Stumped on what to get the mom in your life for Mother’s Day? Do all moms a favor, put down the bottle of perfume or massage certificate (wait, don’t put that down…) and take a cue from those who know best: the moms of PowerToFly. Here are the gadgets, apps, subscriptions and services we use to survive not just Mother’s Day, but every day.
- More Time With Wine
“My biggest time saver is that I use dinner meal services like Plated and Home Chef. I hate having to meal plan, so these give us great variety, allow me to avoid the grocery store, except for the essentials each week, and I still get to prep/cook the actual meals myself - and they are so delish! Oh, and Amazon Subscribe & Save for things I need regularly delivered -- like diapers, wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, hand soap, snack foods, etc.” - Rush D.
“I order from Fresh Direct every week so I don't have to run to the grocery store on the weekends, and get to spend more time with my family. They have healthy pre-packaged foods I can serve my family for dinner or send them off with to work or school without feeling too guilty.” - Arbell N.
2. Someone Needs To Clean - It Shouldn’t Be Her
“Peapod, Amazon and Handy ensure that I don't live in a pig pen, and that my family has food, clothing and toiletries stocked. I help run a construction business with my family, which involves long days and lots of driving. It's incredibly difficult to find time to get to a store for basic necessities after I have already worked 12 hours and have to get the kid showered and fed. I can make sure everything comes to me when I need it, instead of being forced into the time suck of brick and mortar shopping.” - Elizabeth C.
3. Gadgets To Make Sure The Kids Are Still Breathing
“Apple Watch lets me not be attached to a phone, but not miss important notifications. The map, timer, and calendar at glance are used often, with color coded shared Apple calendars for each family member.” - Aree B.
“I use Nest (indoor cameras) a lot, particularly for a quick fix of seeing my 2 year old nap or play during the work day, instant peace of mind.” - Alicia S.
"I didn't know it at the time, but upgrading my crock pot to an Instant Pot digital pressure cooker was a game changer for my household two years ago. It has all of the crock pot functions I love, but also replaces several other appliances that take up precious counter space like my steamer, rice cooker, and stove top. It even makes yogurt! Win!" - Andrea A.
“Circle with Disney and Screen Time cut off the internet connection and control screen time for our kids so they can actually talk to us.” - Vanina N.
4. Apps - To Ensure Sanity
“I use this app, ClassDojo, to talk to my son's teacher, get pictures of him during the day, and keep track of any announcements regarding extracurriculars at school. His pre-k prep used Tadpoles, which I also liked.” - Alicia S.
“The only way I can keep track of who is where, who needs to be where when with contact info/what to bring, as well as log my tasks/to-dos, who needs what school supplies when or deadlines for submissions and dates/times of a million and one sporting events and other commitments is via Outlook / Google Calendar, which allows me to invite the hubby, my mom, and kids to specific entries that relate to him/her/them.” - Sharmila T.
“Facebook Messenger. If I didn't have my cousins - also moms - at the other end of the computer, I'd lose my mom sh**. I work a fulltime+ tech job from home, and I homeschool my almost-seven-year-old twins, and I have a large property and animals, so anything that allows me to grab a quick sanity break and compare momming notes with people I know and love is invaluable!” - Brianna S.
“Little Nugget and Baby Storyfor all the month-by-month/milestone pictures, so I don't have to use physical stickers anymore. Artkive to save my kids' artwork so it doesn't clutter up my house. Starbucks mobile ordering because we all need our coffee. Storypark so that my children's preschool can communicate and share stories and photos with me. YouTube Kids when I need my kids to be distracted for awhile.” - Joya C.
“Google Photos- to help me backup and organize all my photos and videos by dates and places without me having to do anything.” - Nadya D.
“We have favorite science YouTube channels that all 4 of us watch together - Smarter Every Day and Veritasium. These are incredibly interesting for all of us and give us great conversation topics. Plus we try some of the experiments at home and they help us turn the kids into nerds.” - Vanina N.
Or, try our cheat sheet:
