It's fall! Or is it?

While Tuesday may have been the first official day of fall, just over a third of Ontarians (36 per cent) agree that Sept. 22 signals the start of the season, according to a recent survey.

Conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of Direct Energy, the survey found that just under one third (30 per cent) of those interviewed instead felt that the first day of school is also the first day of fall. (A sentiment echoed by 1 in four across Canada).

The survey also found that 81 per cent of Ontarians agreed that the leaves changing colour signalled the start of the fall season. Other rituals that are a sure sign it's autumn? Turning on the furnace, 21 per cent, turning off the air conditioner, 19 per cent, and wearing warmer clothes, 43 per cent. 

So is it fall? Officially yes - but I haven't seen any red leaves or turned on my furnace, so the fall boots and corduroy jacket have yet to make an appearance. 

But, the "official" Sept. 22 date is a good reminder to start your fall home maintenance (see our tips). Yes, I know it's unpleasant, but wouldn't you rather do it now than be stuck freezing waiting for someone to come fix your furnace, while surveying frosted plants and trying to climb your icy ladder to clean out those frozen eavestroughs? Yeah, I thought so.

Direct Energy recommends testing your furnace now to avoid that whole freezing part of my nightmare scenario. Plus, if something is actually wrong, you'll have better luck getting service now than when the first cold snap hits. 

Here are the company's tips to get your house ready for winter:

- Turn on your furnace once every 60 days when you aren't using it. Schedule a maintenance appointment before it gets cold. And clean or replace your furnace filter every two to three months to save money on your heating bill.

- Cover your air conditioner to help ensure it's ship shape come next summer.

- Consider upgrading your old furnace to a new energy efficient unit, which will help cut your bills. There's a new minimum energy performance standard for home gas furnaces rolling out on Dec. 31, requiring 90 per cent efficiency for new purchases. (The regulations don't require homeowners to switch out existing furnaces.)

- Get a home energy audit, which can identify spots to make your home more energy efficient.

- Clean your ducts, which will help your ventilation system operate better and will reduce the amount of dust in the air, improving indoor air quality.

And, if all this winter talk is getting you down, just think about hot chocolate, hot apple cider and cozy sweaters! Doesn't that feel better?

Not your average extinguisher

Doing double duty as a fire detector and a sprinkler system, the Automist has claimed top honours at the 2009 James Dyson awards.

This nifty product was designed to make fire protection more accessible, with an eye on the space where many fires start: the kitchen.

Automist, which is currently preparing for production, is installed under your typical kitchen tap. 

A wireless heat detector monitors for fire, and in the event of a blaze, triggers a pump that pushes water through the nozzle, filling the kitchen with mist -- and putting out the fire.

"This simple but clever device should become a permanent safety feature in the home. Smoke alarms are essential part of modern life but have remained fundamentally unchanged for forty years. Automist not only detects a fire but can put it out as well," said James Dyson in a statement on the award website.

Automist, which beat out more than 400 projects from 21 countries, was designed by Yusuf Muhammad and Paul Thomas. They win £10,000 (nearly $18,000 CAD) towards product development.

Read more about the contest, and the runners-up, here.

Finally, a full sized Lego house!

While Mr. Speedy is the resident petrol head, I too have gotten hooked on British car show Top Gear (with a little help from presenter Richard Hammond).

As a fan of the show, and the hosts, I was excited to learn that while the series is on a break, co-presenter James May has decided to tackle toys in an epic way this summer with his new series James May's Toy Stories.

The coolest project? A full-size, two-storey house made entirely from Lego, complete with a (working!) Lego bathroom! His bed (and other furniture, too) will also be made out of Lego. (Check out the full story and photos at the Daily Mail).

May says everything, in so far as it's possible, will be made out of Lego, and, better yet, he's promised to live in it, for at least a few days (or until it falls down).

The public has been lending a hand with the construction, which is slated to be completed some time this week. The series, which will also feature a garden made of plasticine, will air in Spring 2010, but I'm sure there will be loads of pics before then!

