Did you know that remodeling a home is most likely going to be much more “green” or eco-friendly than any new home you can buy. Construction material is one of the largest contributors to landfill waste, so just by building a home (no matter how energy efficient it will be) you’re creating scads of refuse and you’re also going to consume ridiculous amounts of energy in the construction process.

So if you’re trying to be eco-conscious, forego that new home in urban-sprawl-land (let’s not even get into how that harms the environment) and find a nice home to remodel.

If you’re going to remodel and add on to an existing home, consider moving up rather than out. Building up is more cost efficient and eco-friendly as you’re creating a much smaller carbon footprint. Also re-evaluate the space you’ll need. A big problem with builders in the past couple decades was their obsession with space. The average home size increased by about 800 square feet of floor space in the last 30 years and much of this space is just that…space. Do you need a sitting room in your bedroom, most likely you don’t. Do you need one bathroom for every person in the home, probably not. Do you really need an office, a craft room, a playroom and a spare bedroom? Be practical and you’ll save money that would normally be wasted on heating and cooling these unused spaces.

photo credit: lumaxart