If you're one of those people who find making the semi-annual trek to change every clock in your house tedious, look at it this way - beginning on Sunday, we'll have one less hour of winter.

For the first time in memory, the annual change to Daylight Saving Time occurs a month early, taking place at 2am Sunday. You'll have to set your clocks ahead an hour, as we get an extra 60 minutes of daylight - and lose a precious hour of sleep.

This regular shift used to take place on the first Sunday in April, but times have literally changed. The U.S. made the move to an earlier switch in 2007, as a means to save energy. Ontario and most of the rest of the country followed suit, in order to be in step with our neighbour to the south and prevent massive confusion for businesses, travellers and even TV watchers.

As terrible as the weather continues to be, consider it the first real sign of spring.

So what gets changed? Your kitchen and bedroom clocks are obvious, and many of the more modern electronic devices - like your computer and digital satellite receivers - make the switch automatically. But there are a few other machines people always seem to forget about. Among them:

• Microwave ovens,
• VCR or DVD,
• The clock in your car,
• Any automatic timer lights.

And it's becoming something of a cliche, but after a month filled with needless fire deaths across the GTA, it's more imperative than ever - when you change the time, change the batteries in your smoke alarms. Even though they're rarely used, they don't last forever.

The time switch is still a matter of controversy. Standard Time was originally created by Canada's own Sir Sandford Fleming to allow for uniform train schedules.

Daylight Time originated in Germany and gradually spread to other non-tropical countries.

Only a few pockets of Canada don't bother with all this back-and-forth movement. Most of Saskatchewan is on Standard Time all year, and so are a few areas in B.C., Ontario and Quebec.

We'll return to Standard Time again at 2am on November 2 ^nd.

How to beat the time change 'jet lag'