Taking A Look At Some Honeymoon Ideas

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Because of the prevalence of online "travel agencies" such as Expedia and Priceline, lots of people these days tend to plan their trips on their own; after all, these websites put all the tools you need right there at your fingertips, and they do not charge anything but a small fee for all the automated work they are able to do for you. But it will be important that you optimize the money you are spending if you are planning a honeymoon so that you can have the best honeymoon possible, and even though you might think you can find a better deal on your own, the truth is usually that you will be able to find a better deal if you go through a travel agent.

If you are working with a budget of around $3000 to $4000, a travel agent will be able to work with you to find the best fit for you and your future spouse - and when you start to explore options with a travel agent, you just might be surprised by what you find.

One of the most popular destinations for honeymoons these days is Mexico, and while you might think that you will be getting a low-end honeymoon if you go to Mexico, there are actually a number of 5-star resorts in the country, and with a budget of $1500 to $2000 per person, a travel agent will probably be able to find you a package to one of these 5-star resorts, with airfare and all food included.

This same budget will also give you a lot of available options in the Caribbean, and while you will not be staying at a luxury resort for this budget, you will have plenty of nice options to choose from, and will have that beautiful Caribbean water at your disposal.

And even if you are dreaming of going someplace exotic such as Fiji or Tahiti, a travel agent can help you get there within this budget - so before you decide you can plan a trip on your own better than anyone else could for you, first take the time to find out the prices a travel agent will be able to help you get!

How To Optimize Your Heating Bill In Your Apartment

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When you have an apartment and have budgeted exactly what you expect to spend on rent and utilities each month, one thing that can be especially frustrating is those times when your heating bill ends up being much higher than you expected it to be; while this is often a natural repercussion of cold weather, there are a few things you can do in order to optimize your heating bill, and when you keep these things in mind, you will be able to save yourself quite a bit of money while still being comfortable in your apartment.

If you have not yet moved into an apartment (or if you are in the process of shopping for a new apartment), one great way to optimize your heating bill is to make sure you get an apartment that is on a middle floor; when you have an apartment above and below you, you will be able to collect heat from each of these apartments, which will allow you to use a lot less heat yourself.

Another thing that will be important is that you set up your windows and doors in such a way that the heat doesn't leave your apartment and the cold does not come in; seal off the perimeter of your windows, and consider putting something at the bottom of your door, as this will maximize the amount of heat you are able to trap in your apartment.

And make sure your closets and other parts of your apartment that do not have vents are closed off, as this will maximize how effective your vents are; and of course, make sure your vents are clean and in good working order. And one thing you should certainly consider is getting a space heater, as you may actually spend less money using a space heater than you would using the heating unit in your apartment, as some space heaters actually use as little electricity as a fan, and can heat whatever room you are in fairly quickly; if you are sleeping in the cold, you will increase the likelihood of the weather causing you to get sick, so do not sacrifice heat in order to save money - but instead, figure out how to maximize the money you are spending!

Building A Fire When Backpacking

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When you are backpacking, one of the most important things for you to be able to do is build a fire; after all, while it might be nice to have your tent and a bit of trail mix ready to partake of in the evening, it is a lot more enjoyable to have a fire over which you can cook a bit of food and beside which you can warm yourself - and for this reason, you will need to be prepared to successfully build a fire on the fly.

The preparation: before you can build the fire, you will need to prepare by gathering tinder, sticks, and wood, and by setting up a fire pit in which you can build the fire; the tinder should be completely dry (often, the best way to ensure you have try tinder is to bring some in a baggie of your own), the kindling should include a mixture of small sticks and dried leaves, and the wood should be dead and as dry as you can find - and when you build the fire pit, you will want to make sure you stack rocks around it, as this will help you to contain the fire once it is burning.

Starting the fire: you will use the tinder as the fire's base, and you will want to stack your kindling like a teepee over the tinder, and over this you will want to stack the logs like a larger teepee; light the tinder at the base, and this should be enough to spread upward and catch all the wood on fire, but if it is not, start over with more tinder - continuing this process until the fire is rolling on its own.

During the fire: While the fire is burning, pay attention to it - gradually adding logs onto it so that you are keeping the fire strong rather than allowing it to fade and having to rescue it; and of course, realize that you should never go to bed when your fire is still burning, so as it begins to die down and you become ready for bed, cover the fire with dirt and make sure it is no longer burning before you retire to your tent.

You should have no problem building a fire when you are backpacking as long as you follow these steps - which will give you that perfect end you are looking for to the perfect day you have had!

Tips For Adding Birds As A "Winter Decoration" In Your Yard

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If you have ever been to a friend's house when there has been snow on the ground and have been birds at their bird feeder, you may have been struck by what a pretty sight this is, and may even have thought of trying to attract birds to a bird feeder in your own yard during the winter - but while birds against a landscape of snow is certainly pretty, you will need to realize that achieving this goal is not as easy as just putting a bird feeder and some bird seed in your yard!

Birds usually migrate to warmer climates during the winter, and the main reason they do this is that there is a greater availability of food where the weather is warmer, so if you want to have birds in your yard for the winter, the first thing for you to do is make sure they know they will have food if they stick around for the colder months - and the best way to do this is to hang your bird feeder as early as possible; there is no such thing as hanging a feeder "too early" if you want birds for the winter, but there is such a thing as hanging a feeder "too late"!

