As much as I’d like to be someone who doesn’t have her smartphone permanently attached to her body, I use my phone all the time. And not just for bullshit like Twitter and Instagram, either. I love my phone because it makes my life so much easier in so many ways, as much as it also gives me a dang tiny screen headache by the end of the day.
I mean, apps, guys! I have so much gratitude for the people who have developed all of the tiny little programs that I use on a daily basis. At this point, I am so addicted to so many of the apps I use I don’t know how I’d go back to paper and pens or whatever those holier-than-thou Luddites use.
From your menstrual cycle to your meals to the way you wake up, here are ten apps that should help make life just a little bit easier and more organized.
- iPeriod: There are quite a few cycle apps and period apps out there, but this is the one I use. I like it because it predicts when your period is going to come and it’s usually extremely accurate. It also lets you know when your fertile time is with an adorable opera-ish sound notification. The same company also makes a Tampon Timer app, if you often forget when it’s time to take yours out. If you’re looking for something more in-depth re: your cycle and fertility, I also use and love Kindara.
- Paprika: I just started using this meal-planning app and I’m 100% obsessed with it. You can enter recipes, schedule them for the future, and also add ingredients to your grocery list. It works on iPad, iPhone, Mac and Android, and syncs between devices. At $4.99 for the phone app and $14.99 for the computer version, it’s a little pricey, but in the few weeks I’ve been using it, it has totally changed my life. It’s so convenient to have my grocery list on my phone, as well as the actual recipes I’m going to cook, all in one place.
- Manilla: I like Manilla because it reminds me when my bills are due when to renew my magazine subscriptions, all those little things. I had a system where I was just scheduling this stuff on my Google calendar, but Manilla is way easier.
- Unfilth Your Habitat: If you suck at cleaning, or are lazy about cleaning, or forget to do your cleaning, this app is for you. Basically, it gives you a list of short, easy cleaning tasks to do so you can un “fuck” your home (it’s actually fuck, not filth, but I guess they gotta be clean for the App Store). There are also 20-minute cleaning challenges and the app gives you gold stars if you do everything on your cleaning list. It’s cute, clever, funny, and hey, it helps get the cleaning done.
- Nike Training Club: I don’t personally use this app, but some other Gloss writers totally swear by it. For both iPhone and Android, it provides over 100 workouts for specific goals and helps you track your progress. I imagine it’s great for travel since there are so many workouts contained within the app!
- Level: The level is amazing. It basically tracks all your accounts and spending and tells you exactly how much money you can spend every day, based on your income and savings goals. Perfect if you’re serious about budgeting…which I need to be.
- Cloth: We’ve given this app some love before, but it remains amazing. Use it to take photos of your outfits and catalog your wardrobe. You can tag with adjectives, just in case you want to remember the exact comfy outfit you wore on the last “rainy” or “depressing” day. Plus, it’s fun to have a visual record of your personal style!
- Teuxdeux: An awesome, thorough to-do list app, complete with cutesy French spelling. It has a clean, easy interface. I dig it.
- SleepCycle: This is basically the world’s perfect alarm clock, except it exists on your phone. SleepCycle analyzes your sleep and wakes you up, very gently, when you’re in the lightest cycle of sleep. That doesn’t mean it wakes you at like 2 a.m. or anything…it finds the ideal time to wake you in the 30-minute window before you actually need to get up. Amazing.
- Circle of 6: Initially designed for college women, Circle of 6 lets your designate six contacts to be in a trusted circle. If you are ever in a situation where you feel like you’re in danger, two taps of your phone will send a text message with your GPS coordinates to everyone in your circle.
Are there any awesome apps you use? My phone’s still got a lot of space, so lay ‘em on me.
Wardrobe Organizing Apps That Make The Closet From Clueless A Reality
We’ve shown you apps that keep your romantic relationship wired and we’ve shown you apps that boost your sex life, but now we’re here to help you heal the most important relationship in your life: the one between you and your closet. You probably watch Clueless every time it’s on TV (if you don’t flat-out worship Cher Horowitz) and now the dream of her computerized closet can come true– with the help of these four fashion organizing apps.
1. Mallzee. This new app learns your personal style and taste over time, then searches over 200 brands to find pieces you’ll like. According to its creator, 25-year-old Cally Russell, “There shall be no more trawling through hundreds of pages of clothes online, thanks to Mallzee.” (Russell is from Edinburgh and totally within her British right to say things like “shall” and “trawling” but I’m also within my American right to imagine her saying them in a monocle and top hat.)
2. Cloth. This #OOTD app allows you to take photos of your outfits every day, put them into handy categories like “work” and “vacation,” and look through your own personal style catalog when you’re desperate for something cute to wear. You’ll never again forget if those gold tights clash with that yellow necklace! Their product page quotes The Gloss for calling it “pretty much the best app ever,” and we stand by that today.
3. Closet. Take photos of your favorite clothing items and accessories, upload ‘em, and enjoy your handheld closet organizer. It also has a calendar tool that allows you to plan outfits weeks in advance. But my favorite feature? You can plug in the cost of an individual item and how many times you’ve worn it, and the app will tell you when you’ve got your money’s worth. Amazeballs.
4. Cartwheel. This is the perfect iPhone addition for the Target-obsessed. It shows you all the offers, sales, and coupons going on at any given time, then gives you a barcode to scan at checkout that subtracts all the deals from your haul. It’ll leave you with a lower price and make you a very happy camper.
Photo: Flickr Editorial/Getty Images