Welcome to day 3 of our organization and automation series. If you’re just tuning in make sure to check out the other two days!
Day 1: Must Haves for your Family Command Center
Day 2: How to Grocery Shop from your Couch
You May Also Like: How to Choose the Best Life Planner
How can you be more productive with your limited time as a mom?
As a child I was unfamiliar with the term Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I just knew that my mom was a stickler for things being clean.
We could never go to sleep with dishes in the sink. The bathrooms were cleaned 3 times a week and the entire house cleaned again every Saturday.
While my friends were sleeping in for the weekend, I was up mopping floors, vacuuming, and dusting. I hated it back then but grew to appreciate it once I got a home of my own.
I would look forward to my mom’s visits knowing that she wouldn’t be able to find anything to critique. All of that changed 18 months ago when I too became a mom.
Now, I have to remind myself to change the sheets on the bed. I don’t even know where my duster is anymore. When my parents call to plan a visit, I instantly get palpitations. My home won’t stand a chance under my mom’s scrutiny.
Sleep trumps everything!
The thing is, when you are sleep and sanity deprived, you’re doing good if you actually showered and remembered to feed yourself. Everything else becomes a luxury!
But, we are trying to do things differently in 2019. Your friends will wonder how you manage to keep your home so clean and organized. When your mom comes to visit, you want to smile inside knowing she won’t find anything to “help” you do.
Don’t roll your eyes, you really can have that home again.
I have found 7 apps that will help you be productive with cleaning your home and organizing life as a mom. If you decide to use one of these apps, I get nothing in return. Except of course the satisfaction of knowing that I helped a fellow mom!
Cleaning Apps
Tody:
Price: $6.99
What it Does:
This app functions as a to-do list for each area of your home. It takes your house, and breaks it down into functional zones. Your Kitchen, Family Room, Dining Room, and Master Bathroom all become their own zones.
You then decide the tasks that need to be done in each zone and how often.
For your kitchen, you are able to choose tasks such as clean sink, mop floor, wash dishes, clean windows, and wipe down countertops. You decide the frequency each task needs to be completed and what level of effort is needed.
Tody makes cleaning smarter and less overwhelming. Not only does it help you keep track of what needs to be cleaned, it motivates you too.
The app shows your progress over time and identifies what tasks are overdue.
How it Simplifies Mom Life:
You don’t have to worry about creating any more honey do lists once you purchase Tody. Within the app you can assign tasks. If you need your husband to help with the cleaning, assign him tasks!
This feature will be especially useful as your child(ren) grow up and start doing chores.
The best feature of the Tody app is that it’s not limited to just cleaning. You can create a zone for anything that you want. Keep track of anything that needs to be done on a routine or semi routine basis.
You can name zones after your children and let the app remind you when it’s time to schedule flu-shot appointments, dental appointments, sport physicals, school registrations, and so much more.
Home Routines:
Price: $4.99
What it Does:
Like the name suggests, this app helps you keep track of your home routines. Use it to store your recurring housework and chores.
Decide how often the routines need to be completed with the option of daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and seasonal. Daily lists reset each night and are ready for check-off each morning.
One of the best parts of this app is the ability to take any list and automatically make it into a checklist.
How it Simplifies Mom Life:
This app comes with a timer feature. If you only have 15 minutes to get something done, hit the timer button and see how many tasks you can complete in that given zone.
You will be surprised at how much you are able to accomplish.
Home Routines can also be used to keep track of groceries, kid activities, and other errands.
Productivity Apps
Productive
Price: Free
Does have in app purchases
What it Does:
This app allows you to set personal goals and keep track of your progress. The ability to see yourself getting closer to achieving your goals is truly motivating!
The included calendar tracks when you do things and when you don’t do them. The guilt you feel for not completing a task keeps you motivated and on track.
How it Simplifies Mom Life:
It’s really easy to forget about you in the midst of motherhood. This app can be customized for your personal goals.
Have you missed doing yoga? Use this app to make it a habit.
Are you forgetting to drink water while you go through your day? Make it a habit and let the app remind you.
Fabulous:
Price: Free
This does have in app purchases.
What it Does:
This app is geared toward helping you be a healthier version of yourself.
It provides structure, walks you through how to create great habits, and becomes your new companion.
Fabulous motivates you to be more productive and serves as your own personal coach!
How it Simplifies Mom Life:
Sometimes the pressure of motherhood can make you forget to take care of yourself. This app will help you be you again and therefore be more productive and less stressed in your role as mom.
Life Organization Apps
Trello:
Price: Free
What it Does:
Trello allows you to organize work life and home life. You can use it with a team or use it independently.
You can create boards for each area of your life. For example, I have a board for my business and a board for my home.
Cards, or what we call tasks, can be added to each board. For each card you can set a due date, create a checklist, and add members. Each member can add comments and even upload attachments.
How it Simplifies Mom Life:
This is the perfect app for a family. You can use it to plan family vacations, organize back to school shopping, keep track of appointments, meal plan, and create grocery lists.
Cozi Family Organizer
Price: Free
You do have the option to upgrade to a premium version.
What it Does:
This app will keep you and your family organized.
It comes with a shared calendar that can be color coded. At a glance, you can see your schedule, your husband’s schedule, and all of your child(ren)’s activities.
Cozi helps you stay productive with its unlimited, interactive to-do lists.
How it Simplifies Mom Life:
The shared lists makes it easy for anyone to do the grocery shopping. It no longer has to fall on just you! Your husband has immediate access to the grocery list and can help with shopping at any time. When your husband is heading home from work, he has immediate access to the grocery list and can shop at anytime.
The best part of this app is its ability to integrate recipes! That’s a time saver for sure and makes creating your grocery list that much easier.
Pocket Life Organizer
Price: Free
This app comes with in app purchases.
What it Does:
Pocket Life is calendar app that helps you visualize your day. It comes with the ability to colorize events. You can even personalize the app by uploading your own pictures.
One of the best features is the ability to see all of your events in one place without having to click on a particular day.
Don’t worry about missing any appointments because this app also comes with an audible reminder.
How it Simplifies Mom Life:
This app allows you to share events. If you need your mom to watch your child(ren), share the event with her. Now everyone stays on the same page.
Check out these other time saving mom hacks!
Which App is Best For You
These apps are all super helpful and can benefit you in your role as mom. I love using the Tody app to organize my home cleaning schedule and the Trello app to organize my life. This combination has been life changing.
I love Tody because it appeals to my inner teacher pet. The red zone scares me! Being able to keep track of my progress helps me stay on top of cleaning regimen.
Trello is super helpful in keeping me on track with both my business and my mom duties. It allows me to communicate with my business partner and stay focused on our tasks. I can remind myself of doctor appointments and see when daycare is going to be closed. When I don’t have my physical planner handy, I can always rely on Trello.
You can’t go wrong either way.
Know this: You can be a mom and have a clean home and a productive life. It’ll just take a bit of organization and time management.
Join me on a FREE 5 Day Organization Challenge with fellow mom Hilary Erickson. Let’s learn how to conquer the trouble zones in our homes together! Sign up below.
Which apps do you use to stay productive and organized? If you’ve used any that I mentioned above, share your experience below!
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