How to improve your home environment with Windows apps

By: Rotimi Olumide, Director, Microsoft Windows Business Division Sub Saharan Africa & Indian Ocean Islands

Most people know that Windows 10 helps them to be more productive at work, but did you know it can also help you to be more productive at home too? Whether you simply want to manage your family’s schedule better, capture special memories or you’re planning to do some redecorating, here’s how Windows apps can help:

Keep track of your family’s busy schedule
Outlook.com makes it easy to share your Microsoft Calendar with the people you care about. All they need is a Microsoft account, and then it’s as simple as sharing permissions with them and controlling which parts of the calendar they can view and access. You can also share an online view-only link with people, who can then access it via Microsoft Outlook, iCal and Google Calendar.

If you’re a parent, this is the ideal way to keep track of your children’s school commitments and play dates, and make sure you never miss a recital or leave them stranded at school.

Share notes and important documents
Using your Microsoft account login gives you access to powerful cloud-based storage. OneDrive powers document sharing in Office 365, which allows multiple users to access, edit, comment and change a single document from any device. OneNote is a “catch-all” app for information, ideas and inspiration in any form, and makes accessing this information quick and effortless no matter where you are.

These features are the perfect sharing repository for your family, keeping everything safely in one place. Whether you’re grocery shopping and want to access the shopping list that your family has added to; you find an article for your daughter’s research project you want to save for her, with the relevant parts marked; or your whole family want to have their say on your latest inspiration for a home makeover, OneDrive and OneNote make collaborating and sharing easier.

Capture memories and inspiration
No matter if you live with family, friends or even alone, your home is the place where memories are created. Capture those special moments easily with the high quality camera on your Microsoft Lumia phone. Lumia phones’ wide range of imaging capabilities ensure your photos are always of a high quality. Best of all, it’s easy to create albums with just a few clicks and share these on your OneDrive account for safe keeping.

And, when you’re not snapping photos of your children or your friends, you might come across the inspiration for your next table setting or lounge remodel. Snap a few shots to remind yourself to get the creative juices flowing.

Get creative with a little help from technology
Talking about creative juices, there are several apps available to help you create your own little haven.

For inspiration, why not try out Houzz? The Houzz app is a digital repository of home-related ideas, tips and inspiration, with over eight million pictures of home decor and remodelling ideas.

Then, if you’re feeling really creative, try out the drawing and painting app, Fresh Paint. It’s been hailed for its ability to accurately mimic watercolour, oil, pencil, pen and pastel, so you could try your hand at creating your very own art for your home.

And what would a haven be without the right lighting? Ambieye is an app that connects with Philips Hue light bulbs and allows you to control their colour, intensity and brightness.

Optimise your home life
With an ever-greater part of our lives becoming digital, it makes sense that we capitalise on digital technology to make our home life more organised, our homes more comfortable and see our productivity at home increase.