I’ve often heard that the easiest and cheapest way to update a room is with a can of paint. With the fumes from most paints, it’s not always been the greenest option.

Many paints, especially oil-based paints, have VOCs. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are what causes the “new paint smell.” Exposure to VOC can trigger asthma attacks, cause eye and throat irritation, nausea and headaches. Long term exposure can lead to cancer.

But right now there are lots of nontoxic paint options available. They are called low  or no VOC paints. And they don’t cost that much more than regular paints.

One way to make sure your paint is non-toxic is to look for the Green Seal. This  organization has tougher restrictions on VOCs in paint than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.)

Lowe’s carries Olympic Paints, which have zero VOCs, and cost the same as regular cans of paint.

Sherwin-Williams has adopted a GreenSure seal for some of its paints, and their Harmony paints are eco-friendly. This  does cost a little more.

Benjamin Moore now offers Green Promise paints.

At Home Depot, you can find Freshaire and Behr Premium Plus.

If these paints, or stores aren’t available, you can order online. I’ve also heard that the lighter your color choices, the lower the VOCs.

We used the Behr Premium Plus with primer in our rooms. The smell wasn’t overpowering at all, but we did have to use two coats. Since we paid extra for the primer plus paint, I was bummed. We were trying to cover a moss green color with pale blue, though. But the second coat fixed the spots.

Next time we paint, I think I’ll try either Freshaire or Olympic Paints.

Have you had good or bad experiences with low or no VOC paints? Please let me know!

If you have hardwood, tile or linoleum floors, chances are you have rugs scattered around, either in high traffic areas or under big furniture pieces.

When we decided to buy a house with  mainly hardwood, I just started looking at affordable, cute rugs. Then I read an article in a magazine about the toxins that can leach out of rugs made of synthetic fibers.

The magazine article recommended sisal or jute rugs, which are made of natural materials. These are fairly common, so I didn’t think we’d have much of a problem finding them. Oddly, we did. But only because those rugs are more commonly sold in the summer months than the fall/winter months, at least in our area.

One seller recommended wool rugs, which are very pricey. But, they are environmentally friendly, since wool is a natural, renewable resource.

Another told us that since we had two boys, we needed to buy cheap synthetic rugs instead of wool, because our kids would destroy wool rugs. The guy also said something about wool fibers pilling up and the boys putting the little balls in their noses. I’m not so sure about the fibers pilling up, but I’m sure two toddlers would do a number on an expensive rug.

Due to the price of wool and the high probability that our sons would destroy a nice rug, we decided to look for jute rugs.

Since price is always a factor with us, we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to find a natural rug that fit our budget. Luck was on our side, though and we managed to find a nice ,big jute rug on clearance at our local Lowe’s! I’m assuming it was on clearance because jute rugs are more common in the summer and we were shopping for one in the fall. 

We also found an organic bamboo rug on clearance at TJ Maxx.  I was shocked by the selection of eco-friendly rugs at TJ Maxx. They had some Shaw rugs made out of recycled bottles (similar to Eco-fi) as well as some  nice cotton rugs.

If you are looking for eco-friendly rugs, and trying to stick to a budget, I suggest shopping in the fall and always checking the clearance sections of stores. We had no idea TJ Maxx carried larger rugs, or eco-friendly options.

It’s good to know that with a little searching (combining trips to minimize gas usage, of course!) you can find good prices on several eco-friendly options.

Where have you found a surprisingly eco-friendly stash of products?

When looking to renovate, it’s best to work with what you already have. We were thrilled when we found the home we ended up buying, because it had original hardwood floors.

These floors went through most of the house, but were in pretty bad shape. They were more than 50 years old, and weren’t well-maintained — the varnish was worn off in spots and there were dark spots where water must have been allowed to sit.

I strongly believe in the reuse part of being green. We hated to waste money and resources redoing floors that could be beautiful with a little work.

So, we hired someone to refinish the floors. We had him leave off the stain, though he did use polyeurethane. I figured it was better to make use of what we already had instead of buying expensive bamboo or other eco-friendly hardwood options. Our choices for eco-friendly flooring in our area aren’t great, and having something shipped from the other side of the country would be an even bigger waste of resources.

That means no trees were harmed in the repair of our floor. 

The entire house wasn’t covered in hardwood, and we found a pretty cool green solution for a room that was an addition. Find out more about that on Wednesday.

If you need to make any improvements to your home, now is a great time to do it. Not only are refinancing rates low, but home improvement prices are dropping. And the government is giving pretty sizeable tax breaks for people who opt to go the green route when renovating their home.

You can get 30 percent of the cost, up to $1,500 for many environmentally friendly upgrades to your home through 2010. Upgrades that qualify include windows, doors, insulation, roofs, HVAC, water heaters, and biomass stoves.

If you opt for geothermal heat pumps, solar energy, small wind or fuel cell upgrades, then you get 30 percent of the cost, with no ceiling. This tax credit lasts through 2016.

And the end of this year might be a great time to upgrade your appliances. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act set aside $300 million for states to offer rebates on several EnergyStar appliances. The details of the rebate have not been ironed out, and are up to each individual state. Check with your state to see how much money you can get back and for which appliances.

We recently bought a house — a fixer-upper. We are trying to do as many green upgrades as possible. Our upgrades will not only focus on the eco-friendly, but also the pocketbook-friendly. Surprisingly, we’ve found some pretty affordable options in our small southern town. You just have to be willing to look and do your homework.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll let you know about our hits and misses with our home upgrades. We’ve already tackled flooring, paint, windows and an EnergyStar appliance. We believe we got the best deals, but will be interested to know if you have any other advice.