Sleep is essential to our health and well-being, yet an astonishing number of people struggle to get a good rest each night. There are numerous possible causes of insomnia, and nobody should despair. There is always a way to fix poor sleeping habits, even though getting it exactly right can take a little trial and error.

Here are a few tips that can help you get a good night’s sleep”

1 – Reduce stress

The first thing to do is try to reduce your stress levels. Nothing is guaranteed to make you lie awake staring at the ceiling like fretting over the anxieties of the day. Keep a notepad by the side of the bed, and if an issue starts preoccupying your mind, jot it down on the pad. Many people find that this helps them to put it out of their mind, allowing them to get a good night’s sleep at last.

2 – Make sure you unwind

Having a relaxing bath before bedtime, with lavender oils and soft music, as well a hot milky drink (without caffeine!) can help to reduce your tension in the hours before bed. Speaking of caffeine, if you can’t go without it altogether, put a caffeine ban in place after 6pm every day. You can still enjoy cups of tea and coffee, as long as you choose the decaffeinated varieties.

3 – Invest in some high quality bedding

Your bedroom actually plays a big part in the state of your sleep. Keep it for sleeping if at all possible, and make it as comfortable as possible in order to be an environment which is conducive to sleep. Ensure that the curtains block out all the light, and invest in some super indulgent bedding like Vi-Spring mattresses and Tempur cloud pillows to sleep on.

Vi-Spring mattresses are exceptional, for the ultimate in comfort, support and luxury, and are made with British fleece wool and long-stranded Austrian moosburger horse tail hair for the best level of comfort. Tempur cloud pillows are, as their name suggests, like laying your head on a fluffy cloud, perfect for the most restful night’s sleep you have ever had. They offer outstanding support for the head and neck, while remaining extra soft to the touch.

With stresses reduced, caffeine skipped, a relaxing routine put in place, and the best in bedding, a great night’s sleep should finally be just around the corner. Once you hit your stride, so to speak, you will certainly reap the benefits of a good, restful sleep.

About the author: Jonathan Piggins is a keen blogger who enjoys writing on all aspects of interior design and stress relief.

It’s probably one of the most common annoyances of garden bird watchers: a cheeky squirrel finding new and clever ways to steal the wild bird food you have put out for the birds.

While some might find it entertaining to watch squirrels get in to nearly any type of feeder and stealing food, while scaring away your garden birds, others get quite irritated by the little creatures. Not only are they eating food intended for birds that are perhaps more in need of the nutrition, they might even cause many birds to look for their food supply elsewhere.

So what can you do to tackle the determined squirrels in your garden and make sure your feathered friends keep coming back?

1 – Understand the Squirrel’s Point of View

I think we can all agree that the squirrel probably doesn’t intentionally mean to steal food away from the birds. The food is available, and they quite rightly expect it to be available to them. If you think you are fighting a losing battle trying to beat them and scare them away, you could instead cater for both them and the birds. Try using different foods, feeders and locations to work out which they prefer most. It may be that they are more attracted to certain areas of the garden, perhaps near trees where they have an easy escape route. This way you can feed your garden birds in another area of your garden where the squirrels prefer not to go.

2 – Get Ready for Battle

If you do decide to take on the challenge of getting rid of the pesky creatures, there are barriers and special feeders you could try to prevent squirrels from getting to your bird food. Some squirrel-proof feeders are weight activated and only allow the lighter birds to feed on them.

You can also try baffles, a half-sphere shaped piece of clear Perspex which hangs above the feeder.

Make sure that you hang the feeder nice and high and away from easily climbed surfaces, as squirrels are able to jump up to five feet vertically and ten feet horizontally.

3 – Use “Hot Stuff”

If the barriers and special feeders do not work or are too impractical for your garden, here is the hottest tip in the book: spices. Squirrels can’t stand hot spices like chili powder, so coating your regular wild bird food with it will keep them away. Interestingly, the hot spice doesn’t affect the birds whatsoever and can do them no harm. If you don’t have any chili powder ready to go in the house, any other hot sauces or spices will do, such as cayenne pepper, regular pepper, peri-peri or Tabasco sauce. The only thing to be careful with is not to use too finely ground powder, as the small grains could potentially fly with the wind and land in a bird’s eyes, causing them some irritation.

