Give yourself a little breathing room at the start of the new school year by hiring someone else to do a few of the things on your crazy-long to-do list. After all, until there are 26 hours in a day, isn’t the next best thing giving yourself the gift of grocery delivery, laundry service or even car detailing? Keep reading to discover the services that are guaranteed to make your life a tiny bit easier.

Chore Time

S'moresUp

Don't spend another minute scrolling through Pinterest for a new chore system. S'MoresUp lets you assign chores to your kids through one app. You can link each chore to specific rewards and goals. Plus, it has a family calendar and playdate planner, making family organizing a piece of cake. This user-friendly app is free, too!

 

Time to Travel

Cambodia4kids via flickr

Longing to get away but can't even find the time to figure out where to take your kiddos? Ciao Bambino! has a team of experts that can put together an adventure to remember for your family, whether your kids are two or 12. This travel-savvy crew can design custom trips based on your interests and budget, whether it's a beach vacation or the trip of a lifetime to Europe designed for your mythology-obsessed kids.

 

Party Planning Made Easy

Party in a Box

Birthday party planning can gobble up hours of time. Luckily, a few awesome Etsy sellers are here to take that off your plate. Party in A Box's escape room is an all-inclusive activity that'll get you party ready with the click of a button. You can also pick up ready-packed boxes of party decor, like this festive option for mermaid-lovers. Just add cake!

Escape Room available from Party in a Box, $50.

Lessons on the Go

Thumbtack

All sorts of things can be outsourced via Thumbtack, like professional dog groomers, personal training and tutors. What's even cooler is that you can also find experienced teachers and tutors to help your kids—or you!—learn to play an instrument, build up foreign language skills, work on math homework or study for standardized tests. 

Quick Meals without the Drive-Thru

Door Dash

Say goodbye to hitting up the drive-thru (again) after soccer practice. Depending on your families needs and tastes, there are plenty of quick meal delivery services to choose from. We rounded up both tried-and-true and brand-new meal delivery options so you can outsource dinner when there's no time to cook. 

Sorting Through Your Junk Mail

Paper Karma

Sorting through mounds of junk mail is a total waste of time. Keep those unwanted catalogs out of your mailbox and save a few trees with PaperKarma. The app makes it easy: take a pic of a catalog, upload it and PaperKarma will contact the company on your behalf to get your name off the mailing list.

Available on iTunes and Google Play, from $1.99.

 

 

Your Beauty Regime

cbgrfx123 via flickr

Get your mani-pedi wherever you are with The Glam App's beauty experts who'll come to your front door. Find a hairstylist, new nail tech, and other salon services in the over 23 cities that are part of The Glam App's network. Stylists are designated as big (less than one year of experience), jrs (two to five years' experience) and VIP (five-plus years), and prices are set according to experience level.

Available on the iTunes store or Google Play. Free to download the app, services beginning at $50.

Grocery Delivery

Instacart

Skip the check-out line arguments about gum and candy and get your groceries delivered—it's one of the fastest-growing tasks to outsource for parents. We've found the best grocery delivery services across the country. Bonus: many offer exclusive discounts to save you money and time. Check out our list here. No more meltdowns in aisle three!

Help Around the House

Andrew Fogg via flickr

From putting together that brand-new toy shelf to finally organizing the coat closets, Task Rabbit is the place to go to cross off items on your to-do list. You can find folks to scrub your floors, do simple repairs, help you move or rearrange your furniture. Task Rabbit screens the so-called Taskers available to do your job, and you can select help based on the Taskers' hourly rate.

Get started at taskrabbit.com, fees vary.

Your Financial Budget

Ken Teegardin via flickr

Make a budget, then stick to it, with help from You Need a Budget. The budgeting software makes it easy, and as painless as possible, to set up a budget that works for you. The user-friendly app connects with your accounts and gives you real-time info about your finances, saving you the time of logging in to different sites. Plus, knowing you're on top of your budget will you help you sleep at night. You Need a Budget reports that new users save a whopping $600 by month two.

Available at youneedabudget.com, from $6.99 per month.

