Winter Warmers

Baby, it's cold outside! Slip into something comfortable and spend time with these accessories designed to keep you cozy.

Slender and unobtrusive, this attractive little guy exudes a continuous jet of hot air that's funneled through an ovoid aperture, dispersing warmth about the room quickly and efficiently.
www.dyson.com

If there's anything more inviting than a crackling blaze on a crisp eve, we've yet to find it. This stainless steel hanging hearth offers a sleek alternative to a floor bound fireside.
www.cocoonfires.com

Radiators can be central heating's ultimate eyesore. These tubes, however, streamline the system to a series of simple lines.
www.tubesradiatori.com

Rather than carelessly cranking up the heat, train Nest to learn your temperature preferences. The clever thermostat tracks usage, offering tips on how to save energy and money.
www.nest.com

Hardwood floors can give toes a cold and entirely inhospitable morning greeting.This woolly rug will soften the a.m. transition from sleep to stand.
www.souledobjects.com

Ten Winter Energy Saving Tips

Conservation Helps Ontarians Manage Energy Use, Cut Costs

Energy conservation is an important part of Ontario's Long-Term Energy Plan, which has set a goal of reducing energy consumption by 7,100 MW by the year 2030. That is the equivalent of taking over 2.4 million homes off the grid.

Ontario families can help manage their energy use this winter by following some simple conservation tips:

1. Install a programmable thermostat: When properly set, a thermostat can reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 10 per cent. Set your thermostat to 20°C when you're at home and 18°C when sleeping or away.
2. Protect against drafts: Install weatherstrip around doors, fireplace dampers, attic hatches and air conditioners. Reducing drafts can save up to 30 per cent a year on heating costs.
3. Flip your furnace filter: Change your furnace filter monthly. It's also a good idea to have your furnace serviced by a professional every year to ensure it is running at maximum efficiency.
4. Go off-peak: Take advantage of lower energy prices during off-peak hours. Run your dishwasher, washer and dryer early in the morning, in the evening or on weekends when electricity rates are lowest.
5. Unplug it: Be sure to unplug electronic items not in use. Devices like computers, TVs, and cell phone chargers continue to consume small amounts of electricity unless they are unplugged. Try plugging these items into a power bar with a switch or timer, so you can easily turn them off when they are not needed.
6. Lock in the heat: Block heat from entering unused areas of your house, like a storage room or crawlspace, by closing doors. Keep closet doors shut too.
7. Opt for efficient lighting: When it's time to replace a light bulb, choose energy-efficiency compact florescent lights (CFLs, LEDs), rather than incandescent lights.
8. Let the sun shine in: During the day, keep your curtains open to draw in sunlight. Solar energy can help naturally warm your home.
9. Clean your fridge coils: Be sure to regularly brush or vacuum your refrigerator coils to make them more energy-efficient.
10. Ditch the drip: Make an effort to quickly repair leaky faucets. Even a small drip can waste litres of water per month and add to your water heating costs.

Building a clean energy system that supports healthier families, a healthier environment and a healthier economy is part of the McGuinty government's plan to create and support jobs for Ontario families while ensuring we have the electricity we need to power our homes, schools, hospitals and our economy.

QUICK FACTS

• Through conservation, Ontario homeowners, businesses and industry have achieved over 1,700 MW of energy savings since 2005. That's the equivalent of over 500,000 homes being taken off the grid.
• The Ontario Clean Energy Benefit is helping Ontario families, farms and small businesses by taking 10 per cent off of all electricity bills for the next five years.
• Through the Long-Term Energy Plan, Ontario is committed to increasing wind, solar and bioenergy from less than one per cent of generation capacity in 2003 to almost 13 per cent by 2030, an increase of over 400 per cent.