About the author: John Greenwood is a nature lover who tries to look after the birds and any other creatures that visit his garden. He recommends Peckish wild bird food to any UK residents looking to give our feathered friends a helping hand.

At the beginning of the year you have ample opportunity to plan a renovation that could transform your garden from a dull, overgrown space into a paradise ideal for summer garden parties and BBQs. The key to creating a garden that is both practical for these occasions and visually appealing is preparation; the more time and effort you put into the design and creation of your new garden, the better the finished result will be.

There are many ways to create a modern, stylish garden that friends and family would love to spend time in, so let’s take a look at a few ideas and features that could help you create a garden to be proud of!

Vibrant Colors

Those of you who have an interest in gardening will know how effective and beautiful flowers can look when positioned and maintained properly. A multitude of vibrant, colorful flowers around the outside of the garden (towards surrounding the edge of the lawn usually) can take away the boxing effect of garden fences, and help to provide a more visually appealing boarder to the garden.

A well-kept lawn can be more effective than you may originally think; products can be bought to keep grass healthy and keep a luscious green color. Be sure to trim it regularly during summer to keep a fresh and desirable appearance.

Furniture

There is a wide range of designer garden furniture that you can incorporate into your garden which will not only serve as a nice centerpiece and provide guests with somewhere to sit, but also add heaps of modern style with very little effort. Features such as chrome fire pits or a stylish hanging chair add a sense of luxury when used but look good as a feature too.

If you plan on hosting garden parties then consider purchasing a good sized garden table; look for something sturdy and stylish instead of opting for the basic white plastic tables, this will provide guests with a suitable place to sit and more room than a smaller table would provide.

Features for Kids

Kids love being outdoors during the summer, so providing them with a few fun features to keep them busy in the garden is a great way to entertain them during the hot summer months; just be sure to apply high factor sun cream if they are playing outdoors for extended periods of time.

Features such as trampolines can be lots of fun, but could damage a well-kept lawn so you may want to weigh up your priorities here. Other more lawn-friendly toys can be just as entertaining; there are many ‘spray and play’ toys which shoot out water as part of the game, these can give the kids great exercise from running and jumping about but also keep them cool too.

About the author: This home design article was written by Daniel Travis – Brown, follow Dan on Twitter @DanTravisBrown for more home improvement articles.

Credits: Photo courtesy of Roger Kirby.

If you do not have a credit card, you may find it frustrating when you find something online that you want to buy. Are you tired of convincing your friends to purchase things with their credit cards for you in exchange for cash or paying more for items in stores than you would spend for them online? Then it is time that you learn about the various ways to buy things online without a credit card.

1 – Prepaid Visa Gift Cards

A very simple way to make purchases online without a credit card is to purchase a prepaid Visa gift card. You can buy these gift cards in person at stores like gas stations and grocery stores. You can find locations near you that sell prepaid Visa gift cards by going to Visa’s website. You can also purchase these gift cards online on Visa’s website. The cards cost about $6 to activate, and there are restrictions on the amount of money that you can load on a card. The restrictions vary depending on the issuer. The great thing about these gift cards is that you can use them anywhere that accepts Visa credit cards. Since most prepaid Visa gift cards do not come with PINs, you can only use them for credit transactions.

2 – PayPal

PayPal is a great way to buy things online if you don’t have a credit card. PayPal is an excellent option even for people who do have credit cards because they ensure secure transactions. You will need a bank account to open a PayPal account, and you will need to have the funds available in your bank account when you make a purchase with PayPal. PayPal is an ideal option for individuals who have bank accounts because it does not cost you anything to use the payment service. PayPal is not accepted at all online stores, but it is an option for many online purchases.

3 – Bill Me Later

Bill Me Later is a way to make online purchases right now without leaving your home without any extra charges. Bill Me Later is accepted by many of the most popular online merchants, including Zappos.com, Walmart.com, Buy.com, eBay and Overstock.com. Bill Me Later is a unique payment option because it uses your personal information to quickly provide you an instant loan for your online purchases.