The Dog's Daily Walk

Rover

Sure, walking the dog gets you a little exercise and fresh air, but it's also one more thing on your endless to-do list. That's where Rover comes in. They have a network of dog walkers all across the country, with ratings and reviews to peruse so you'll know Fido's in good hands. You can sign up for the service online, or download their user-friendly app and find a new best friend for your pup.

Available at rover.com, from $15 per walk.

 

Your Weekend Yard Work

breakmake via flikr

Weeding, yard work, lawn mowing—Takl links you with people who can cross all of these off your to-do lists. With Takl's user-friendly website, you can find local landscapers to come to your house, even on the same day. You can choose from a list of pre-priced jobs, such as lawn mowing or raking leaves, or build your own gig. Even if you've never had so much as a green hangnail, let alone a green thumb, your hard can be a thing of beauty.

Available at takl.com, from $55 to mow a large yard.

Homework Help

Catherine via flickr

Sure, you want to help your kid grasp the nuances of finding common denominators, but it might take you a bit to remember all the details. That's where Khan Academy comes in: this awesome free resource has short videos that can help kids with things they're learning in school. They also featured interactive quizzes, questions, and articles on subjects including grammar, biology, chemistry, physics, history, economics, finance and preschool learning.

Visit khanacademy.org to get started.

At the Car Wash

Rusty Clark via flickr

Skip a trip to the car wash and use Washe's easy app to have someone come and clean your ride, whether it's parked at work or somewhere else. Washe's crew will hand-wash, dry, and then vacuum your vehicle—those Goldfish crumbs will disappear (until you pick up the kids, anyway). You can even spring for a full carpet shampoo if your little one has spilled milk one too many times. Right now, Washe serves Florida, Southern California, New Jersey, and parts of Arizona and Georgia, with more cities to come soon.

Find more info and a link to the app at washe.com, from $35 for a basic wash.

Shopping for Family Clothes

Rockets of Awesome

Love the cute clothes but hate the shopping? Skip it with a clothing subscription box for yourself, your partner or the kids! Services like Rockets of Awesome will send monthly batches of stylish duds sized just right for your tiny fashion plate. Plus, most offer free shipping and free returns. Find a round-up of our favorite clothing subscriptions for kids here. 

available at rocketsofawesome.com, pieces from $16 - $28

Your Daily Tasks

Ever wish you could live like a movie star and have your own personal assistant to keep your life in order? With Zirtual, you can. Hire your own virtual personal assistant to manage your receipts, book travel, make calls, set up appointments, or track down that one-of-a-kind doll your daughter's longing to have. They can even help wrangle your family calendar so that you can spend a little more time with your family. The service doesn't come cheap, but if you're desperate for help, it might be worth it.

Available at zirtual.com, from $449 per month.

Weekly Meal Prep

Sweet Peas Meals

Never worry about what's for dinner again: Sweet Pea's Meals will send you a family-friendly recipe plan every Thursday, along with shopping lists and hands-on prep info. Think yummy picks like Grilled Chicken & Zucchini Kabobs or tips for the perfect taco night. Created by experienced food bloggers, the meal plan comes with breakfast ideas and cocktail recipes, too.

Available at sweetpeasmeals.com, from $15.99 per month.

Doing Laundry

CDA Appliances via Flickr

Tired of folding endless piles of socks? Delivery's laundry-specific service helps busy parents find a local business to pick up the mounds of dirty stuff and bring it back, fresh-smelling and folded. Whether dry clean only, dedicates or mounds of ketchup-stained t-shirts, you can get your clothes clean. FYI: businesses charge by the pound.

Search for local services at delivery.com, pricing varies.

Remembering What's on Your To-Do List

Mike Mozart via flickr

Pick up groceries, pay the bills, coordinate the soccer carpool: with all the things on your to-do list, it's easy to forget something. Remember the Milk is a user-friendly app that'll take on the big job of keeping track of that list of tasks and send you reminders so that you keep checking things off of your list. You can download it on your phone, laptop, or Apple Watch, so you'll never forget the milk, whether it's almond or cow's, again. Plus, it's free!

—Oz Spies

 

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Featured photo: Pexels 

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