Your Family NEEDS This APP!

Cozi Home Screen on my Iphone

Cozi’s motto is Family Life. Simplified.

It does just that.  I have waited a while to share this post in hopes to affiliate with the Cozi Company.  Unfortunately, they don’t offer affiliation marketing.  Once again, I will be writing for free.  In other words, this post is purely considered ‘word of mouth.’  I’m sharing it to help my readership.  {I am sure it is only a matter of time, with my luck it will be right after I publish this post.}  I just know how much Cozi has changed our family’s life for the better. I can’t wait anymore to share it!  Cozi is a Family Manager’s Dream come true! If you don’t have a smart phone you can still take advantage of this phenomenal program on your desktop computer.  I love this!

Cozi integrates your family’s schedules, shopping lists, to do lists & includes a family journal.

My favorite part of the program is the calendar. My husband & I have this app on our phones.  The free version contains ads.  {I edited family names & ads from my screen shots.}  You can purchase the ad free version Cozi Family Organizer Premium for $5.99.  The ads don’t bother us, so we use the free version.

This is the deal…whenever a family member adds an appointment to the calendar it automatically synchronizes to everyone’s calendar.  My oldest daughter received an iPod touch for Christmas and my Son uses my husband’s old iPhone as an iPod touch.  They downloaded the Cozi app onto their iPods as well.  We all still use the desktop computer in our command central area as well.  Guess what my family hears me say the most now?

“Can you please add that to Cozi.”

My children will come to me and say, I need to go _____________ on Friday and it is their responsibility to add it to Cozi.  I remind them, “please add all the specifics into Cozi.”  Can I tell you what a load this has taken off my shoulders?  As I get older my brain just can’t remember everything.  Besides, I have tried every single planner, calendar, scheduling system known to man.  Nothing has come even close to helping as Cozi has.  It is a way of teaching my children responsibility.  If it doesn’t get put into Cozi, then my family knows it’s not going to happen.  At first my kids thought it was cool.  They were happy to type stuff into the app.  Now they don’t like it as much…too bad!  They tend to get bored and lazy that way. {just keeping it real}  However, they have learned the hard way, if it’s not in there, Mom will not remember.  It doesn’t happen.  Sometimes they will give me papers from school with all the information for an activity and I will enter the information.  Most of the time I ask them to do it.  If they don’t have their iPod’s handy or like for my youngest, they can go to the Cozi application on the desktop computer.

Features I love about Cozi’s Calendar:

• You can color code each member of your family!  Genius, huh?!
• Program Cozi to send you reminder texts to all the family members involved in the particular activity.  This is excellent for all MOMS!
• Reminder texts can be sent one hour before the appointment or up to days before.
• Program each family member’s phone numbers and email addresses for reminders.
• Every Sunday Cozi will e-mail every member in your family the next week’s calendar so you can see the week at a glance.
• You can schedule repeat appointments.  For example, every Monday is Ballet at 4pm, etc.  I have even added their bedtimes & what night they cook dinner.
• Anything that is not a repeat appointment is highlighted in BOLD.
• You can Schedule all day appointments.
• Important enough to mention again, teaches my children responsibility!
• Before Cozi, my husband would say, “I’m going to that meeting tonight?”  Me, “What meeting?”  Him, “You know the one I told you about last week.”  None of this happens anymore unless he forgets to add the appointment.  Cozi has prevented many arguments in our marriage…BONUS!

My next favorite feature of Cozi is the Shopping List Category.

Do you ever hear this from your kids, “Mom, next time you go to the store can you get _________, ______________, __________ & _________?”  You go to the store and you forget all the items your kids requested.  This has happened to me too many times to count.  Guess what?!  Cozi prevents this from happening as well!  If I ever hear them begin the above sentence, guess what they hear from me?

” Sure, add it to the Cozi shopping list.”

Every Sunday after family prayer and scripture study we go over the next week’s schedule.  This is also when I remind everyone to add all the ingredients for their dinner night {click here to read more about this} to the Cozi shopping list.  It is a tremendous life saver!  I LOVE IT!  Again, teaching my children to be accountable and responsible!

Shopping List Features:

• You can have more than one shopping list!  I have 4 {at this time, you can add more anytime or delete} & categorize them as: Groceries, Toiletries, Need ASAP, and Other
• When I go to the grocery store all I have to do is open up Cozi, click on shopping, click on the grocery list and there it is.  The above screen shot shows the list I used yesterday.  When you get something on your list, you click on the box and it checks it for you. {That is why everything is checked and a line crossing it off my list.}
• At the end of the list {It’s not showing this on the photo} there is a place to “clean up/reorder.”  Clean up will delete all the items checked.
• You can also email your shopping list to someone.  I haven’t ever had to use this, but could be handy for sure!

Example of one of my Cozi journal entries

Journal Category

Honestly I need to use this feature MORE often!  This is perfect for scrapbookers!  You can jot down a few things you want to remember and it has the date there for you.  It is shared on everyone’s application just like all the features are.  The above photo was taken at a restaurant.

To Do List

I have mentioned this before on my blog, I’m not a to do list maker. {which is why I didn’t take a screen shot of it}  To do lists give me anxiety.  However, every once in a while I will add something to my categories of lists.  I have the following categories: Shared To Do, Shan To Do, Husband To Do {I need to use this list more often!!} and each of my children have their own to do list.  I am sure there are many of you who LOVE making to do lists and checking things off.  You will adore this feature.

Have I sold you on this fantastic app yet?

i heart Cozi,