Make your reno eco-friendly

6. Trade in your old power-leaching appliances in favour of a new Energy Star models. A certified fridge, for instance, uses 40 per cent less energy than regular ones sold in 2001 -- a good thing considering 20 per cent of your energy bills go to keeping your milk cold and your ice frozen.

7. Sure, they let in nice light, but windows can leak about 25 per cent of your home's heat in winter and let in about 40 per cent of summer's suffocating temps. Keep your house comfy with a set of new low-E Energy Star windows and skylights. While you're shopping, get some good cellular blinds for extra window insulation.

8. It may pretty up your pad but that fresh coat of paint is also filling your home with polluting volatile organic compounds. Make sure to use low-VOC paints, available at major paint retailers like Benjamin Moore.

9. Keeping your showers steamy and your dishes clean swallows up a lot of hot water. In fact, a quarter of your power bill goes to heating up all that H2O. Why not tap into the warmth of the sun's rays and get a solar hot water heater? For a few grand you can get a good vacuum-tube model that's really efficient at harnessing those solar rays, even in the depths of Canadian winters. If your budget's tight, tankless hot-water heaters are a super-efficient option and will cost you about a grand.

10. Renovations draining your wallet? Stop in at one of the 50 Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores across the country. They're like thrift shops for building supplies full of secondhand, donated or discontinued lumber, sinks, doors, windows, chandeliers, tiles, mantles, even nails, hooks and knobs for about half the retail price. You'll save a couple bucks and help keep bulky building supplies out of the landfill at the same time. Plus, all the money you spend goes to building homes for the less fortunate. Happy renovating!

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