Long Island: Create a Time Capsule With Your Family

While a vacation or retreat are excellent ways to de-stress and reconnect with your family, sometimes it's not possible to get away. Ensure that your time at home is at pleasant as possible by turning your home into a sanctuary. Our REALTORS® also find that peaceful properties are attractive to potential homebuyers. Check out a few simple tricks to make your home your own personal sanctuary.

1. Use Music to Add Ambiance
   Add ambiance to your home in minutes with music. A catchy tune can quickly lift your mood or give you a surge of energy. Make it as convenient as possible to turn your music on and off by using your home assistant to control your playlist.

Practicing social distancing presents the perfect opportunity for a clean and happy home by tackling home maintenance projects. While prepping your home for summer can be tedious, our REALTORS® know that it helps you take back control of your home and give yourself the chance to beat the heat.

Check these summer home maintenance to-dos off your list to keep your home in prime working condition.

• Wash Windows and Screens
  One obvious sign of a neglected home is dirty and ripped screens and windows. Start by vacuuming window screens that have dust and a small amount of dirt. You want to use a vacuum with a soft brush attachment. Then scrub each one with some dish soap and brush to remove lingering debris. You can then set them outside to dry before putting them back in place. Then, get some type of window cleaning solution to tackle the window from the inside out. Clean windows can make a huge difference with the amount of light that passes through them.

Creaks, groans, bumps in the night. Houses make all kinds of strange sounds, some of which can be downright unnerving if you're a first-time homeowner. 

Our REALTORS® have heard them all. Some really are "the house settling," just like your parents always told you. Some are common (but often irritating) noises that you can get rid of with little more than a few turns of a wrench. But a few household noises might represent a serious issue that needs professional attention.

• Whistling Windows
  Few household sounds are more unsettling than the wind whistling through leaky windows at night. Luckily, this is generally an easy problem to fix. Just use caulk or weather stripping to seal up the gaps around leaky windows. You'll put an end to the ghostly whining, and probably make your home a bit more energy-efficient in the process.

Now is a great time to start planning your landscaping projects. As you ponder the plethora of options you can add to your landscape, the following are some that our REALTORS®  recommend and some that you should leave for someone else's lawn. 

Trends to Follow

• Trend #1 - Kept It Low-Maintenance
  21st-century life is moving faster and faster. With more to do, that means less time to take care of the landscape. If there's one overarching trend, low-maintenance is the bedrock you want to build your landscape upon. Think simple, classy, and minimal maintenance with your decorative elements, plants, grass, etc.