12 Reasons Why You Should Use Evernote

I’ve been using Evernote for several years now and during that entire time, I’ve been trying to convince my husband to use Evernote too.

After years of trying to convince him, he’s still not interested (and I’m not sure why). So just to make sure it’s not just me, I thought I’d test my reasoning on you, our loyal readers.

Here are my top 12 reasons why I use Evernote (and why I think my husband – and you – should too):

1. Blog Management – I keep a running list of blog post ideas, a history of published posts, and any other blog related info.  And I’ve subscribed to my blog using my Evernote email address to keep a backup of every post.
2. Receipts – Those little scraps of paper that magically seem to multiply, otherwise known as receipts?  Yeah, they are taking over my purse, desk, and kitchen counters.  I can take a picture or scan the receipt and save it in Evernote.
3. Shopping – I recently purchased a new minivan and shopping for a new car is my personal hell.  After a while, all the cars run together and who can remember prices and options?  With the Evernote Android app, I took pictures of the cars we looked at and made notes.  Also, works for appliance and laminate floor shopping (speaking from personal experience).
4. Home Management – I keep track of account numbers and other hard to remember info, and have you thought about what you would do if you lost your wallet?
5. Legally Changing Your Name – When I got married in 2010, I had to legally change my name on all of my accounts and it took forever.  I used Evernote to keep track of the accounts I had changed, when I changed them, and any related documentation.
6. Books To Read – I love to read and I’m always on the hunt for new books.  I keep a notebook in Evernote of books to read which is perfect because someone just got a Barnes & Noble gift card for Christmas.
7. Math Facts – My 7 year old stepson has to practice his math facts for school, so I can setup practice tests for him using Evernote and Evernote Peek (that works with the iPad 2 and smart cover).  He gets to use the iPad and practice his math facts, everyone wins.  (Evernote Peek does not work well if you have a passcode set for your iPad.)
8. Christmas – Everyone has their own tricks for staying organized for Christmas.  My mom uses paper lists written in pencil, I use Evernote.  I create a Christmas 2011 notebook and I create a note for everyone on my list.  I use checkboxes to keep track of what has been purchased and what’s left to do.  Its easy to keep track of, I can share the notebook with my husband (once I wear him down convince him to use Evernote) to make sure its been checked twice, and its easier to secure from prying eyes than a paper list.
9. Crafty Ideas – I will be honest with you, I love doing crafts and I have an unhealthy obsession with my hot glue gun.  I use Evernote (and Pinterest which we’ll cover another day) to keep track of ideas I want to try out.
10. Recipes – This one is awkward because I don’t cook.  But, I do eat and my husband cooks so I save recipes that look good to me to Evernote and then I email them to my husband.  The ones that he rejects get deleted from the notebook.
11. Save Articles to Read Later – Occasionally I come across an article that I want to read but its too long and I don’t have the time to read it right now, so I save it to Evernote where I can read it later.  Since I have Evernote on my phone and iPad, I can pull up these articles when I’m stuck waiting in line and have a few minutes to kill.  I also use it to save articles I really like and want to save when I need a shot of inspiration.
12. Twitter Archive – I setup a recipe on a site called If This Then That that sends every tweet into my Evernote account.  I then use Evernote’s search function to find what I’m looking for.  You can find the instructions for setting this up here.

So, what do you think?  Are you convinced you should use Evernote?  Tell me why or why not in the comments below.