Life tends to get chaotic quickly.
Juggling family schedules, doing chores, and working all vie for your limited time. Fortunately, technology can help. Even if you generally
find computers and other modern day appliances to be more confusing
(or frustrating) than beneficial, it doesn't have to be that way!
There are many easy-to-use tech tools that will help manage,
simplify, and organize your space and schedule. Here are just a
few we'd recommend, organized by top clutter concerns:
Assorted paper piles
Do you have paper piles that you've
been meaning to tackle for weeks (or longer)? Once you finally
organize them, a scanner can help you digitize the papers you have
left. Then, once they've been imported onto your computer, use
Dropbox
or Google
Drive to safely store them. You can
conveniently access and share the files anytime and anywhere you have
an Internet connection. To file budget-related items, check out
digital bookkeeping tools like Quicken
and Mint.
Bills
If you're drowning in paper piles, it's
easy to miss a bill. Enrolling in online automatic bill pay can
simplify your schedule by saving you the hassle of physically paying
it every month, helping you avoid unnecessary late fees, and
shrinking your paper piles. You can make the transition easier by
signing up for email or text alerts that let you know the bill is
due, and can easily check your bank account online as well to make
sure you have enough money in your account to cover it.
To-do lists and schedules
If you're on the go more often than
not, technology can help you manage your time and eliminate your need
for a physical to-do list. Google
Calendar is one such tool that not only allows
you to easily create and customize events throughout the day or week,
but also gives you scheduling reminders. Cozi
is another useful app designed specifically to manage and simplify
family schedules.
Note-taking
If you have lots of notebooks and
post-it notes scattered around your home or office, you may want to
consider using Evernote
to reduce clutter. Evernote is a cloud storage service that allows
you to access information you've created – from Word documents to
presentations to bookmarked websites – anywhere. If you want to jot
down notes while you're in a meeting or just watching TV, you can
simply and easily create a new folder and save it for later. As long
as you have an Internet connection, you have your consolidated and
organized notes at your fingertips.
Magazines, books, newspapers
If you're overwhelmed by piles of
reading materials all over the house, consider switching to digital
formats. Ipads, computers, and kindles allow you to access breaking
news, a digital library of fiction and non-fiction books, and almost
every magazine you can think of with a simple Google search. As an
added bonus, you'll never have to slip on another magazine on your
way to the bathroom again.
Movies
Whether
you're a film buff, or just enjoy an occasional Friday night movie
night, you can minimize cords, empty boxes, and loose discs by
swapping your DVD collection with Netflix
or Hulu.
You'll also cut down on clutter, and save on storage space and money
spent on movies you'd probably only watch once or twice.
Additionally, you'll have more variety to choose from than just your
own home collection!
Photos
Do you have scrapbooking paper, crafts,
and photos that you've been saying you'll get around to for months or
years? Minimize clutter by storing your photos digitally, then
uploading them to a photo-sharing service like Shutterfly.
Or, sign up for Animoto
to easily create fun videos, slideshows, and other multi-media
presentations. You'll save time and storage space, while still
sharing your experiences in a creative way!