Tag Archives: cleaning

How this mama is getting organized and getting stuff done.

22 Nov

Anyone who knows me or has read this blog on occasion knows I’m always fighting to stay organized. Fighting to keep my house neat and tidy. Fighting to stay ahead of that mountain of laundry. Most times it’s a battle that I don’t win, but I continue to solider on in hopes that one day I find a system that clicks.

I think I might have finally found a tool to help me get there…Chore Pad!

Almost two years back I briefly shared my chore chart with you. It was a wet erase calendar that stuck to the fridge, every week I had to write in my list of chores so I could get that satisfaction of crossing them off. Well that calendar got damaged in our move to The Hill and I haven’t found a suitable replacement…Until now! I scoured the iTunes store for a good chore app to help me get all the chores done without feeling overwhelmed. While Chore Pad’s appearance is clearly aimed to keep our little ones interested and make chores fun, it was also perfect for my needs.

Setting up my Chore Pad was so easy I think Cameron could have set up his own profile. Not only was it easy to set up, but it has a ton of different ways to customize each chore. Each chore can have it’s own icon, with over 80 cute little pictures to choose form. Laundry has a cute little clothes line. I have a trash can on the days I collect and take out the trash. Just about anything you can think of is there and they seem to be adding more with every update.

Once you choose your icon, you can set the days of the week you want to do the chore. I try to do a little something each day, so it was nice to be able to set the specific days of the week I wanted to do each chore. I only clean and vacuum the basement every other week, so the frequency option was great for the things I don’t do every week. Choose from never repeat, weekly, every other week, or monthly and you’ll only have that chore show up with a check box when you set it to.

The next feature is more for the little ones, although I might start setting up rewards and stars for myself. I think a pedicure for every 50 stars sounds good, how about you? Each chore can be given a star value between one and ten. This worked great for Cameron to understand how some chores were more important than others. Cameron has School on his chart and it has a ten star value…I never have a problem with him not wanting to go to school. Homework is much easier to get through when he knows he’s going to get five stars for doing it.

It doesn’t end with the stars though, you can set up rewards in the Reward Chest. When Cameron receives so many stars, he can cash them in for a reward. Talk about incentive. Instead of giving arbitrary rewards, now he has something to work towards.

Now that you have all your users and chores entered, it’s time to assign them, and it’s as easy as tapping a button. I think the total set up time was maybe 15 minutes and the whole thing was intuitive and user friendly. I love that I can put my chores in any over I want. I like to have a neat and tidy look by putting them in order by day.

When your using Chore Pad, you can view the entire week’s chores or simply rotate your device to see what has to be done that day.

This week

Today (today’s chores are highlighted)

I’ve been using Chore Pad on my iPad for a few weeks now and I love it. I love that I have a way to hold myself accountable for my household chores. I love that Cameron is now showing an interest in helping out around the house because he can check things off on “his” iPad and get stars for the work he does. I can totally understand how Chore Pad HD (iPad version) won second place for The Best App Ever in 2010. Personally, I think it is THE best app ever.

Do you have an iPad and an iPhone (or iPod touch)? Chore Pad syncs between all your devices. Our chore charts are on all our iPads and on my iPhone. I love that I can check off chores from anywhere (I always have one of my devices near by).

Here’s the best part…

I was graciously given codes to give three Chore Pad HD (iPad version $4.99 value) and three Chore Pad (iPhone/iPod version $2.99 value) apps away to a few lucky readers. If you do not have an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, please do not enter, it’s only fair, right?

Entry 1) Leave a comment here and tell me how you would use Chore Pad. Would you use it to get yourself into a routine or would you use it to get your kids to help out around the house? Also, please let me know if you have an iPad, iPhone/iPod touch or both.

Entry 2) Tweet about this giveaway with a link to this post. Please leave a comment below with a link to the tweet. This can be done everyday, one entry per daily tweet.

Entry 3) Follow me on twitter. https://twitter.com/#!/MommylandMychal

Winners will be selected November 30th, please have your entires in by 5pm that day. I will email each winner to verify that you are indeed a real person. You will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected. Winners will be emailed a code for their app once they are verified. Codes will be valid until December 3, 2011.

Disclaimer: I was given a free code to get the Chore Pad app for my iPhone, I was already using Chore Pad HD. I was asked by the makers of Chore Pad to do a review; however, I was planning on doing a review of this app anyway. This post is my opinion and the fact that I was given the opportunity to give some of you the gift of this app in no way swayed my opinion. 

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