There's An App for That! - Out of Milk

I love making lists for things. Shopping lists, to-do lists, gifts lists, wishlists . . . You name it, I probably have a list somewhere for it. Before I got my new smartphone, those lists were mainly in Post-it form, all over the place. Usually they would wind up in a big ball at the bottom of my purse. I just really don't carry a big enough purse for that to work for me, so when I got my new phone I went digital with my list making.

One of the top-rated apps for lists was Out of Milk, and while I tried out a few, this is the app I settled on. Out of Milk has three modules: a pantry list for what you have in stock, a grocery list for what you need, and a general to-do list.

The pantry list I have tried to use in the past and it's not really THAT helpful. It's nice to know what spices and basics you have on hand if you pop into a store to pick up a few things and can't remember. But now that I'm living with Tim, it's really hard to keep track of what he uses.

The grocery list is much more useful. It tracks the items over time, so if you key in the prices you can see what is really a good deal or not. It also adds together the prices of the items you're buying, so you know what your bill is going to be. You can organize the items by category so it makes for a more fluid trip around the grocery store (mine is organized according to the Lansdowne Sobey's layout). It's easy to check things off the list, too. You just hold down the item you're buying fora couple of seconds and it automatically checks it off. I like grocery lists because they keep me from buying random things. If I do get tempted, I can add them to the list and see whether my grocery budget can afford it.

It's the to-do list that I use the most, though. Every day, this collects my little brainwaves of things to be done. The only addition to this that would make it better is if you could set start and due dates. You can set an alarm on your phone, but I'd rather be able to automatically sort it by when I need to accomplish the task. You also can't set up recurring tasks, which is kind of annoying. But the interface is beautiful and the widget looks really nice as well.

As a last benefit, the whole system is also available online through their website and syncs automatically with your phone. In my wildest dreams, Tim would decide that what is crucial to my life is interesting to him, and he would install the program and link to my account and then he could see the grocery and to-do lists. However, that is similar to wishing pigs would fly, because Tim thinks my OCD list habits are nothing more than a source of continual amusement. But if you're looking for a great app, I love this one!

Keep posted, though, I just downloaded a new grocery app that may supplant this one.