If you are truly a “modern mum”, you will be taking advantage of all the modern world has to help you manage your time. The modern woman is often working a full time job as well as managing a house and the kids, and that can take its toll if you are not careful; and that is why utilizing every convenience at your disposal is vital. As a working mum you will be spending on average 28 hours a week on top of your full time job looking after your home and family; so make the best of these modern aids to save you time.

Appliances

A modern house will undoubtedly have the latest appliances in it, and you should be using these to your full advantage. Perhaps you are simply be using a microwave to heat a snack for the kids or to serve up a ready-made meal when in a rush, but a micro wave can be used to heat and cook practically anything at the push of a button; leaving you to do something else. Your freezer should definitely be your friend, and if you cook your own food, there is no reason not to make a double helping and freeze it for another day. From an automatic washing machine/tumble dryer combo, to a coffee maker, anything that will look after itself will help with your time; so use your appliances to lessen your workload.

Home Services

The number of services that will visit your home to help you save time seems to increase continually; and they are a blessing to the busy woman. If you don’t want to cook the evening meal, you have been able to order a home for decades, but now you can have somebody visit your home to shampoo your carpet or clean your cooker. A home laundry service will pick up your laundry on demand and deliver it back to you when you tell them, and a school run service, or a nanny, could save you hours in traffic; though as with all baby and child services, you will need to choose your child minder carefully

Internet Shopping

One of the best innovations for anybody over the past few decades must be the internet; and for busy moms it is no different. The time that can now be saved by shopping from home really is staggering. Though many women would never give up shopping for their clothes, with free delivery and returns offered by even high end companies, a visit to the shopping center could be a thing of the past. Obviously, it doesn’t stop at clothes and any household item can be bought online, as can your weekly shop. Supermarkets may have led the way, but you can buy things as varied as Grass Fed Beef By The Good Grub People, and wines from the vineyard of your choice. The internet is your friend; in so many ways it is impossible to count.

Work from Home

Saving time on school runs is all well and good; but what if you could save on travelling to work as well. Once again the internet has opened up opportunities for working mums to save time, and has, in fact, spawned a whole new generation of people working from home. There are many benefits to working from home, and time management is among the best.

You may be trying to save time to reduce the stress of full days, or you may be making more time for your family, but whichever it is, these 4 ideas should help you manage your time and life more easily.

By stretching just a little bit every day, you can develop a routine that will help keep your entire body loose and limber. But in addition to improving your flexibility, you’ll actually be improving your life by promoting better health and wellness.

How exactly can having a flexible body actually improve other areas of your health? Continue reading to learn more.

Improve Your Strength and Balance

When your body is flexible, you’re able to balance better and you’re also able to increase your strength, especially if you’re already an active individual. Many martial artists, for example, take the time to stretch their bodies in order to improve range of motion and put more power behind their self-defense moves.

Improve Your Posture

Another way that flexibility can help you in your everyday life is by allowing you to naturally enjoy better posture, whether you’re sitting or standing. Poor posture can lead to stiff muscles and aches, and it’s also unattractive. By standing up tall and straight, you’ll feel and look more confident. Having a flexible spine and abdominals is one of the best ways to improve your posture, so stretch for a few minutes each day if this is an area of your life that you’d like to improve.

Prevent Injuries

Having more flexibility throughout your body can also help prevent injuries. This is important for everyone, including athletes and active individuals, because even mundane everyday movements can result in injuries.

Flexibility can help prevent disc and muscle strains that can happen when you turn over in your bed or even when you get out of bed. Everyday tasks at work that have you reaching and lifting can also injure your shoulders, but you can prevent these problems if your joints are more flexible. And you can even prevent backaches that would otherwise occur as a result of standing up after sitting for a long period of time, going down or up a flight of stairs, or bending over and lifting something off the floor.

Stretch the Right Way

Make sure that your body is properly aligned whenever you stretch, and never overstretch or push yourself beyond your limits, as this can also result in injuries. If you are uncertain of what stretches you should do, you can ask a personal trainer, purchase a home stretching DVD, take a yoga class, or speak with a doctor.

Maintaining Flexibility

The key to maintaining flexibility is doing stretching exercises regularly. If you fail to do so, your body will stiffen up right away again, even if you are naturally quite flexible to begin with. Take about 10 minutes out of every day to perform your favourite stretches. These may include stretches that are focused on lengthening your back, opening up the chest and shoulders, or stretching out the thighs and hips.

You can also visit a spa regularly and receive treatments and massages that will help keep your muscles loose and limber. Spas that use the highest quality equipment, such as therapy couches by therapyessentials.co.uk, are a great option.

The idea of a wood burning stove is a seductive one: comforting flames roaring away and something that gives a pleasing, comforting focal point to your living space. There’s nothing like traditional flames – even better if it’s minus the inconvenience of the traditional open fire.

Another major attraction is the fact you’re using renewable fuel sources to provide heat as opposed to resources such as gas and oil. You’re also being kind to the planet – burning wood is carbon neutral so you’re not adding to your carbon footprint.

It’s possible to go beyond just heating one main living area. You can use your wood burner to supply heat and water for the whole house. If you do this you’re being very eco friendly and removing yourself from the concerns of rising fossil fuel costs at the same time.

There are various points to consider before taking the plunge, however.

Assess your needs. This is vital – are you going to use the stove to heat just one room or the whole house? Make sure you select a model with the right heat output for your requirements.

Routine maintenance. With some types, you’ll need to clear away ash and relight it regularly. Will you find this a hassle? You’ll need your chimney swept at least once a year, too.