When you want to make a purchase on a merchant’s website that accepts the Bill Me Later payment option, you will need to click on the Bill Me Later icon. Then you need to enter information about yourself, such as your name, your date of birth, your home address and part of your social security number. If you are approved for the purchase, Bill Me Later pays for your purchase on your behalf and then sends you a bill to your home address. You can then pay the bill by sending them a check or by using a debit card online.

There are a surprising number of ways to make purchases online without a credit card. Some are more convenient and cheaper than others, so evaluate your situation and choose the best option for you.

About the author: David Spader reviews savings accounts over at SavingsAccount.Org.

A gap year isn’t the sole right of students. Older people can take a year out too. Here are five reasons for taking a break:

1 – The state of the economy

Let’s face it, the economy is in a pretty poor state right now, and we’re all growing tired of waiting for things to improve. If you’ve just finished your studies, the chances of finding a job are looking pretty grim, so you might just as well take the time to travel, learn a new language, volunteer for work and gain a real life experience while others are scouring the job market without much success.

2 – Discover who you are

Getting away from the cocoon of family and friends can give you a chance to discover more about yourself. Facing up to different experiences while travelling will teach you all sorts of things about yourself that you didn’t know. Learning how to deal with different cultures and environments and  being thrown into sometimes bizarre and crazy situations and coming out the other end unscathed, are all skills that can’t be taught in the classroom. From experiences such as working with monkeys on a gap year in Tanzania to skiing in Whistler, you will come out a more rounded person.

3 – Learn about the world

Although you may be aware of poverty nothing puts things into perspective like seeing it through your own eyes. Volunteering to work with a charitable organization such as in an African hospital gives you the chance to see it as it really is.  Also, with the world of technology expanding at a fast rate, we are communicating and working side by side with people from all over the world so it’s vastly important to become global citizens.

4 – Discover what you want to do with your life

Taking a gap year can give you the opportunity to pursue a dream that you’ve always had or develop a hobby that you’ve long been interested in. If you’re young it gives you a chance to work your way around the world, seeing what makes you tick. If you’re miserable in your job or think there must be more to life than this, taking a year off can give you time to think about what you want from life, and come back refreshed and with a new outlook on life.

5 – Do away with regrets

There’s no better time to take a gap year than before you’re settled down, saddled with a mortgage, and loaded down with responsibilities. Go travelling, try new things, eat different food and live! You only get one shot at life and laying on your death bed regretting that you hadn’t travelled or taken a few risks, is nowhere near as good a feeling as thinking , “Well, I’ve had a great life and grasped every opportunity that came my way, so I’ve no regrets”.

About the augthor: Tom Mcloughlin blogs about his travels at Top Backpacking Destinations. You can follow his tales on Twitter by following @BackpackerBoy.

If you are someone who has a dog or any other pet that you keep outdoors, one of your first priorities is going to be keeping your animal safe. Animals can become curious or even spooked, and before you know it, they end up out of your yard and onto the neighbor’s property or worse, they end up in the street, surrounded by fast-moving vehicles. If you have a pet that needs to be outside, it is time for you to consider electric pet fences.

When thinking about electric pet fences, it is important to understand how they work. All pet fences work by having the animal wear a collar with a special receiver on it. This is connected to an underground wire or to a wireless system that is set up around the home. When the dog or cat passes the set boundary, it receives a mild, unpleasant shock. While the shock is not enough to hurt the animal, the sensation is definitely one that the animal does not want to repeat, causing the dog or cat to shy back onto your property.

There are several advantages to the electric fencing system for your dog or cat. First, the fence is invisible. If you want to make sure that your have a clear view of the property around yours, the invisibility of the fence does not break the sightline. You will not need to worry about the expense of putting up or maintaining a fence to keep your animal in, especially a fence that will need to be tall enough to stop a jumper and set deep enough into the ground to beat a digger.

Another major advantage of electric pet fences is that they do not have to compete with your animal. Dogs can jump very high, especially when it comes to the sporting breeds, and cats are skilled at climbing and squirming between rails or underneath fences. Take a moment to consider what your pets’ capabilities might be and what kind of standard fence might thwart them. In some cases, you may need a fence that is up to seven feet high and dug more than two feet into the ground. It also needs to be a solid fence as many animals can slip between bars and rails with distressing ease.

