Keeping your home organized often requires you to carry out dozens of small tasks on a daily basis. But instead of constantly racking your brain to remember all these tasks, you should take advantage of apps that provide systems, steps and reminders to keep you on track.
Check out these six amazing apps that can help you maintain the organized home life you’ve always wanted.
Evernote
What it does: Evernote is the organizing app that everyone seems to love. And while it’s often noted for its business functions, it’s also a great tool for making sure your home life runs smoothly.
The app functions like a personal assistant, giving you a streamlined platform for creating to-do lists, saving articles, jotting down ideas, organizing household maintenance, planning personal budgets and more.
Why it’s great: “For many devotees, Evernote becomes the one place they store the information of their lives,” said Regina Leeds, author of nine books on organizing, including “Rightsize . . . Right Now: The 8-Week Plan to Organize, Declutter, and Make Any Move Stress-Free.”
Where it’s available: Google Play, iTunes App Store, web
What it costs: Free for the basic level, $24.99 a year for the plus level and $49.99 a year for the premium level
Cozi
What it does: Cozi helps families organize their schedules and keep track of tasks, all while staying connected. Every family member can view each another’s synced shopping lists, appointments and schedules. So with a quick glance at Cozi, you can find out that soccer practice was cancelled or that you need to pick up some orange juice on the way home.
Why it’s great: “Cozi welcomes you and slowly introduces you to all the bells and whistles so you don’t feel overwhelmed. I especially like [the apps’s] collection of productivity articles,” Leeds said.
Where it’s available: iTunes App Store, Google Play, Kindle Fire, Windows 8.1 Tablet
What it costs: Free
BrightNest
What it does: Always running behind on your home maintenance? BrightNest empowers you to get ahead of those tasks by helping you set up a home maintenance schedule and sending you reminders.
Why it’s great: “It also goes one step further and gives you tips on how to complete these tasks,” said professional organizer Rachel Rosenthal, owner of Rachel and Co.
Where it’s available: Google Play, iTunes App Store
What it costs: Free
Shelf Scouter
What it does: Grocery shopping itself might not be so bad, but when you throw in steps like making lists, lugging around grocery bags and trying to remember a last-minute request for jalapeño kettle chips, the whole process can be exhausting.
Shelf Scouter eliminates many of these annoyances by tracking your pantry’s inventory, making it easier to build shopping lists, suggesting items for delivery, and syncing your lists between devices and family members.
Why it’s great: Shelf Scouter is great for anyone who wants to spend less time at the grocery store, said professional organizer Donna Smallin Kuper, author of “Clear the Clutter, Find Happiness: One-Minute Tips for Decluttering and Refreshing Your Home and Your Life.”
“It’s the perfect app for busy professionals, active families and people with limited mobility,” she said.
Where it’s available: Google Play, iTunes App Store
What it costs: Free
HomeZada
What it does: Like BrightNest, HomeZada gives users a home maintenance schedule and reminders, but that’s just the beginning. This powerhouse app helps you put together a comprehensive home inventory, organize your renovation plans, and create a robust listing when it’s time for you to sell your home.
Why it’s great: “I did a lot of research on home inventory software, and I really liked HomeZada because the interface is so easy to use,” said Marty Stevens-Heebner, founder and president of Clear Home Solutions.
Where it’s available: Google Play, iTunes App Store, web
What it costs: Free for the basic version, $59 a year for the premium version
Scanner Pro
What it does: Scanner Pro offers a simple function that can save you a ton of time and effort. This app turns your iPhone or iPad into a scanner, making it simple to scan receipts, household documents, lists and much more. The app also lets you fax, email, print or upload your scanned documents to the cloud.
Why it’s great: Melissa Gratias, owner of MBG Organizing Solutions, uses Scanner Pro to take pictures of documents, then converts them into PDFs and saves them to her Dropbox account.
“It is so nice to have my needed information with me wherever I am, without carrying around random scraps of paper in my car or purse,” Gratias said.
Where it’s available: iTunes App Store
What it costs: $2.99
