Organizing Ideas
10 organizing apps
10 organizing apps
Organizing Ideas
10 organizing apps
With the changing of the seasons comes an urge to clean, purge and get organized. That ubiquitous quip “there’s an app for that” applies to the plethora of apps that you can download to your smartphone, tablet or computer. And many of these apps are all about helping you get organized at home. Hopefully out of these 10 options, many of which are free, at least one will jump out at you and help you to organize a corner of your busy life.
1 Home Inventory
It may cost more than other inventory apps, but Home Inventory seems to have the best ratings, with positive reviews from the New York Times and Mac Format. Taking an inventory of your belongings—especially big-ticket items—is always a good idea for insurance purposes, in case you ever need to make a claim. It also keeps all of your warranty information together if you have to go back to the store where you purchased the item or directly to the manufacturer. Home Inventory stores photos and receipts and allows you to track the make, model and serial number of an item, keeping everything in one handy place. A barcode scanner catalogues items like books and DVDs that have a barcode on them. The app even allows you to schedule household maintenance tasks. iTunes, $19.99.
2 Good Housekeeping @Home
Good Housekeeping, the well-known “seal of approval” brand, has delved into its extensive archive to create the @Home app. Besides the A to Z stain buster tool and Pinterest-worthy home decor gallery, printable checklists in the organizing section allow those who aren’t quite ready to do everything via smartphone or tablet to keep analog lists. Free on iTunes.
3 Mint.com
Out of all the things in your home you might need to organize, putting your finances in order is probably the most important. This award-winning app has received accolades from CNN Money, WIRED App Guide and PC Magazine. Mint.com allows you to track all of your accounts in one place, even if they’re from different banks. What’s great is that you can then manage everything from the app, tracking your spending and creating budgets. You can also program it to send you an email or text alert when you have bills due or if anything irregular happens with an account. Free on iTunes.
4 Organizing Junkie
Imagine you had your own professional organizer on speed dial. Professional organizer and author of Clutter Rehab, Laura Wittmann has created an app based on her popular blog I’m an Organizing Junkie. Instead of overwhelming you with the enormity of your household task list, this app allows you to choose three items a day to tackle from your master list. You can also spread your organizing to-do list out over the year. iTunes, $1.99.
6 Houzz Interior Design Ideas
Do you have a decorating project on the horizon? This popular app allows you to create your own look book of design ideas. Touted as the “largest residential design database in the world,” Houzz features over one million images uploaded by design professionals. Organize your ideas for various rooms by category. The app can also put you in touch with local home improvement pros. Free on iTunes.
7 Stylish Girl
Any girl with a sizable wardrobe wishes she had a closet-organizing system like Cher in the 90s cult favourite Clueless. The Stylish Girl app can bring you closer to that organizing dream, providing a place to catalogue every item in your closet and dresser and pull various items together to create different outfits. Free on iTunes.
8 Mike Holmes Make It Right
Organize every aspect of your current and future home renovation projects with this app by one of Canada’s most popular contractors. A photo tool allows you to make notes right on an image, a project-tracking system walks you through each step, with advice from Mike Holmes along the way and a project-export tool allows you to share plans via email with your contractor. iTunes, $3.99.
9 EasilyDo Smart Assistant
This clever app does all your multi-tasking for you. It pulls in actionable items from other programs, like your calendar, Facebook account and contacts, to send you reminders and updates for everything from birthdays to important meetings. Free on iTunes.
10 Evernote
This handy, award-winning app allows you to save images, audio and text in virtual notebooks that you can sync to your computers and other devices like a smartphone. There are multiple ways you can use this app. For example, you can store an image of your passport, create a grocery list or save a recipe. Premium, paid options allow you to access your notes when you’re offline. Free (with premium options), iTunes.
1 Home Inventory
It may cost more than other inventory apps, but Home Inventory seems to have the best ratings, with positive reviews from the New York Times and Mac Format. Taking an inventory of your belongings—especially big-ticket items—is always a good idea for insurance purposes, in case you ever need to make a claim. It also keeps all of your warranty information together if you have to go back to the store where you purchased the item or directly to the manufacturer. Home Inventory stores photos and receipts and allows you to track the make, model and serial number of an item, keeping everything in one handy place. A barcode scanner catalogues items like books and DVDs that have a barcode on them. The app even allows you to schedule household maintenance tasks. iTunes, $19.99.
2 Good Housekeeping @Home
Good Housekeeping, the well-known “seal of approval” brand, has delved into its extensive archive to create the @Home app. Besides the A to Z stain buster tool and Pinterest-worthy home decor gallery, printable checklists in the organizing section allow those who aren’t quite ready to do everything via smartphone or tablet to keep analog lists. Free on iTunes.
3 Mint.com
Out of all the things in your home you might need to organize, putting your finances in order is probably the most important. This award-winning app has received accolades from CNN Money, WIRED App Guide and PC Magazine. Mint.com allows you to track all of your accounts in one place, even if they’re from different banks. What’s great is that you can then manage everything from the app, tracking your spending and creating budgets. You can also program it to send you an email or text alert when you have bills due or if anything irregular happens with an account. Free on iTunes.
4 Organizing Junkie
Imagine you had your own professional organizer on speed dial. Professional organizer and author of Clutter Rehab, Laura Wittmann has created an app based on her popular blog I’m an Organizing Junkie. Instead of overwhelming you with the enormity of your household task list, this app allows you to choose three items a day to tackle from your master list. You can also spread your organizing to-do list out over the year. iTunes, $1.99.
5 Grocery List – Buy Me a Pie!
Ease the stress of busy weeknights with this grocery list app. Colour coding and multiple lists ensure your pantry is always well stocked for your family on the go. The best thing is you can sync it with other family members’ iOS devices. For example, someone at home can see what’s missing for dinner and you can pick it up on the way home, as the list will be sent right to your phone. iTunes, $2.99.
6 Houzz Interior Design Ideas
Do you have a decorating project on the horizon? This popular app allows you to create your own look book of design ideas. Touted as the “largest residential design database in the world,” Houzz features over one million images uploaded by design professionals. Organize your ideas for various rooms by category. The app can also put you in touch with local home improvement pros. Free on iTunes.
7 Stylish Girl
Any girl with a sizable wardrobe wishes she had a closet-organizing system like Cher in the 90s cult favourite Clueless. The Stylish Girl app can bring you closer to that organizing dream, providing a place to catalogue every item in your closet and dresser and pull various items together to create different outfits. Free on iTunes.
8 Mike Holmes Make It Right
Organize every aspect of your current and future home renovation projects with this app by one of Canada’s most popular contractors. A photo tool allows you to make notes right on an image, a project-tracking system walks you through each step, with advice from Mike Holmes along the way and a project-export tool allows you to share plans via email with your contractor. iTunes, $3.99.
9 EasilyDo Smart Assistant
This clever app does all your multi-tasking for you. It pulls in actionable items from other programs, like your calendar, Facebook account and contacts, to send you reminders and updates for everything from birthdays to important meetings. Free on iTunes.
10 Evernote
This handy, award-winning app allows you to save images, audio and text in virtual notebooks that you can sync to your computers and other devices like a smartphone. There are multiple ways you can use this app. For example, you can store an image of your passport, create a grocery list or save a recipe. Premium, paid options allow you to access your notes when you’re offline. Free (with premium options), iTunes.
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