When you are considering purchasing electric pet fences, you’ll discover that there are many fences available to you. For example, some fences are designed to contain one animal, while other fences are capable of containing two or three. Some fences are also specifically geared towards cats or dogs, while other fences can deal with both. Read the documentation before you buy and choose a fence that suits your needs.

There are some terrific options available to you when you want to keep your pets safely at home. Choose an electronic pet fence to preserve the look of your property and also to make sure that your cats and dogs are kept within reasonable bounds.

About the author: This article was written by Sarah Stoltzfus on behalf of Fi-Shock, a company that has been manufacturing top-of-the-line electric fence systems since 1968 and is globally recognized as a leader in the electrical fencing industry.

Credits: Photo courtesy of Max Ivanov.

We all know that terrible feeling when a barbecue doesn’t go quite right. Your guests are politely eating your food, but you can tell something’s wrong. There might not be enough flavor or everything on the grill is overcooked.

There are lots of things that can go wrong which is what makes cooking on a barbecue so exciting. There’s no other form of cooking where you’re exposed to such high temperatures in a direct way, and you have to play the flames like a symphony. But it doesn’t take a professionally trained chef to get wonderful results. As long as you stick to the basics and make sure you avoid some of these mistakes, you’ll be able to create wonderful grilled feasts for the people you love.

Improper Cleaning – barbecue is not just about the cooking! A lot of the process has to do with preparation and planning. This is one element that people forget since they immediately jump to throwing food onto the grill. One of the most commonly neglected areas is cleaning your equipment beforehand. And it’s not just about running a bit of soapy water on the top of your grill. You should make sure to clean every inch of your barbecue after each cooking session. This will help to keep your grill in shape while preventing remnants of past meals from getting into your food.

Not Pre-Heating the Grill – throw on your food too soon and you can end up with uneven cooking or burning. If you have a newer gas grill, most manufacturers recommend that you preheat it as you would an oven. Make sure not to skip this step because it can affect cooking rates and recipes that assume you’ve already preheated your grill. And if you happen to be using a charcoal model, make sure that those coals of turn gray in order to reach optimal temperatures. Otherwise you can end up engulfing all of your food in flames, which turns your barbecue event into pizza night.

A Focus on Meat – Obviously meat is going to be one of the main features of your barbecue meal. Slow cooked ribs, whole chickens, juicy steaks, and scrumptious hamburgers. That’s what barbecue is all about and were not suggesting that you leave these items out. But focusing on meat too much has its downsides as well. For one thing, you have to consider your health. Barbecue isn’t traditionally associated with healthy eating but there’s no reason why you can’t add a bit of variety. And when it comes to the overall experience, you create a much richer meal when you have plenty of side dishes as well.

Easy Options – Another big mistake that most people make these days is opting for easy options that come in the form of pre-frozen food. Remember, barbecue isn’t about forming an assembly line so that you can feed as many people as possible. If you’re opening up bags of frozen burgers and chicken wings just so that you can cook faster, you’re losing a lot of the experience. Take the time to buy fresh cuts of meat from your local butcher or to search for the best organic produce. Spend those hours marinating your food so that flavors come to fruition and you get an authentic taste.

Poking and Prodding – There really isn’t much technique when it comes to cooking on a barbecue. But you definitely have to pay attention and organized nation is key. You have to know different cooking rates of your food and how to space things out properly. You should also avoid the biggest mistake which many rookies make – poking, cutting, flipping, and generally messing with the cooking process. In most cases, all you have to do is let that first side sit until it forms a nice sear, and then turn it over once. That’s not hard at all is it?

Eating too Soon – Your food has come fresh off the grill and you’re ready to dig in. But don’t make the mistake of cutting into your steak to soon. You have to exercise one final bit of patience before you chow down. As with anything cooked in your kitchen, it’s important to let meat rest so that juices can redistribute. This is the final step that many people forget, but it will add a lot more flavor and tenderness to your food if you can just wait it out.

