Five Family Lists to Share in Evernote

Last week, I talked about the joys of shared notebooks in Evernote – a feature offered as part of a Premium account ($5/month or $45/year). I mentioned that, in our family, I have a Premium account and I share notebooks with my husband, who has a regular account. One of the best parts of this arrangement is the ability to share checklists. Here are five examples of lists I share with him:

A “To Do Before Leaving Town” list

Often, when we’re traveling, the kids and I will drive to my parents’ house first (a journey of 1,000 miles that begins with a single step into the world’s most jam-packed minivan). My husband then flies out a week later or so, depending on his vacation days. I’ve created a list for him of reminders of things that need to be done before he leaves – cleaning out the fridge, placing a hold on the mail, returning the library books, etc. This list can work for me, too, obviously, but the great thing about doing this via Evernote is that if I think of something later I can just add it digitally and it magically appears in our shared notebook, rather than my having to send him several different “oh, and one more thing!” emails.

Related – a Kids’ Packing List

I’ve created a printable packing checklist for my kids to streamline the process of getting them organized. It’s enough of a routine now that I can just print off the list, write down how many of each item they’ll need, and hand it to them. You can download my kids’ packing checklists here if you’d like. I have saved them as PDF’s to Evernote and shared the document with my husband so that either one of us can get the kids started with their suitcases.

A “Christmas Gift Ideas” list

I’m always stumped around December 20 when I start my Christmas shopping, but I’m full of ideas during the year. I can jot them down on this list and share them with my husband or family members who want to know what to get our kids. Again, because I can update this at any time, it removes the need to send out a bunch of emails – and, when I happen upon the PERFECT gift idea for my sister-in-law in mid-April, I can save it for later. (I know that supermoms do things like shop ahead of time for the holidays, but I am all too human.)

The kids’ shot records and emergency medical information

This can be shared with anyone listed as an emergency medical contact.

Home Repairs and Contacts

A master list of repairs that have been done, with the contact information of the company who completed the repair. I share this with my husband so that we don’t have to keep rummaging around for the air conditioner repairman’s business card when it’s summer in Texas and family members are melting into puddles.

This is just the tip of the iceberg – What lists do you rely on to keep your family organized? Would using Evernote to share them make it easier to keep up with everything?

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Copyright 2012 Dorian Speed