My Favorite Apps That Help Me Keep My House Clean
It’s been years since Apple launched its “There’s an App for That” campaign, but it’s only gotten more precise in the time since. Apps have truly become ubiquitous: you have apps that will help you work out efficiently , and apps that will help you save money at your favorite coffee shop , and in anticipation of spring cleaning, you may also have one (or more) that will help you declutter your home. home. . No app will do all the work for you, but a good one can motivate or guide you. The one that best suits your needs will depend on how you prefer to handle unpleasant or tedious tasks.
If you like to-do lists: Perfect
Spotless helps you distribute cleaning tasks across rooms. You can create a separate to-do list for each room in the house, and then set reminders for how often you want to complete tasks in each. It tracks when your last cleaning was done in each area—countertops, bathtubs, and more—and reminds you when it’s time to clean again. The interface is simple and neat, not cluttered and easy to use. I appreciate that it has preloaded suggestions for rooms and tasks like “living room” and “vacuum cleaner,” but you can also enter custom rooms and tasks that reflect the needs of your own home.
Spotless is available on iOS and Android.
If you need reminders: “Clean my house”
To-do lists are great (and there are plenty of them in app stores), but they’re not that useful if you just don’t want to open the app to view them. Clean My House is designed to remind you every day of what your daily cleaning schedule should look like: “No more worrying about what to do every morning.” You control how often each notification appears; once you complete it, simply tap the reminder to open the app and tag it. Keep in mind that it is currently only available on Android and is mainly supported by ads, which are located at the bottom and are quite unobtrusive.
Clean My House is available on Android.
If you need to delegate: Todi
Cleaning isn’t just one person’s job, but if you use an app that only you can see, you’ll feel it. Tody gamifies cleaning and gets the whole family involved. Yes, it relies on to-do lists like the other apps on this list, but it also distributes responsibilities among users and uses “levels” to easily determine what’s important and what’s not. so you are not overwhelmed with what you need to do. You’ll need a premium account to access features like cross-device data syncing and “focus tasks,” which cost $9.99 per year for one person, $17.99 per year for two people, and $29.99 per year for six people. If you want to add 12 people to the app, it costs $59.99 per year. Even in the free version, you compete against a little dirty monster named Dusty to gamify your month of cleaning.
Todi is available on iOS and Android.
If you like earning points:
What is it about the simple points system that keeps us coming back to app games? If you’re the kind of person who gets motivated by Snap or Duolingo strips, Do (formerly DONE) might really motivate you to declutter your house. Set a goal and watch the cute little bar fill with color every time you complete your preferred task, be it cleaning or lifestyle. You can train yourself to get those sweet, sweet points by scrubbing your bathtub or drinking enough water every day. You get a seven-day free trial, but to access unlimited habits, personalize your goals, and receive reminders, you’ll have to pay $59.99 per year after that.
Do is available on iOS.
Bonus: Tik Tok
If you need cleaning inspiration, checklists may not be the best option. Depending on what really motivates you, you might be better off using TikTok. The app is full of Cleantok influencers who share their best cleaning tips, as well as real reviews, product recommendations , and life hacks . Seeing others use tips and tricks to combat clutter and dirt is incredibly inspiring and uplifting.
Due to ongoing federal concerns, TikTok isn’t available for download, but if you’re one of the roughly 170 million Americans who already have it on your phone, get cleaning tips while you can. If (when?) it returns to the app stores, it will be on iOS and Android.