Barbecue is a wonderful family tradition and the people at gasgrillsandbbq.com celebrate it every chance they get. You can visit their website for more advice on cooking techniques or finding the perfect backyard gas grills.

I receive tons of “computer questions” from my friends, family members and associates, and an interesting one that pops up from time to time concerns moving a legal copy of the Windows operating system from one computer to another. Typically, they want to move a newer version of Windows from a PC that has died onto one that still works fine but is running an older version of Windows. There are a couple of things that determine whether or not you can move an existing Windows license to a new machine:

1 – Is this version of Windows OEM or Retail?

Did the copy of Windows you’re wanting to move to another PC come pre-installed on the old computer or did you purchase it seperately in a retail box? Most off-the-shelf computers these days come with an OEM (ie. Original Equipment Manufacturer) version of Windows pre-installed on the hard drive. OEM copies of Windows cannot be legally transferred to a different computer. Period. End of story.

Why? Because when computer manufacturers purchase OEM copies of Windows they pay a vastly reduced price to Microsoft for the privaledge of installing it on a specific computer, and the license for that Windows installation is forever tied to that specific computer. You can upgrade that computer with a new motherboard, hard drive, etc. (a call to Microsoft might be required in order to reactivate the OS), but you cannot move that OEM Windows license to a new machine.

However, a boxed, retail copy of Windows can be moved to a new computer at any time provided you remove it from the old machine before installing it on the new one. After all, you bought the software at retail and it didn’t come bundled with a specific computer.

2 - Can the other computer actually run the newer version of Windows?

Typically, every new major release of Windows requires a faster processor, more memory and more hard drive space than the version it is replacing in order to run at an acceptable speed and capability. Is the older PC that you’re wanting to move the newer verions of Windows onto capable of running it? Well, you can always compare the minimum hardware requirements for the newer OS (found on the Microsoft website) with the hardware inside the PC’s case, but the easier way is to simply run the Windows Upgrade Advisor. You can find it right away by searching on those words in your favorite search engine.

To use the Windows Upgrade Advisor, you simply download and run a small utility from Microsoft that scans your system, then identifies the hardware and software within and tells you straightaway whether the PC in question is capable of running the newer version of Windows. Sometimes a minor upgrade will be required (such as adding more RAM), in which case the advisor will tell you that. Sometimes there will be a list of required upgrades that you must make. And if the system is simply too old to run the newer version at all, it will tell you that as well.

Making the move…

If you determine that your copy of Windows is a retail copy AND your other computer is capable of running it, here are the steps required in order to move it from the old computer to the new one:

1 – If the old computer still runs, remove the Windows installation in question from the hard drive. The easiest way to do this is use one of the many “Wipe Drive” types of software programs on the market. Another way to “wipe” the drive is to simply format it. A third option is to install a different operating system over top of the Windows installation. (Linux anyone?)

If the computer is completely dead and you don’t plan to have it repaired, simply remove the hard drive and discard it in whatever manner you prefer. If you sell it or give it away, be sure to install it in another computer just long enough to wipe the drive clean. This will remove both the Windows installation AND any sensitive data contained on the drive such as credit card info and such.

2 – Make a complete backup of the contents of the hard drive in the PC that you’re planning to install Windows on. Even if the newer version of Windows will allow an in-place upgrade (i.e. it is an “upgrade version”), things do occasionally go wrong. And if they do, you’ll need to have a backup of your data to restore from. If you’re installing a full version of Windows (not an upgrade version), then the existing Windows installation will be overwritten completely - and that includes any software and data on the hard drive.

3 – Make sure the PC’s Bios settings are such that the system will attempt to boot from the optical drive first, then insert the Windows installation disc into the  drive and boot up the computer. You’ll be greeted with the Windows Installation Utility which will give you the option of ugrading to the new version or replacing it. Make your choice as you wish and the installation process will proceed.

4 – After the new version of Windows had been installed you will be prompted to call Microsoft to reactivate this copy of Windows. Assuming you installed a retail copy instead of an OEM copy everything will be fine. Make sure you verify this BEFORE beginning the installation procedure, because once the hard drive is wiped, it’s wiped!