I think most of us moms have a love/hate relationship with errands. Going to Target by myself? LOVE. Having to run 3 errands in one morning? HATE. Need to get out of the house? LOVE. Work full time and don’t know where to fit the time in for errands? HATE. You get the picture. Ever since adding another little one to our family, it’s been more overwhelming to go places, so I’m relegated to doing a lot of everyday errands at home. Over the last few years,
I’ve found a handful of apps and sites that make this so much easier, right from my phone. I’ve compiled a list of my favorites (and some other contributor faves) below:
Task: Clothes shopping.
App: ThredUP
This website and app combines online shopping and consigning for women (including maternity) and children. I love brands like LOFT and J.Crew (for me) and BabyGap for my kids, but can rarely afford the price tag in stores. ThredUP has these brands in terrific used condition, and you can order all from the comfort of your home. I buy pretty much all my clothes from ThredUP and fill in any gaps in my kids’ wardrobes that they didn’t receive as gifts or hand-me-downs. The app is incredibly user friendly; my biggest tip is to search according to the brands you love in order to find your style. Free returns makes it a no-fail way to buy stylish clothes on a budget. In addition to buying, you can also sell your clothes for store credit. Warning: you will most likely get a lot more going to an actual consignment store instead of a virtual one, but if you don’t have time to actually go in person, this is a great option. They send you a huge bag with return postage that you fill up and place outside your door for the mail to pick up the next day. It couldn’t be easier, and ThredUp then gives you money in your account for what they keep, and donates the rest. Shopping/Consigning/Cleaning out your closest, all without leaving your house? Sign me up!
Task: Shopping for Cleaning/Beauty/Body products
Site: ePantry
ePantry is a monthly shipment service for nearly all your home needs. They have cleaning supplies, vitamins, baby care, beauty supplies, all with a more natural bent (think Mrs. Meyers, Dr. Bronner’s, and Acure), at slightly discounted prices and ships right to your door. You sign up for a subscription, and they send you your crate monthly. Not to worry, though. If you want to skip a month you can do so, and you can fully customize what you are sent each time. It might not save you a ton of money, but I typically try to buy these products at Target anyway, and it eliminates the impulse buy. We’ve all gone in for cleaning supplies and have come out spending an extra $50 on seasonal home decor items, right? A couple of my favorite items from ePantry? The Grove Collaborative soy candle and the Acure Organics Argan Oil.
Task: Photo Development
Apps: Chatbooks, Artifact Uprising
Quick: Look at your phone. How many pictures are on your camera roll? Hundreds? Get your pics off Instagram and get them on paper to hang in your house or to have in photo books. Once our son was born, we started making these “family yearbooks” that starts in the New Year and ends on Christmas. Since most of my photos are on my phone these days, I needed easy ways to get them into my hands. Two apps I use for that are Chatbooks and Print Studio. I use Chatbooks to make photo books from my Instagram feed or camera roll, starting at $8 (!) and I use Artifact Uprising for individual prints.
Task: Grocery Shopping
Does grocery shopping at home and having everything delivered to you sound awesome? No screaming kids whining for those darn carts? Online grocery shopping is practically a necessity for moms in super busy metropolises like New York, but I personally have never done it. However, moms I know who use it swear by online grocery shopping. It’s perfect for when you’re working full time, are a single mama, you or someone in your crew is sick, or if you have any amount of kiddos and the thought of taking them to the grocery store gives you the hives. Have you ever tried ordering your groceries online? I’d love to hear. Do you use it all the time or every now and then? Here are few resources you can try to grocery shop online:
King Soopers
Instacart:
Task: Pretty Much Anything Else
Site: Amazon.
Ok, everyone knows about Amazon. I 100% concur with Jen Hatmaker when she said, “If we did not have Amazon Prime, there is a 100% chance we would have no Christmas” when talking about the festivities that happened a few weeks ago. However, I hope to enlighten you on some things about the website we all love that you may not have known about.
First up, a bunch of our awesome Denver Metro Mom’s Blog contributors use Amazon Family (formerly Amazon Mom because, presumably, dads too can order diapers online with one click) for baby essentials like diapers and wipes. You need an Amazon Prime account to join, but then you can save 20% off diaper subscriptions. What an easy way to get what you need for baby without lugging those huge diaper boxes around the store! Another
A few other things: My new favorite mom-friendly podcast, Sorta Awesome, had some great Amazon tips on one of their recent shows. Among them: Camel, Camel, Camel, which is an Amazon Price Tracker. So, if you have your eye on an item, but you want to wait until you can get the best possible deal, use this site to plug in the product and they will alert you when the item hits a certain price. Genius!
Ok, your turn: What are your favorite apps or sites that make your everyday tasks easier? I’d love to hear!
