Author: Kim

Good Idea: HomeRoutines App

Published on by Kim

Are you comfortable using your smartphone? Would you like a little bit of help in the effort to stay on task each day and build helpful routines?

Well, a friend, who is a constant source of inspiration, introduced me to the HomeRoutines app. Now I’d like to share it with you.

This app puts all your routines in one place, lists each task in the routine, keeps track of what is done and not done, and even has a timer at the bottom of the screen for a little extra motivation.

If you use zones for cleaning, that’s an option also. You can set tasks daily, weekly, or bi-weekly.

If you want to see all your tasks left for the day, you can see those in the To Do screen. And for a little pat on the back, check out the Accomplishments section.

You can build a routine for different times of day or different rooms. When you tap into that routine, all the individual tasks are listed.

Once you have built your routine, you will be able to just open the app in the morning and work your way down the list. If you need to add something new to your habit, just add it to the routine. You’ll run into the reminder every day, which will help you actually do it like you want to.

The timer is useful for certain tasks to help with focus. You can also use it to keep moving, racing yourself to see how many tasks you can get done in that time.

Enjoy! I’d love to hear feedback from anyone who tries this.

Kitchen Ideas

Published on by Kim

So many possibilities! Which is nice, since kitchens can be the heart of the home and we expect a lot from them. If you spend any time at all in a kitchen, you probably have found things you love as well as some irritations.

Here are a few things I have found helpful in setting up my own kitchen:

No open shelving. Really. Although open shelving is trending and can be quite beautiful, hiding stuff may be the best solution in the long run.

If you are looking for options or updates in your home, consider cabinets or boxes rather than open shelves.

  • Keeping open shelves neat and uncluttered takes regular effort that may be better spent elsewhere. How much time do you have to sort and stack? How much do you want to spend time doing that?
  • Visual space does have an impact on everyone in the room. You can’t pile a lot of stuff on an open shelf and not feel the visual crush when you walk in the room. If you are short on space, it may be better to cram and cover.
  • Personally, I just love the clean look of doors and the fact that supplies are ready and waiting when I need them, without bothering me until then. Knowing your preference helps as you make storage decisions.

Install drawers instead of lower cabinets. This has been a game-changer in my kitchen, and I have no interest in going back.

  • Drawers under the counter are so much easier to access. No more sitting on the floor to try and see where that thing went in the back corner of the cupboard.
  • You can see everything in the drawer from the top. It’s easy to check supplies and choose what you need.
  • Drawers allow you to access multiple stacks easily from the top (rather than pulling out the front stacks to get to the back stacks…and then putting them back to use the bowl…and then pulling them out to replace the clean bowl…and then putting them back).

Kidney cabinet inserts for the win. This might be my favorite cabinet now. Before the pole and platforms, it was mostly inaccessible. Because of that, I would grab from the front stack on the the top shelf and the bottom shelf, while ignoring everything else in the cabinet — all the way to the back.

If you need cabinet space and have a corner cupboard, you can look for an insert to install in your existing cabinet. The one pictured here is from IKEA.

Think about how you use your sink. I had a standard double sink in every home until this year. When we replaced ours, we went with a double, but it has a big, wide, deep side and a small, thin side. That was simply interesting — until I started using it! Now I enjoy how even the biggest pans fit in the big sink, but I still have the small one to rinse in. No more wrestling to wash extra large pans (and getting water all over the counter). They can soak out of sight and then wash comfortably inside the sink.