Poll results: Emergency kits

Last week's poll asked Yourhomers whether they have emergency kits stocked with the recommended 72 hours of supplies — a particularly timely question after this week's fierce storm. (Read the full story about stocking your kit).

Despite the recommendations from Public Safety Canada, the majority of us (sadly, myself included) at 92 per cent said they don't have a well-stocked emergency kit. Only 8 per cent are prepared for an emergency!

I know I've got to rectify the situation and boost my own, rather shameful, kit, which currently consists of some Band-Aids, a flashlight and a handful of candles and matches. Hopefully I'll get it done before the next power outage!

And, while it may feel like summer has just finally arrived, our new poll looks forward to the fall renovation season — what area of your home do you plan to tackle this fall?

And, don't miss our sneak peek of what happened when Colin and Justin were let loose in the Star editor's office, along with their bland to grand hallway transformation and the latest in eco-friendly frying pans.

There's an app for that!

Want to make sure that photo is level? Or match that perfect shade of paint? There's an iPhone application for that! (Read my roundup of handy downloads for around the house).

Lately, it seems like there's an app for everything. And, on a recent visit over to the Ikea hacker blog, I discovered that tech geniuses have applied their prowess to the good old Swedish design superstore's shopping list and teeny tiny pencil combo. 

SwedeShop ($0.99 from the App Store, shown) lets you tap in your shopping list, with fields for item name, price, aisle and bin. You can also add notes, priority and even pictures!

And, if you're like me and have a tendency to blow you budget picking up bits and bobs throughout the shop, it can even keep track of your spending: just set a budget, plus your tax rate, and it keeps a running total, along with an "unobtrusive" notification (which I believe is a buzz) when you go over. 

The second one, called iShopFlat, also $0.99, lets you create a digital shopping list, including aisle, row, price, quantity, item name, and notes.

How cool is that? Or, are you attached to the pencil and paper combo?

Garbage day happy dance!

Yesterday morning I woke up to the sound of trucks picking up the recycling along my street — and it was music to my ears!

You see, yesterday was the first day of post-garbage strike pickup here in Toronto. Finally, my garage is starting to breathe easier, and I can start cleaning out those questionable and expired items in my fridge.

When we moved, we didn't have bins for pickup. Because we don't generate a lot of trash, we figured we'd just hold off for a week or two while we waited for our tags and bins to arrive. They came two days before the strike started. So that means we had a head start on the garbage piling up in our garage.

Luckily, we were able to send a rather smelly load off with family who live outside the city, but that still left us with a mountain of recyclables as well as all those boxes and bits and bobs that come from unpacking and moving.

And, as miserable and stinky as the strike was (it was getting to the point of holding my breath on the way to the bus stop), it did teach me to change some of my slightly lazy garbage day habits.

For starters, I'm now much more thorough when rinsing out my recyclables. A storm cloud of fruit flies is a powerful incentive.

I'm also more aware of the huge amounts of packaging that I was bringing home each week from the grocery store, as well as the ends of fruits and veggies that sometimes languished in the back of my fridge. I started to plan meals and snacks more carefully and freeze leftovers. I generally reduced and reused wherever possible — and it really did make a difference in the number of bags being added to our pile.

What about you? Did the strike make you change your garbage habits?

The pride of homeownership

I recently learned that buying a home is terrifying. And expensive. But that feeling when you first walk in the door of your new home, knowing that it really does belong to you, is truly incredible.

Mr. Speedy and I were so proud, and still are, to give our friends home tours, pointing out the things we love and those we want to change.

And, apparently, we're not the only first-time buyers who find a real emotional payoff in home ownership, according to a recent survey by Genworth Financial Canada.

Genworth's First-Time Homebuyer Monitor, released this week, found that 80 per cent of Torontonians said they feel the value of owning a home goes beyond the financial value. Nationally, among the 2,521 Canadians surveyed between April 24 and May 4, 84 per cent shared this view.

And 83 per cent of Torontonians surveyed agree that "Owning a home provides a greater sense of emotional well-being and security," compared to 84 per cent of Canadians.

