Design & Decor Blog

I know, I know — we’ve already discussed how amazing the Apple iPhone is. But this being a brand new year with brand new resolutions, I thought I’d resurrect the discussion and focus on the fabulous applications available for iPhone users (and for the iTouch as well!).

Pretty much every year, I resolve to organize — my home, my workspace, my life in general. And pretty much every year, I fall short of this task… UNTIL now. This year, I have begun to digitally organize my life on my iPhone through the cool applications you can purchase, and some you can get for free. I find digitally organizing to be much more efficient because everything is neatly available at your fingertips and many of the applications offer alerts that pop up to remind you of things you’ve logged.

Here’s a list of my top 5 ‘organizational’ applications:

1) IWantItBack: Never again will you forget who borrowed your Waterford Wedgwood casserole dish. This neat little app lets you compile a list of items that you’ve lent to people, when it was lent, who you lent it to and when you expect it back. Little icons let you organize the items into categories, like CDs, money, clothes, etc. ($1.99, iTunes)

2) Spend: I don’t think any of us want to be reminded of our dismal economy, but this app will help you stay on top of budgeting your cash. You can create daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and yearly budgets — then, whenever you dip into that budget, enter it into the category (i.e. ‘groceries’) and the app subtracts it from your allotted budget amount. ($.99, iTunes; free version also available)

3) Shopper: While some may be budgeting, others may be shopping. I LOVE Shopper. It basically creates shopping lists for you, but in a fail-proof way. You can create templates for further grocery trips, and you never have to worry about forgetting where you saw that gorgeous houndstooth throw because you can take a photo and add it to the list. My fave part, though, is that you can create a list of the items in your shopping cart as you’re walking around a store, punch in the prices, and Shopper will add up the cost and calculate Canadian sales tax. Brilliant! ($.99, iTunes)

4) Calendar: Okay, so this one is a freebie that already comes on your iPhone or iTouch, but trust me when I say it’s the best calendar you’ll ever use. Sleek in design and allowing you to view different calendar layouts (daily, monthly, list form), it also lets you sync it with your calendar on your home or work computer. You can set alerts and organize for a second alert if you’re the super forgetful type. With this digital calendar, you’ll never forget an appointment, birthday, or bill payment (even if you want to). (FREE!, included in software)

5) My Stuff: This application is just one big, organizational mecca. It allows you to create lists of, well, your stuff — but all organized in one place on your Apple device. If you’re a bookworm (like myself), you can create a list of the books you’ve read, then reference it when you’re at the bookstore. Need to store the warranty information of your new laptop? Just organize it in My Stuff. This app is a fantastic way to backup all your information and have it available no matter where you are. ($4.99, iTunes)

** For ideas on how to organize your living space, check out styleathome.com/organizing/