the sense of space in your Fire Island home.

Add ceiling fans in rooms which do not have them. If you rent your house, other than a DSL connection, the item that renters ask for most often is air conditioning. There are many low profile air conditioning units that can be installed directly in the wall. It used to be that air conditioning units were slipped in to an open window. No more. The new wall installed type assures that you can keep your windows open too.

Want to save money this summer? Do not waste your money on hanging flower baskets. By July 1 they will be ruined by the wind and elements. Have you ever seen a healthy hanging basket in mid summer? Probably not.

At a minimum try to de-clutter your home and yard. You need only to devote time to these chores. Once done, I pretty much guarantee that you will feel a lot better about your house.

Grace Corradino, New York State broker, is the owner of Fire Island Living Real Estate, Inc., and can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . She welcomes your suggestions and comments.