My memory has never been great, but after two kids, it's probably at its worst. Prior to marriage, kids and other adult stuff, the only thing I had to recall was the number of Two Buck Chuck bottles I had in the fridge. Now there are bills, grocery shopping, school events, extracurricular activities, and numerous doctor appointments that I have to keep track of. I am THAT mom. How do I do it all you ask? (OK, no one has actually asked me that yet) I have a system!
1. Shared Google Calendar- this is a great little tool and not only for the obvious things like keeping track of Birthday parties and doctor appointments but also for reminders to pay bills and various other recurring tasks. The best part is that it is both online and on our mobile devices, so now there is really no excuse for forgetting something. Unless of course you forget to add it to your calendar.
2. Out of Milk- This is a Droid (maybe iPhone too?) app that is basically a shared shopping list. We can both update the list with food items we will need to buy the next time either one of us goes shopping. Since you're able to sync easily, you can also use the app as you're shopping in the store and cross off items once you add them to your shopping cart. If you really want to make your life easy then download the Fresh Direct app and you can shop from the comfort of your cell phone.
3. Bookmarks - This may sound silly but one of the ways I keep organized is by using Bookmarks. It would take forever to explain the method to my madness but each time I want to save something I see online, it neatly fits into one of my bookmark folders. Some of the categories are: kids shopping, travel, nearby places to go, furniture, flash sale sites, etc. Now that Pinterest launched "secret boards" there is definitely a better way to do this. Eventually, I might make the switch but since I use the chrome browser my bookmarks are accessible anywhere, so I haven't had any issues with this method.
4. GTasks- Very basic, but very handy; it's just a list app. This is a good tool if I need to jot down a simple note (ex: call grandma, update blog, research new recipes, etc.)
5. Amazon Wishlists - I buy nearly everything using Amazon Prime, which gets things to my house in 2 days or less. From toiletries to gifts to non perishable food items, Amazon is really a HUGE time saver. I have multiple wishlists and I update them as I see items that I may want to get in the future for myself, the kids, Gene or as gifts for others. Some of the lists are public and I send them to my family and friends when they are looking for gift ideas for the girls.
6. Email Filtering- I am not sure where this fits in on the 'time saver' or 'organization' chart, but as modern day consumers most of us get dozens if not hundreds of emails daily with coupons, flash sale reminders, news, facebook notifications and much more. I have a panic attack if I catch a glimpse of Gene's gmail, which has 100s of unread items. This is why I set up rules so that anything that isn't directly sent to me from someone I personally know goes right into a folder.
7. Yelp Bookmarks- Don't you hate it when someone mentions a "hot" new restaurant and you immediately forget the name. Well, now with your handy, dandy Yelp app, you can bookmark it and when you finally get a night out with the hubby or wifey you can just pull up your bookmarks, sort by location, rating, etc., and you have a plan for a night out in minutes. This can also be done with museums, broadway shows, bars, etc.
Hope this list is helpful. Please leave a comment and tell me some of the tools or apps you use to help you stay organized.
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