by Kavita Varma-White

My husband and I are “on the same page” when it comes to a lot of important things. Parenting values. Good exercise habits. Healthy eating.

Where we differ greatly (not the same page, book or even author!) is in organization. He believes in it, lives by it. His phone is The Repository for his work commitments and our general family scheduling. Whether it’s the kids’ next dentist appointment, a soccer tourney or when my car needs an oil change, you can find it (and I do!) on his phone.

Me? Well, I try! I am organized in a work setting because as a journalist/writer, my career is driven by meeting deadlines. On the home front, my efforts at organization have been mediocre at best. One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2010 is to use technology to make me a more efficient mother/wife/household manager. (This was also a 2009 resolution; suffice it to say it’s an ongoing project.)

Two things have happened recently that are making changes in the way I do things, and by gosh, I think they are working!

I got an iPhone, which makes texting, emailing, taking pics, getting directions and finding news and info so easy and so 24-7 accessible. Now if I can just figure out how to use the zillions of other cool apps out there...

I’ve started using the Cozi online calendar for my family’s activities. The color-coded guide makes it easy to see at a quick glance who has soccer or basketball practice, when I’m volunteering at school, when my husband is traveling for business, and so on. I synched the calendar to my iPhone (so easy to do!) so now I can view it on the go. (I prefer the weekly calendar because it’s easier to read; the monthly calendar's really big numbers made it hard to see individual activities.)

One of the calendar’s best features is the ability to send a text message reminder of a certain event. To practice my new Cozi way of life, I set up the phone reminder access for both mine and my husband’s phones. He was home on a weekday so I sent a reminder for him to pick up our daughter from school. 

After he left the house (of course, he already had the task noted in his phone’s calendar) I texted him: “What did you think about the Cozi reminder?”

His reply:  “Good reminder. I couldn’t remember why I was parked outside this school.”

Get your family organized and on the same page with Cozi, the free online family organizer.

Kavita Varma-White is the author of The Bellevue Blogette, a micro-blog serving Bellevue, WA. A former lifestyle editor of the Florida Sun-Sentinel, she is now the Seattle editor of Red-Tricyle.com, a website focused on kids and families. She is also a consultant and writer for Lifestyle Insights, a firm specializing in women-friendly new media content. In service of her ongoing search for great things for families and kids to do in the Seattle area, Kavita deploys the hard-hitting analysis of her two children, ages 10 and 7.