In All Cases, Your Smartphone Can Become an Important Tool for Home Care

It’s hard to imagine modern life without a smartphone in your pocket. We no longer have to fiddle with impossibly folded paper maps when we drive; we no longer need a pocket full of cash to buy things—in fact, we don’t even need stereos or televisions. Everything we need to stay informed , entertained and lost is right in our pocket.

But we still take a surprisingly physical approach to some aspects of our lives, resisting the urge to abstract and digitize. Sometimes it’s just practical: you can’t hammer a nail with a smartphone anyway, so most home maintenance tasks leave the smartphone in our pockets. But that doesn’t mean your smartphone is useless for projects around the house. In fact, these days it’s an essential part of any toolbox when you’re doing work around the house.

Documentation

The most useful and obvious way to use a smartphone to prevent home destruction is to use it to document events:

• Physical defects. Is there an alarming crack in your basement wall? A stain on the ceiling that may or may not appear before you own it? Take photos of anything that may indicate a more serious problem or may just be a harmless defect. Then set a reminder to take another photo in a few weeks or months and compare them. Is the crack getting bigger? Is the stain spreading? Documenting these things will help keep the problem top of mind and give you more data to work with.
• TV Shows, etc. Every time you install something in your home, take a photo of the serial number or small information tag that shows the model and other information. This will make it much easier to find information about it without having to delete it or bend yourself into unpleasant shapes years later to get that information. Drawing? Take photos of mixing labels on paint cans. Opening a wall or ceiling to work? Take photos of the area for later reference after you’ve covered everything up again.
• Reminders. The calendar on your phone is a powerful tool. Every time you do a home renovation, set a reminder there for next time. Replace batteries in smoke detectors? Set a reminder for the year ahead. Then set a reminder to completely replace your smoke detectors in a few years.

Investigation

Your smartphone camera is a complex tool. These days, smartphone cameras automatically adjust for low light, decide if flash is needed, and have a ton of settings you’ll probably never delve into. For home service, they’re a godsend because the slim profile of a smartphone means you can photograph a lot of things you can’t fit your huge head into. If you’re not sure what’s behind or underneath something and can’t get a good look, try taking a few photos to show what’s hiding there.

This is doubly useful when you’re trying to DIY a project and don’t know what materials or tools you’ll need. Take a few photos and show them to the friendly people at the local hardware store, gesturing, “What the hell is this ?” the gesture will save you a lot of time and hassle.

Organization

As mentioned, the calendar app on your phone is useful for reminders, but your smartphone can be so much more in terms of organizing your home maintenance work. Apps like Househappy collect information about your home, help you track maintenance schedules, and recommend professionals for repairs. Having this information on hand in the event of an emergency repair is invaluable. Other useful apps include:

• Centric . With this app, take a photo of any device (or its nameplate) and it will automatically download all relevant manuals and other information. It also provides links to repair information and tracks parts for you.
• Home savvy . This app expands your home care options. Once you enter basic details about your home, it will track maintenance needs based on your location’s climate and other factors—ideal for new homeowners who had no idea you needed to clean your gutters every fall.

Tools

There are so many apps for your smartphone that it’s easy to get confused. Some of these apps are incredibly useful when working around the house, as they can replace physical tools, leaving you with fewer things to carry around.

• Color matching. Apps like Benjamin Moore’s ColorReader can quickly and accurately identify paint colors, and most also offer recommendations for color palettes and design ideas. Most paint manufacturers offer their own, as do large hardware stores, so if you have a loyalty to a particular paint or store, start there.
• Bubble level and roulette apps. Apps like Bubble Level and AR Ruler let you check levels and take basic measurements without having to carry two separate tools. While you might want to go back to a physical tool for anything mission-critical, for quick checks while you’re working, these apps are a godsend.
• Design assistance. Apps like HomeStyler can help you navigate the design aspects of your renovation plans. Using 3D modeling, you can see a visualization of your space with different colors and design options, which can make planning a remodel much easier than if you were relying solely on your mind palace .
• iFixit . If you’re a DIYer looking to save money by fixing things around the house yourself, this app can help by providing thousands of free tutorials covering a wide range of common (and not-so-common) repairs.
• Flashlight. It’s stupid, easy, and wears out your battery like nothing else. But the phone’s built-in flashlight comes in handy when you’re trying to carry less stuff with you while working around the house.