CONTACTS

• For media inquiries call:
  Jennifer Kett, Minister's Office
  416-327-6747 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            416-327-6747      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
  jennifer.kett@ontario.ca
• For media inquiries call:
  Paul Gerard, Communications Branch
  416-327-7226 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            416-327-7226      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
  paul.gerard@ontario.ca
• For public inquiries call:
  1-888-668-4636 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            1-888-668-4636      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
  TTY: 1-800-239-4224 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            1-800-239-4224      

Ministry of Energy
ontario.ca/energy

2012 Design Resolutions

It's that time of year again when we resolve to make changes that will improve our lives. Your home is a big part of your life and a comforting, inviting space can really make a difference in how you feel every day. It seems only fitting that we should add some design resolutions to our yearly ritual. So here's my top 10 take on the design resolutions that I believe can make a real difference in your home.

1. Designate a space for clutter and resolve to keep it cluttered. Surprised? While it's true most people would put getting rid of clutter at the top of their lists, I've been in enough homes to understand that if clutter is part of your lifestyle, it will just keep coming back. I do, however, believe that it's possible to control the impact of clutter in your home - and it's simple. Choose a spot that's not visible from the public areas of your home and designate a surface, chest or cabinet of some sort for the paper and other things that usually end up in piles all over your home. Give yourself permission to toss anything you don't want to deal with immediately into your clutter area without even thinking about organizing, filing or putting it away later.

Trust me, if you have no area for clutter you will spontaneously make one, and another, and another. If you have a designated area, it will contain the clutter and keep you from feeling overwhelmed by it. You'll have a much easier time with everything in one spot when you do decide to sort it all out and, in the interim, at least you will know where to find everything you can't find.

2. Try at least one new color in your home to break your "color habits". Be bold, do something unexpected or something you've always wanted to try. If you are really hesitant, put the color inside a closet door - somewhere where you can see and react to it. The room which makes me smile in my home is one in which the painter made a mistake and used a color that I never would have chosen for myself. As I was awaiting his return visit for a repainting, I discovered that every time I walked into the room it made me smile. The room has been repainted a few times over the years, but always with what I call "my happy mistake."

3. Pick the room or area in your home in which you find it hard to relax and do three things to make the room quieter. For example, think about replacing high contrast colors with a monochromatic scheme or toning down the color with a more muted version. Try simplifying the lines in the room and paring down accessories. Get those bookcases in shape, with all books flush to the front of the shelves in size order, and create some empty wall and tabletop space where the eye can rest.

4. Conversely, pick one room or area in your home that feels bland and the most uninteresting and do three things to elevate the tempo and energize the room. Try introducing higher contrast or bolder colors. Layer in accessories, some interesting coordinated fabrics in the form of throws and pillows, and some new textures. Replace large artwork with a grouping that will add motion to the room.

5. Make at least four changes in your home to freshen it up for the spring and summer. Change or reduce the number of layers in your window treatment to let more of the outside in. Do what your grandmother did - use lighter slipcovers on upholstery and seasonal accessories such as bowls of fresh summer fruit and vases of fresh flowers. Pick up those heavy rugs. Now is the time to send them out for cleaning. Replace them with light floor cloths or leave the floors bare for a cooling sensation underfoot.

6. Rethink the least used room or area in your home. It may be great to look at, but if it isn't serving any function, you can do better. Is its formality no longer appropriate for your lifestyle? Are your college-aged kids really going to miss the playroom? Should you have retired that home office when you retired?

7. Walk through your home room by room and consciously gauge its impact on your senses by isolating various aspects of the experience. What do you see, hear, smell? What can you touch? How does it make you feel? Make adjustments in each room as needed so that the experience is always pleasant and inviting, and appropriate for the room and its function.

8. Create a space just for you. It can be as simple as a chair in which you can escape with a good book or an entire room. Surround your space in your favorite colors and textures. Make it a place you can use for your most relaxing activities and the best spot you can imagine for just sitting and doing nothing at all. Sit in you personal space at least 10 minutes every day.

9. Approach the design and decoration of your home with joy. Whether it's a little change or a major renovation, try to focus, not on the chores involved, but on the vision you have and the progress you are making toward it. Appreciate the changes, and appreciate yourself for making them.

10. Invite guests a least once a month. When we tidy up for guests, we reawaken our consciousness of all the little things that we can do to make our home inviting and comfortable, details that often get lost in the chaos of our daily lives. Your guests will feel it, but more importantly, so will you.