You will also want to make sure you hang your feeder in a place that will make it attractive to birds; a bird feeder should be hung about chest-high or shoulder-high, and it should not be hung too close to your window (even though you may want it as close to your window as possible!) - and also, you will want to make sure the feeder is hung near trees or bushes that the birds can fly to, so that they do not expend too much energy flying back and forth from the feeder to a resting place.

And as far as things go with making sure you take care of these birds that you attract to your feeder, there are two specific things to make sure you keep in mind: firstly, you should give them bird seed that is healthy and high in energy (black oil sunflower seeds mixed with nuts, berries, and dried fruits is best!), and you will want to make sure you continue to feed them throughout the winter. After all, these birds are staying for the winter because they know they can get food from you - and you will not want to put them in a place where they are no longer able to find food once the snow starts to fall!

Tips For Taking A Road Trip Alone

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It can sometimes be tough to keep yourself awake when you are driving on a long road trip, as the road tends to put your mind into a lulled state, but when you are taking a long road trip by yourself, it can become even more difficult to stay awake; if you are going to be taking a long road trip of your own, make sure you follow these tips to know how to stay awake and effective!

Music: Music is one of the best ways to keep yourself awake, but you should not just put a CD in and let it play; it becomes a lot easier to stay awake when you put a pretty good variety into the music you are listening to.

Temperature: Variation in temperature usually helps to keep drivers awake, and it is easy to achieve this by changing the settings in your car every so often, and by sometimes keeping the windows rolled up and sometimes keeping them rolled down.

Space out required stops: You should try to keep your "required stops" as far apart from one another as you can, which means you should take a bathroom break and pick up any food and drinks you will need every time you stop for gas, so that you will not be stuck making additional stops just for these things.

Sprinkle in non-required stops: One big mistake people make when taking a long road trip is trying to "push through," which often leaves them so tired that they either have to stop for a long nap or - worse - they put their life and the lives of other drivers in danger! At least once between every required stop, you should stop at a rest stop (or a serene, relaxing place) to walk around for at least five minutes, which will allow you to get the blood flowing through your body as you stretch a bit.

Phone calls: You should get yourself a hands-free device, even if you are not much of a phone-talker; when you start getting tired on the road, one of the best things to resort to is a conversation with someone from home!

When you apply these tips to your own drive, you should be able to make it to your destination in one piece - without any real struggles or troubles at all!

Finding Nooks In Your Home For Storage

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A lot of people deal with the problem in their house of not quite having enough space to store all their possessions - and while a large portion of these possessions are probably not "necessary," this fact makes them no easier to get rid of - which makes the storage problem no easier to deal with! This causes many people to end up filling their garage with storage items, or (worse!) to spend money on a storage unit in which they can keep all this unnecessary stuff - but if you are not going to get rid of this stuff that you truly do not need, the best approach is to maximize the storage space you have in your house (thereby keeping your garage organized, and your wallet a bit more full).

Of course, the garage certainly can be a great space for storing all these things, as you can fit lots of stuff into that space - but when you use your garage for storage, you will want to be as organized as possible; when you remain organized in your use of the garage, you will be able to maximize the space you have, and can even leave enough space for a car to still take up residence in there alongside all your stuff!

Underneath beds in your house is another great place for storage, but while many people think to use this space, they neglect to put things in boxes, and this mistake causes this optimal storage space to fill up more quickly; if you have beds underneath which you cannot see, put items into labeled boxes, and keep them hidden underneath these beds!

And one place that is wonderful for storage is closets, because there is so much unused space in them; some people make the mistake of using the premium space in their closets for storage, but when you use the corners on the floor (down where it would be tough to reach things you need every day) and the top shelves of your closets, you will be able to keep a lot of things stored away, without cluttering everything in your home!

Saving Money On A Road Trip

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If there is some point in the future when you will be taking a long road trip, one assumption that can safely be made is that you are trying to save a bit of money in your travels (after all, packing a few people and a lot of luggage into a car can cost a lot less money than paying for a plane ticket for everyone in the group!), but because many people fail to realize the ways in which they can save money on a road trip, they end up spending a lot more on such trips than they really need to.

Some people will stop every night to sleep in a hotel when they are taking a road trip, but if your goal in the road trip is to get from one point on the map to another (rather than using the road trip itself as a vacation), the fastest and most cost-efficient way to complete this road trip is to simply sleep in your car; if you are taking a trip with several people in the car, you should rotate drivers, with each person catching some sleep when they are not driving, and even if you are driving alone, you can take naps in your car at rest stops and travel stops before getting right back on the road!

A lot of road trippers also decide to stop at fast food restaurants or at sit-down restaurants for their food, but a much more cost-efficient and time-efficient way to eat is to simply bring food with you in the car; with such foods as peanut butter and bread, cereal, trail mix, and fruit, you can get a lot more for your money and time!

And when taking a road trip, one mistake a lot of people make is that they do not really know how to get from "here" to "there"; a few wrong turns during a road trip can not only cost you a lot of time, but can also cost you a lot of money in wasted gas, so before you hit the road, make sure you know how to make it from "here" to "there"!

When you equip yourself with these tips as you embark on your road trip, you will not only be able to reach your destination more quickly, but you will also be able to do so while spending a lot less money along the way!