5 Smart Apps to Simplify Your Life

Are you struggling with information overload? Timetable overbooked? Missing appointments? INSPIRELLE knows how you feel. Check out these five great apps we believe can help simplify your day-to-day organization at home, at work and when you’re on the go. With the busy lives we all lead, we need all the help we can get to stay on top of things – and why not have it all at our fingertips?

Artkive (Android, iOS)

If you can’t bear to throw any of your children’s classroom drawings and artwork away, here is a clutter-free way to save their artwork. ArtKive allows you to take photos, tag and share their masterpieces with the whole family. Perfect when you live in a small space with not much storage room. ArtKive stores your child’s creations chronologically so you can see and admire his or her artistic development. You can also turn your children’s work into a printed hardcover book or ebook for a great gift or keepsake. (Available on iTunes and Google Play)

Cozi (Android, iOS)

Imagine an efficient app that helps you organize your family’s schedules and needs, then connect everyone to the information in real time from any mobile device or computer. COZI is a free, award-winning app and website that does the miraculous job of managing the chaotic life of busy families – from tracking everyone’s activities and appointments to creating and sharing shopping lists, chores and more. All you have to do is open one account for the family. Each family member signs in with an email address and the shared password. Then, everyone has access to an on-line family journal and master calendar that keeps you all in the loop on day-to-day activities, appointments and responsibilities. As an added bonus, the COZI website publishes a blog filled with great ideas to further organize your life at home, in the garden, for the kitchen and with the kids in and out of school. (Available on iTunes and Google Play)

Dropbox (Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Blackberry and Kindle Fire)

How would you like to start drafting a presentation, or save your holiday photos on your laptop, and be able to pull them up on your phone or tablet to edit or share with others while you’re on the road? Dropbox is a popular cloud-based file hosting service that keeps your documents and photos always backed up and seamlessly synchronized across multiple devices. It has a simple, user-friendly drag-and-drop interface which anyone can understand, and it’s easy to share files with your friends, family and colleagues through links. No more need to carry external hard drives or even a USB key when you travel! There’s no limit to the size of your files or even to the number of devices you want to synchronize. Dropbox offers a generous 2GB of FREE data storage when you sign up on their website, and you can earn more storage when you refer friends to sign up. If you have a lot of large files and images, various paid storage plans and a Pro version for businesses are available. Invite your friends and the whole family to join, and you’ll get plenty of free storage! (Available on iTunes, Google Play, and Microsoft Store) 

Paperless Post (iOS)

While handwritten birthday and wedding invitations have their charm, who has time to track all the RSVPs and contact every guest when there’s a change in plans? Paperless Post is a website with a companion app, which makes your party planning life easier. Whether you want to send a simple save the date, or an invitation to a group dinner or a wedding, Paperless Post has thousands of elegant, customizable cards and invitation designs, which you can send online or order to be printed. But best of all, you can track your guest’s RSVPs and communicate updates about your event to them all in one place. After the big celebration you can even create an online photo gallery to share photos with all your guests so everyone can remember the fabulous time you had together. (Available on iTunes)

Sign Up by Volunteer Spot  (Android, iOS)

If you’ve ever stepped up to be a class representative for your child’s class, or run an event for any non-profit group, you’ll know how much work it can be to organize an all-volunteer-run event. Sign Up is the companion app to Volunteer Spot, which makes it easier to participate in the things you care about. It helps you to invite and track your volunteers, assign and schedule tasks, and even organize who’s bringing what to a potluck, parent-teacher conferences, fundraisers or any get together – all in one place. Sign Up features easy access sign-up sheets which allow participants to sign up, add comments, check activity details, receive reminders and contact the organizer on the go from their mobiles. (Available on iTunes and Google Play)