casaGURU TV is back with a second season of informative interviews with professionals from a variety of home-realted fields. Be sure to stay tuned as we talk to Real Estate Lawyers, Property Appraisers, Interior Designers and many more...

In this episode, casaGURU TV interviews Clare Kumar of the Professional Organizers in Canada to learn about the services of professional organizers and how they can play a part in de-cluttering our lives or helping us to move.

http://www.casaguru.com/a/-/j/128549/casaGURU-TV-The-Benefits-of-using-a-Professional-Organizer

casaGURU TV is back with a second season helpful interviews informing homeowners about a variety of professionals.

casaGURU TV interviews Gerrie Doyle of the Ontario Association of Architects to learn about the advantages of using an architect.

http://www.casaguru.com/a/-/j/128437/casaGURU-TV-The-Benefits-of-using-an-Architect

It was brough to my attention that though there are numerous rebates and grants across Canada being offered to reward homeowners who are making green deicision, it was difficult to track them all down and know what's available. Therefore I've compiled what I could find a series of city guides to make energy programs easier. Below is an excerpt from the Toronto guide, but there are also guides for Kelowna, Victoria, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Medicine Hat, Regina, Calgary, Winnipeg, Kitchener/Waterloo, Ottawa, St John, Moncton, Halifax, and Fredericton.

Emer's Guide to Energy Saving Programs in Toronto

Hello Toronto homeowners!

Here at casaGURU we're big fans of green in both senses of the word: we’re strong supporters of making homes more energy efficient AND of helping our community of homeowners save money. There are many ways you can do both at the same time!

However, with the amount of energy saving rebates and grants available from a variety of sources, finding and applying for them can seem daunting. So, that's why I’ve compiled an easy to follow list of energy savings specifically for homeowners in Toronto, Ontario.

Ontarians are quite fortunate to have the Cool Savings program to take advantage of!

I’ve done the research for you, so below are ways to help you save! It’s been broken into categories that will hopefully be easy to navigate.

People around the world will be turning off their lights for Earth Hour on Saturday, but what about the rest of the year?

More than 700 retailers crammed into the Direct Energy Centre at the CNE grounds in Toronto for 10 days of hustling, shopping and inspiration at the National Home Show. It was exhausting but exhilarating at the same time. So many people, so much to see!

The casaGURU team was out in full force spreading the gospel of the GURU. It was amazing how many people were used to having their head down to avoid sales pitches. However, as soon as they heard the word “FREE” they seemed to relax and stopped to listen. The look of surprise when they understood the basic principles and how easy it is (did I mentioned they balked at “FREE”?) was exciting. We engaged approximately 600 pros and around 8,000 homeowners (so many, in fact, that we ran out of our nifty postcards not once, but twice). Phew! I’m exhausted.

Another fun feature we had at our booth this year was a video camera to record people’s questions for experts (or their renovation horror stories). A lot of people were quite environmentally conscious and asking about solar products and energy efficiency. Keep an eye for those as well as the answers at casaGURU.com soon.

Celebrating the official launch of the site, casaGURU teamed up with MSN/Sympatico for a fabulous contest. You can enter for your chance to win a $3,500 home decorating package, $9,000 energy efficiency upgrade prize package or a $10,000 luxury kitchen appliance prize package. The contest runs through ’til March 30, which is swiftly approaching, so be sure to sign up without delay.