Tag: helpful services

3 helpful group gift websites that make the process so much easier

Posted by Kate Etue | Websites Worth a Bookmark

We’re coming up end-of-the-year gifts for teachers, grads, and coaches over the next month, plus Father’s Day, which often means lots of group gifts. And as you might have experienced, chasing people down and keeping track of everyone’s money (all year long) can be a huge pain. But this is the 21st century! You can do this all digitally now! Here, 3 group gift websites that might just help you put the joy back into the giving. At least, the kind that involves lots of different people. Related: The best teacher gift ideas, from people who actually know: teachers!...

Big (real) news! Fake news gets easier to spot with the new Google Fact Check

Posted by Liz Gumbinner | Helpful Services

It seems like an April Fool’s joke (and yes, I double checked the date on the post) but at long last, Google is taking moves to quash fake news with a new Fact Check feature in Google Search and Google News, worldwide. So basically, Google Fact Check is not itself fake news. That’s a relief. According to the recent post on the Google blog, publishers can now enable a “Fact Check” tag in Google News which will mark as news those articles that have been fact-checked by publishers and respected fact-checking organizations, like Politifact, FactCheck.org and Snopes. It even includes fact-check sites like Climate...

Pocket: The Pinterest alternative to help save all those articles, recipes, tweets and more.

Posted by Liz Gumbinner | Productivity Apps

If you’ve become more of a news junkie over the past year like I have, you’ve probably realized that your standard browser bookmark bar isn’t necessarily your best best for saving articles you want to come back to. Let alone recipes you want to remember, gifts you want to buy, YouTube videos you want to see…you get the picture. Enter Pocket. This brilliant, simple, very intuitive bookmarking service has replaced del.icio.us –and even Pinterest in its former glory (RIP) — for me. It lets me quickly bookmark pretty much everything, all directly from the web or even social media, and save it in...

Upgrading for the holidays? Helpful services for selling or recycling your old tech

Posted by Jeana | Helpful Services

If you’re upgrading your family (or yourself) in the gadget department this holiday season, here are several services that can help you sell or recycle your old gadgets, beyond wrapping them up for your kids that is. Which hey, isn’t such a terrible idea at all. Gazelle Gazelle has been a longtime recommendation of ours, primarily because it’s so easy to use and you can get a pretty good chunk of change back. I’m not ready to get rid of my iPhone 6 just yet, but when I looked it up on Gazelle, I can get anywhere from $170-$190 for...

Personalized, handwritten cards that give the finger to the digital age. Just download the app.

Posted by Liz Gumbinner | Best Apps, Helpful Services, Holiday Picks

Who ever thought that one day, the fine art of thoughtfully handwritten, artful notes would be considered punk? Well, the husband-wife team behind Punk Post is who. And they are determined to bring handwriting back in the coolest way possible. Even if it’s not yours. I can’t tell you how many times I wish I had my own Emily McDowell when it came to addressing my own thank you notes and cards, and that’s pretty much the gist of this smart service. Well, you won’t get her specifically, but you can have your cards — both inside and out — hand-scripted and illustrated by incredibly talented, real human artists, whose styles you...

Like a Glove smart leggings: Can they really help you find the perfect pair of jeans?

Posted by Kate Etue | Fashion + Accessories

For me, trying on jeans is about as dreaded as trying on swimsuits. There are so many brands with countless styles, cuts, and washes, it’s beyond overwhelming. So, when I saw the ads for Like a Glove smart leggings on Facebook, which promise to help you find a pair of jeans you’re going to love without the hassle, I decided to buy a pair. No dressing room? No kids in the dressing room? I couldn’t help myself. So, if you’re wondering if these smart leggings actually worked, and whether they’re worth a try yourself, here’s what happened when I put them to the test. CMT is...

Back to school lifesaver: A smart, simple trick for going paper free

Posted by Kristen Chase | Tips and Tricks

With four kids in school and various activities, you can just imagine the number of forms I have to fill out and sign, pretty much on a weekly (sometimes, daily) basis. I don’t even want to think about how long printing them, filling them out, then either mailing or trying to get my kids to remember to turn them in would take. So, my one time-saving trick? HelloSign. Related: Going paper free got a whole lot easier with FileThis People typically think services like these are just for business, but actually, I use this all the time to complete and sign school...

Rome2rio travel app: Our cool free app of the week

Posted by Christina Refford | Travel Apps

We just returned from a family vacation to Italy, and boy do I wish I had discovered the Rome2rio app before our trip. It could have saved us countless moments trying to decide the best way to get around the various sites with three kids, with the least amount of aggravation. What I love about this app for both iOS and Android is that it quickly and neatly lists the best options from getting from “point A” to “point B”. Before heading out on your trip, you can use the handy website to help plan out the routes you’d like to...

How to use the Apple Reminders feature: The ultimate organizational lifesaver in a multitasking world

Posted by Jeana | Tips and Tricks

I’ve recently started using the Apple Reminders feature, which is free and included in your iOS device, and I’ve wondered why I haven’t been using it it more this whole time. With end-of-the-year/beginning-of-summer madness, my mind has been a constant flurry of things I have to remember, and the truth is, using Post-Its, emailing myself and asking the kids to remind me about appointments and deadlines can be less than successful. An often-overlooked feature of iOS devices, Apple Reminders is a very handy way to keep track of so many things, whether it’s items at the grocery store, the next dentist appointment, a birthday present for a nephew, or packing...

A beautiful last-minute Father’s Day gift that’s totally free

Posted by Kristen Chase | Father's Day Gifts

I love the idea of giving the gift of photos, videos, and heart-felt messages for Father’s Day (or any special day, really), but they’re not exactly the easiest things to give. Do you attach a video to an email? Send a sweet text? Print out a photo and mail it? I know, I’m hilarious. That’s why I was so thrilled to discover Imprint, first as our Facebook sponsor and then when my friends gifted one to me for my 40th birthday. After seeing, and yes weeping through, my own Imprint, I was convinced of how cool it was and...