Additionally, 77 per cent of Torontonians said they consider a house/condo they own more of a 'home' than a rental property, compared to 80 per cent nationally. An equal per cent of respondents said that owning a home made them feel more personally fulfilled.

The survey also found 81 per cent of Torontonians (compared to 85 per cent nationally) believe that even though home ownership may mean more work and effort, they'd rather own than rent.

There's also a sense of security that comes with home ownership, the survey found, with 85 per cent of Torontonians and 88 per cent of Canadians saying they would feel more financially secure owning their own home than renting.

"The survey results show Canadians have a deep emotional attachment to home ownership," said Peter Vukanovich, President of Genworth Financial Canada, in a release. "Most people closely associate financial security and emotional well being with home ownership. That's particularly true among first-time homebuyers."

Thermostat battles?

Do you bicker with your housemates over the temperature inside your home? According to a recent survey by Direct Energy, almost half of Canadians (49 per cent) report arguments over the thermostat. In Ontario, the rate was 46 per cent.

Mr. Speedy and I prefer much different temperatures. When he's sitting happily in a t-shirt and shorts, I'm bundled up with a blanket and sweater. If I'm comfy-cozy, he's probably too hot to move.

Our solution? We strive for a middle ground, and I always keep a blanket handy! (Which is, perhaps, on trend with the survey, which found women are more likely to add or remove layers of clothing or open a window rather than argue about the temperature). How do you handle these "therma-spats"?

And, even if you can't agree on how to set it, it never hurts to cut the costs of running your a/c unit, so check out these summer cooling tips from Direct Energy:

- Install a programmable thermostat, turning it up during the day when no one is home and at night when the outdoor temperature is cooler. Direct Energy says that by raising the thermostat's temperature by five degrees Celsius at night, you could save 10 per cent on your heating bill.
- Keep the outdoor air conditioner coil clear of dirt and other obstructions, and keep flowers and shrubs two feet away from the unit.
- If you have a central air conditioner, keep the top of the unit unobstructed.
- Top up your insulation, and caulk and weather strip around windows and doors to keep the cool air in and the warm air out.
- Keep blinds, carpets and furniture free of the vents, and close vents in less used rooms.

Frank Lloyd Wright Lego

You can now enjoy incredible architecture from the comfort of your own home, and even help create it — albeit on a very small scale.

Blogs, Twitter and even some mainstream media has been buzzing about the new Lego Architecture building sets, which translate iconic works, brick by brick, into Lego creations.

The series, which currently features six buildings, has launched with the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, including the Guggenheim Museum and "Fallingwater", the home outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Each Lego Architecture set will come with traditional building instructions, exclusive archival historical material and photographs of the building.

The Frank Lloyd Wright collection is available via Brickstructures.com for $45 plus shipping and handling.

No word yet on any other architects to be featured — who would you like to see?

Personally, I think the works of Canadian Arthur Erickson, who died last week, would be a fitting tribute — wouldn't you like a mini Roy Thomson Hall for your shelf?

(Via Wired.com)

A website where commissions are negotiable?

When Mr. Speedy and I recently bought our home, we found our agent the good old fashioned way — by asking our friends and family, doing online research and asking questions on Twitter.

But a new service offers an environment where you can invite realtors to vie for your business, with the aim of cutting costs for both sides.

Agent Invitation allows buyers and sellers to anonymously request proposals from up to three realtors (with a $99 charge for sending the invite, which the company says shows agents that you're a serious prospective client). The site also offers details on client satisfaction and the agent's experience and qualifications.

The real estate agents then reply with the services they would provide, why they think they would be the best choice, and the commission they'd be willing to offer, hopefully at a reduced price.

Agents, in turn, are supposed to benefit from the service — and be able to afford cutting their commissions — because clients come to them, reducing referral fees and marketing expenses.

“This eliminates part of an agent’s costs because clients approach agents — it goes right to their email inbox for free — and that savings can be passed to the consumer,” says founder Don Stewart in a release.

What do you think? Would you try this service?