Tech Around The Home

By :- Kate, On November 26, 2014 in ::-House, Tech

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Source: Jisc

We all know that technology has an established role in the workplace, but those of us who stay at home with the kids have been slower to catch on. There are loads of applications for apps and programs as well as gadgets in the day-to-day running of any household. And God knows, we could do with the help: staying at home and looking after the kids is just as hard work as any office job.

Here are some tips I’ve picked up on over the years.

Lists

I remember the days when I would hastily scrawl my shopping list on a scrap of paper and lose it before I even got near a supermarket. With voice recognition software and a mobile on me at all times, it’s become nearly impossible to forget anything. I use it nearly every day, and it’s an invaluable, if fairly obvious, addition to the household.

Entertainment

Just a few years ago people would turn on the TV to relax. Nowadays we don’t have to put up with whatever rubbish is on repeat for the third time. With on demand services and tablets, you can afford to be a bit more discerning with your leisure time.  Skipping adverts and tuning in to watch the only the movie/show you’re interested means that you watch less rubbish and more quality programming.

Communication

With all of your devices synced together it’s so easy to keep in touch. There’s no need to keep the old tattered address book on the kitchen counter. You can find out everything, from the current time in area code 323, to the addresses of your kids classmates at the click of a button. You’re free to throw away all of those old post-its and no longer have to live in fear of losing the vital single copy of your contacts.

Coordination

With so many apps and programs available nowadays it’s getting easier to keep a family timetable. You can each individually add items to it from different devices, letting it sync up to the same copy and ensuring that you’re all on the same page. As an added bonus, you can also make a cleaning and chore timetable for the kids, teaching them a thing or two about responsibility and hard work. Over time, you can come to rely on this technology to keep regular family fixtures, like meals together, even when you would have forgotten them.

Budgeting

No longer do you have to guess at everyone’s expenses. With the number of budgeting apps available to you, it’s easy to keep track of the money coming and going from your house. Tools like this are a great way to reduce the general levels of stress in your life, as you no longer have that nagging feeling that you’ve forgotten something. You can use it to organise bills and transactions, as well as a range of more complex tasks. They can also work well in conjunction with online shopping sites.