iPod Touch App review: HomeRoutines

Are you a Flybaby?  I’ve followed FlyLady since I’ve been online – way back in the 1990s!  However, it’s been many years since I’ve gotten her emails. And, it can be hard to keep up on your routines/zones without accountability. Over the years, my sister Beth and my sister-in-law Christy discovered her and I was encouraged to keep going.  But I had a hard time keeping track of what I wanted to do each day.

While searching for iPod/iPhone apps for mom’s I found this one: HomeRoutines. There was a cost – $4.99 – which I gladly paid.  Now that I have and use the app, I realize it’s worth even more than that!

Here are some of the aspects of this app that I enjoy:

• The app is very easy to customize for your own purposes.  I tweaked my morning, midday, evening routines to fit my schedule and my routines.
• A 15 min timer! Perfect for unpleasant jobs! And, it’s remarkable what you can get done in 15 mins!
• Focus zones – again, completely customizable to fit my life and my home.
• Gold stars! Woot! When I finish a task I get to reward myself with a gold star! At first I didn’t think too much about this – but now I realize that I love it! Works for my preschooler and works for me! lol

The app makers maintain a blog at http://www.homeroutines.com/blog/ where you can learn more about how others are tweaking the app to fit their needs.  One recent one I loved was the gal who tweaked the daily reminders to help here plan her meals.  You can read more about it here.

Also on their site you will find tutorials which are helpful when you are starting out.

But if you need help setting up your routines, I suggest you get Flylady’s emails or read the SideTracked Home executives books.  I’ve tweaked mine over the years to reflect our current lives…your routine has to be YOUR routine or it will not work for you.  If you want to talk it through with someone, drop me an email and I share what works for me as a homeschooling, work-at-home mom who wants to make sure her family eats well and has a restful, clean place to hang out.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m far from perfect, but I’ve learned some shortcuts over the years that make it much easier for me!  (hmm…maybe this should be another blog posts)

Bottom line:  HomeRoutines is a great app that can change your home and your life!  That might sound extreme, but with this tool, you can start making small changes to your life to make it more peaceful.  Who wouldn’t want that, right?! I HIGHLY recommend it to all!

Yeah, I definitely feel the need for another blog post coming on! 😉