Fuel type. Wood is the eco friendly option, but check on your sources of supply. Is there a suitable supplier nearby? If you think you may need or wish to burn coal or a smokeless fuel, then you’ll need to buy a multi fuel burner.

To help decide whether a wood or multi fuel burner is best, this piece from Which? has some useful information.

Fuel storage. Have you enough room to store your fuel? Keeping plenty of wood close at hand takes up plenty of space.

Smoke controlled areas. Do you live in or near one? If so, you’d need to consider buying a multi fuel stove and burn smokeless fuels such as anthracite.

Building regulations. Make sure you’d conform to them. There are regulations concerning aspects such as the flue type, hearth dimensions and distance from other combustible materials.

Wood burner not a viable option?

If you think a wood burner isn’t such a good idea after all, is there an alternative for creating that homely atmosphere only flames can provide?

There may well be in the form of a bioethanol fire option. Using a smokeless, odourless and deposits-free eco friendly liquid fuel, these fires can provide heat and atmosphere. Take a look at internet sites to see what options are available. There are many types of fire ranging from the ornate type that can be sited on walls and surfaces to the wood burner-style varieties.

With no need to worry about chimneys, building regulations and fuel types and storage, a bioethanol fire just might be worth considering if a wood burner is too much of an undertaking.

If you’re really hoping to get away from it all by taking a much-needed holiday from work and seeing a brand new place, you may be ready to book your next trip right away. But you may also be reluctant to do so if you have pets and you’re worried about leaving them alone or putting them in a boarding facility. As a great pet parent, you may be concerned about abuse, or you may be worried about your pet getting the right medications each day if he’s older or has a chronic condition. In these cases, it may be best to take your pet on holiday with you.

Below are a few things you should consider before you decide to take your pets with you on your next adventure. Should you really take your pet along, or is it best to leave him at home?

Can Your Pet Handle the Stress of Travel?

Many animals, particularly cats, become easily frightened and stressed by the simple act of riding in a car. While there are natural and veterinarian-prescribed remedies that you can use to try to calm your pets down as best as possible, you need to ask yourself whether the stress of travel is really worth it.

Are you taking your pet on holiday with you for yourself or for their wellbeing? Cats, for example, are creatures of habit and will often prefer just staying home and being taken care of by a reputable pet sitter than going on the trip with you.

You’ll Need Extra Supplies and Paperwork

Packing for a holiday is stressful enough, but when you’re travelling with pets, you need to take along even more supplies to keep them happy and healthy. These include any medications that they’re on, the food and treats that they eat daily, and, of course, things like litter boxes for cats and leashes for dogs.

Whenever you travel with animals, you should always carry a health certificate, as well as medical records, with you as well. Also, make sure that your pets are up-to-date on any required vaccinations for the destination that you’re travelling to. Additionally, keeping your pet insured is also a good idea.

Expect Extra Legwork for Booking You Trip

When it comes to booking a hotel, resort, or a rental home, you’ll need to be absolutely certain that the facilities are pet-friendly. This will require more legwork on your part because these establishments can be difficult to locate quickly.

Plus, you should also be sure that your accommodation is located near outdoor areas that are pet-friendly as well so you can give your pets the exercise they need. Save time and make your search easier by visiting websites like Dog Friendly Hotels by My Pawson.

You also need to look into airline requirements for travelling with pets, as many have restrictions set upon the number of pets that they can take aboard, especially if you want your pet to be in the cabin with you, which is always the better option. Remember that there are risks involved with putting your pets in cargo during a flight, so avoid this if you can.

Kitchen design is one of the most hotly discussed elements of interior design, largely because of the massive scope for design choices and stylish outcomes. With every passing season, let alone year, new design trends emerge and older ones waste away into obscurity. For those chasing a modern, contemporary feel to their home, it can be tricky to even keep up with the latest developments. While these design features might not perfectly suit everyone, there are clear, simple ways of giving your kitchen a distinctive 2015 look.

Spaced Shelving

One of the top themes for kitchen design in 2015 is spaced shelving, allowing plenty of room for storage and easy access. Door-less units and floating shelves are expected to be an increasingly prominent part of kitchen design as the year wears on, tying in with wider themes of minimalism in contemporary kitchen design.

Mike Taylor of miketaylorbespokekitchens.co.uk says “expect backless storage units, design-light boxes and open spaces – themes that can be reflected more broadly throughout your kitchen design, providing the practicality you need for a kitchen design to work without sacrificing overall style.”

Another hot theme emerging for 2015 is furniture and cabinetry. At the cutting edge of kitchen design, it is now becoming more common to see standalone cabinets, storage units and work surfaces – rather than the more traditional built-in designs we have become accustomed to. This doesn’t work as well with smaller rooms and awkwardly shaped spaces, but if you have the excess floor space, it could be a good way to ensure you are maximizing both style and functionality in your kitchen.

For those in the know about interior design, 2015 kitchens are all about wallpaper – bold, striking, colourful patterned wallpaper, with feature walls still a major part of the design landscape. There are a number of wallpaper types catering specifically to the needs of your kitchen, both stylish and practically easy to maintain, so there is plenty to choose from in terms of getting the right finish for your room. A well-chosen wallpaper can actually enhance other elements of the design, and pick out themes and design features to provide that perfect finish.

Kitchen trends are fast-paced, and ever-changing to reflect social taste and preference over time. Whatever you design today will no doubt be superseded by the next wave of interior fashion, and if you’re determined to keep pace you can expect a lot of ongoing renovation and decorating. However, by basing your design on the emerging 2015 look, you can secure a stylish, modern design that will set you up for the foreseeable future, bang on today and tomorrow’s trends.