Posted by Joe Pawlikowski on Nov 26, 2012 in Gadgets Do you cringe every month when you get your phone bill? If you have a smartphone, it's inevitable that you pay around $100 per month, with all those taxes and fees added on. That's a long of money spent. But what if we turn things around and think of our smartphones as investments? That would make you feel a bit better about that $100 monthly bill, right?
How do you turn a smartphone from a cost into an investment? By using it to help make life easier. A smartphone is a wonderful organization tool, so it can help you with your home projects. It might not help you tighten a screw or hammer in a nail. It certainly won't help you with installing a tankless water heater. But it can help you make those projects much easier to complete.
1. Keep track of projects and materials
If I use my smartphone for nothing else around the house, it's to keep track of the projects I have running. Using an app like Task PRO, which costs just a buck, I can easily track what needs doing. Even more, I know what materials I'll need for the project. When I run down to the Home Depot, then, I'll know exactly what I still need ? because my smartphone is always with me.
Our smartphones cost us hundreds of dollars ? thousands in a two-year span. As such, we want to get the most out of them. Here are ways consumers can use their smartphones to help with their home improvement projects.
CC image courtesy of Sean MacEntee
As I gather materials, I can check them off. When I go do the project, I know what materials I'll need to take with me and which I can leave behind. There's nothing quite as satisfying as checking off a project when it's completed. That's one down, a zillion to go!
2. Schedule maintenance
Properly maintaining your house is important for a whole heap of reasons. The biggest one, of course, is money. If you don't properly maintain appliances and fixtures around your house you'll have to replace them soon enough. Some of them cost big money, which can take away from your remodeling budget. We wouldn't want that, would we?
Maintenance really isn't a big deal, either. It means checking pipes and outlets to make sure they're in working order. For your HVAC systems that means cleaning and replacing filters. But if you take care of these little recurring tasks, you'll extend the lives of those appliances. That means more money available to do the projects you want to do, not the ones you have to do.
Whether you use an Android or the iPhone, you can set up recurring calendar events to remind you of these maintenance projects. That way you'll get reminders on the days you need to perform them, so there are no excuses.
3. Basic measurements
You know the saying, "there's an app for that"? It's pretty much true. There's an app that can take care of nearly anything you can imagine. That includes home improvement and remodeling projects. Again, none will turn your smartphone into a hammer or screwdriver, but they can make some simple measurements that much easier.
Apps like the iHandy Carpenter app for Android (also available on iPhone) give you some simple tools that make home improvement projects fun and easier. It includes a level tool, which comes in greatly handy ? and is smaller than your typical surface level. It also has a protractor for measuring angles and a ruler for measuring short distances. Having these tools on your smartphone can save you a few trips back to your tool box.
If you're paying a hundred dollars or more per month for your smartphone, you might as well get the most out of it. We don't typically think of smartphones as home remodeling and improvement tools, but they can be big helps around the house. And these are just three ways. If you use your imagination you can come up with plenty more, I'm sure!
About Joe Pawlikowski
Joe Pawlikowski is a content creator who has been working from home for the past five years. He works mostly in tech niches. He also consults for blogs and runs marketing campaigns.
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