Our Homesteading Journey

Technology can pull us in and distract us from the real world, but it can also be used to enhance day-to-day life and allow more time to enjoy the world. I have a few apps I use on my Android Smartphone that I have found useful to do just that.

SmartGardener: I use this app to plan my annual garden and track what I will plant where. The plan set up I did on their website using my laptop, unless you have a small garden space the screen on a smartphone is too small to create the garden lay out. I was able to customize the spaces to match my yard, added the plants based on the seed packets I had purchased and lay out my garden. For the next years plan I copied the existing lay out and adjust what I needed like rotating the crops and adding new beds. The app generates a weekly to-do list based on the plants in the plan for that year, and what options have been selected such as starting the plant outdoors or indoors. This app does have an annual fee of $40 a year, but I have found it to be worth it for the ease it has made the process of garden planning.

Tody: This is a great app for tracking household chores. It took a bit of time for me to get it set up the way I wanted but it has been well worth it, as I have used this app for a few years now. I have added all the rooms in my house and the tasks that need to be done in each room. With all the set up complete this app generates a to do list with all items currently due and past due. When I complete a task, I click on it and hit “Just Did It” to mark it complete. For added motivation, each month there is a competition against a dust bunny looking character named Dusty and he has a score bar that moves up a little each day, and my score moves up for every task completed. This feature my children find amusing, and they will ask me to open the app so they can see who is winning. There is no cost for this app, though there is a paid plan option that offers more features.

Do It Now: This app I use for motivation. It allows tasks to be added and skills, experience points, and coins to be earned upon task completion. It is like a to-do list with rewards for competing it. I have all of my routine tasks set to repeat like morning and evening routines, and also use it for work tasks. Coins can be used to purchase rewards which are customized. I have added rewards like watching a TV show, Facebook time, and other things that which I enjoy but are not very productive. I feel like this app really helps me to stay organized because it motivates me to start each day with figuring out what I need to get done and rewards me for doing it. I use a no cost version of this app, though there is a paid option to access more features and customizations.

These are the main apps that I use daily. What apps have you found to improve your day-to-day life?