Skimm Ahead: Made by the creators of the Skimm newsletter that hits your inbox each morning, this gem costs $2 per month but I’ve found it’s so worth the dough. The premises of the app is simple: it creates calendar events for major going on’s in the world – everything from the presidential debate to the VMAs, reminders to book Labor Day getaways and to start shopping for a Mother’s Day gift. You can add which events you are interested in to your calendar or have the app add a selection for you based on category. My favorite feature, however, is the Skimm Reads section which lays out five-minute articles on various topics – current events, random knowledge tidbits, or interesting personal stories. As a final note, their book recommendations are always spot. on.
Think Dirty: As I’ve mentioned previously, our household has recently made a focused effort to reduce the amount of toxic chemicals we are exposed to through our personal care products, makeup, and household cleaners. This unbiased product-comparison app has been magic for me in taking the guesswork out of reading labels. You simply scan the barcode of a product and the app provides a rating between 0-10 – anything three or lower is non-toxic and safe to have in your home. It also provides a list of all ingredients with ratings for each individual item and what health concerns are tied to the ingredient to allow you to make your own decisions. For example, if a product receives a rating of 5 due to fragrance but the company publishes its fragrance formulas, I will likely still purchase the product.
A Color Story: Hands down my favorite photo editing tool. There are hundreds of filters that can be layered or applied in percentages in addition to the curves feature that allows you complete control of the color depths in your photos. You can even save the editing steps you apply to a photo if you have a selection that you wish to share a similar vibe.
Tiny Scanner: A simple app that does one thing but it does that one thing extremely well – turns my phone into a scanner! In the midst of changing my last name, purchasing a home, refinancing that home, etc it feels as though there are always documents to be scanned and emailed out. This app ensures I have that functionality in the palm of my hand, wherever I go. Bonus: The people who receive these documents cannot tell it was the result of a photograph – it looks like a true scan.
Charity Miles: Going for a run is already a great choice – Charity Miles is a free app that adds even more encouragement to get off the couch and hit the pavement (or, in my case, the treadmill). Charity Miles allows you to select a charity of your choice and for each mile you run, one of the Charity Mile sponsors will donate $0.25 to that charity. While $0.25 may sound trivial it adds up quickly and is a fantastic way to help causes you are passionate about. You can also join teams and compete for a top spot on the milage leaderboard. Healthy competition paired with philanthropy – what could be better??
Water Minder: I already knew that you should be drinking between half an ounce to an ounce of water for each pound you weight, each and every day but actually remembering to do so is much more difficult for me. This app sends a notification to drink more water once every hour and a half. I try to have my water bottle near me and if it isn’t empty when the alarm sounds, time to get drinking!
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