Today’s families seem to be busier than ever, and that means that mom is busy than ever! Between the kids activities, work, and trying to keep up with all your to-do list it can be exhausting. With these apps, you can help turn your Android phone into one of your greatest tools in the quest to stay on top of everything in your life.
Google Calendar (built into Android OS). Keep everyone’s activities here. You can set up color coded calendars and share them with your spouse or older children, and it will automatically sync across your phone, computer, and everyone’s shared copy when someone makes a change. Your office uses Microsoft Outlook for a calendar? No problem. Download Google Calendar Sync onto your work computer, and it will sync your work information into your Google calendar.
Astrid Tasks (free). You can keep your to do list here – all of it, including recurring tasks that you are trying to make habits (like the laundry, dishes, meal planning, etc). You can enter tasks without a due date, schedule a due date (and time!), and set up recurrence if you want. It includes the option for reminders, which can be very helpful. Astrid Tasks allows you to tell at a glance what you need to do right now, and what you are behind or ahead on.
My Pantry (free). Basically, this app holds your pantry (and fridge, and freezer) inventory. So when you are at the store, and decide you need something that isn’t on your grocery list, you can double check and see if you already have four of them sitting in the pantry. There is a paid version of this app that is $0.99, and includes UPC scanner functionality, which makes it much faster to add things to the list. This app makes meal planning easier as well, as you can plan around what you have and save some money at the store.
Grocery IQ (free). This is a grocery list app – but it has a lot of functionality. You can add things to your list by scanning the UPC, which makes it super easy, or by typing in the name of the product. THe app allows you to set up separate lists for multiple stores, and you can organize each list by how your store is laid out. You can also put in a price, so you can use the app as your price book for often purchased items. As you check items off your list on the store, it moves them to the bottom of the list so you don’t have to hunt through all the checked off items and risk missing the one more thing you need. And you can quickly email or text message a list to your husband or teen, if they are stopping at the store on the way home.
These four apps will not solve all your problems, but they will probably help you stay more organized, moving you one step closer to being super-mom.