Your Personal Reference Library


Looking back on the way we lived when I was in college, or just first married… or even back to high school… it’s shocking how much we have access to, right at our fingertips. I mean, do you even remember the days when you had to look up an address on your computer… or even further back… on an actual paper MAP before you left the house? Now I grab the address and head out the door just knowing my phone will get me there. The one time this backfired was when we were taking a family vacation up to Yellowstone, and we were using Google Maps to help us find the place we were staying. Service is a bit hit or miss up there, and we ended up getting slightly lost. We eventually made it though. 😉 Reference is an entire section of my phone, so let me tell you about the apps that make me look smart on a daily basis.

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Google Maps –

Fortunately for me, most of Utah is on a “grid” meaning if I have your address, I can probably find your house just by going the directions in the address (like 200 west and 400 north… go to Center St. and Main St and go west 2 blocks and north 4 blocks).  BUT what happens when they use a street name, or I’m in another city? Google Maps is ALWAYS to the rescue. Great for directions, traffic notifications, even food recommendations! What is also great is if I have a friend’s address in my Google Contacts, their house and name will show up on the map.

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IMDB –

My husband and I watch a lot of movies and TV shows. We are entertainment junkies. Our favorite game to play is “where do I know that actor from” and IMDB helps with this every time. Usually we try and beat each other in figuring out, but sometimes we just get stuck and have to look it up. OR one of us says something the other doesn’t believe and then we have to look it up to prove who is right and who is wrong. You can look up info on movies and actors and TV shows. I even like to check it to see when the next season of a show I like is going to come out. Which I tried to do for The Grinder, and IMDB told me the Grinder had been canceled! I was devastated. THAT was a fantastic show.

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LastPass –

I recently turned a friend of mine onto LastPass, and she is forever grateful that I did. LastPass is so amazing. Especially since having the same password for every website application is a VERY bad idea. LastPass will help you create super secure passwords, and store them for you, so you never actually have to remember them. When I have had to factory reset my phone, or I get a new phone to test out, I download LastPass first so as I sign into my accounts in all of the rest of the apps, it will fill in the login information for me! It makes rebuilding your phone SO much easier.

UPS & FedEx –

I get a LOT of packages to my house, and I often don’t even know they are coming. These two apps are essential for me, so I can be notified when a package is on it’s way. I could see this being extremely useful especially with the holidays coming up! You definitely need to know if a package is headed to your house today! Both apps offer a free service to notify you through the app, but you do have to register your address with an account (which is also free)

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Pepperplate –

I wrote a whole post about how much I love Pepperplate. I have ALL of my recipes stored in this app. Anytime I’m at the store and decide to make something at the last minute, I just pull up Pepperplate and grab the ingredients I need.

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My Movies Pro –

I own a whole lot of DVD’s. My neighbors often borrow my DVD’s. It’s fine, I’m happy to share. I just need to keep track of what is where, because I will TOTALLY forget. Especially since we don’t really even use the discs anymore to watch movies. I have my whole collection either on Vudu or Plex. It was really easy to get all my movies into the app (it has a barcode scanner), and it’s super easy to “loan” movies out to people. I can also filter my movies by what is currently loaned out, and who has them. It’s really a great tool for someone like me that has a lot of movies to keep track of.

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Musixmatch –

I have recently become obsessed with Hamilton (“recent” meaning it’s been on non-stop repeat in my car since August), but some of those raps are TOUGH to get right. They are so FAST. So, when I want to sign along it’s really great to be able to read the lyrics. Enter Musixmatch. It will work with basically whatever music player you use, detect what song is playing and display the lyrics for you!

So… What did I miss? (Hamilton reference… there really should be a font)

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About the author

Sarah Werle Kimmel

Sarah Werle Kimmel is a digital parenting coach and family tech expert. She has spent the last 20 years of her career working as a Microsoft Certified IT Manager supporting over 100 small businesses. During that time she started Family Tech LLC to help families understand and manage the technology in their home. She has regularly appeared as a family tech expert on local NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX news affiliates, BYUtv and Studio 5, and has been invited all over the world from tech companies like Lenovo, Verizon, Microsoft, Dell, and Samsung. Find out more on her website SarahKimmel.com

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