This post was written in partnership with SanDisk.

Running after kids and running a household a can be exhausting (let alone all the other stuff we do like jobs, exercise, maintain relationships – self-care? What?) and it can seem impossible to keep on top of some days, so there’s no shame in looking for a little help- even if it’s from technology.

From photos, videos and connecting with family and friends to ordering a speedy coffee when the babe sleeps in the car (yes- read on for that one!), our phones have become the one stop shop for organising our lives. Our personal assistant. Our Virtual Assistant, with information on anything and everything literally at our fingertips

With so many new apps, features and functions we’ve teamed up with SanDisk to share some of the most helpful tech hacks for #mumlife as well as the most genius way to keep all that precious information safe (and phone charged at the same time!)

KEEP YOUR MEMORIES SAFE

I’m a photo hoarder. There I said it. Literally 24,000 photos and counting. If you’re like me, 99% of your kids’ photos are saved on that little device – and if you were to lose it, or it was to crash – your memories would be gone with it. After losing my phone in a taxi in Paris for over 48 hours and thinking I lost some of those beautiful travel memories, I realised just how important it is to have a backup plan.

Enter the SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive – it’s essentially a USB for your phone. As well as backing up your contacts and photo library – you can also back up your social accounts too. It frees up space on your phone and means you can easily transfer photos and videos between your devices.

This has been a game-changer for me, freeing up space on my phone for my next 24,000 photos – and yes, I can keep those 20 slightly different versions of the same pic.

Then there’s the iXpand Base – which is a little device that backs up your phone, every time you charge it.

2. USE THE GUIDED ACCESS SETTINGS ON YOUR PHONE

Never heard of this? Well if you “occasionally” let your kids use your phone to watch Peppa Pig but live in fear of what they’ll actually click on/make an international call/send your boss an email then this is what you need.

In the ‘General’ -> ‘Accessibility’ settings on your phone (this one is just for iPhone users but I’m sure Androids would have something similar) you can switch ‘Guided Access’ on which means you can lock your screen on what is on there at the time, and can’t be changed without the pass code. Genius. Also good for when you’re Face Timing the grandparents and little one likes to press the red button!

3. LITERALLY LIFE CHANGING APPS

These days there’s pretty much an app for everything, and your phone can get loaded up with useless ones (hello Candy Crush), and you find the ones you use every day are four pages over. So save tome and sort your apps inthe to order of use, so the ones you’re using on the regular are nice and handy. You can even create them into folders if you’re feeling super organised and that’s your thing.

In terms of some actual apps that can make life easier/save you time here’s some we love:

White noise – there’s countless options here, so it’s more just about finding a noise that your baby likes and stick with it, then you can use it at home – and when you’re out and about to help signal sleep time.

Hey You – the amount of times we’ll head out the door and I’ll realise I left my coffee half drunk or bubs will fall asleep in the car and I’m left driving hot laps of my suburb dying for a coffee. Hey You means you can order your coffee, and then rock up when it’s ready (obviously finding a coffee shop where you can pull up right out the front is key!) or just it at least saves the kids cracking it while they wait two mins for your coffee to be made. Most cafes also offer food orders through the app – hello cheeky banana bread!

Feed Safe – this is a government run app, which tells you when you’re safe to have an alcoholic drink when you’re breastfeeding. Sometimes baby brain can make it hard to remember/work out the time, so you just input when you started feeding and you’ll get a handy notification when you’re safe to enjoy a glass (enjoy responsibly, obviously).

Toilet Finder – this one is particularly good for toilet training and little ones who don’t have much time between telling you they need to go and actually needing to go. Or pregnant/new mamas with weak bladders.

Teux Deux – this is a to-do list app, so write a list and tick things off as you go. There are loads of these available so just find one that works for you – and most of them will even give you a nice little tune when you tick things off so you get the satisfying feeling every time you do something on your list.

CALM app – guided meditation, because #mumlife

There are so many others but that’s probably a separate post in itself, tell us some of the apps you love in the comments below?

4. SWAP YOUR OLD DOORBELL FOR A SMART BELL

How many times have you finally got the baby down for a nap, only for the doorbell to ring and wake them up? Well the old ‘DO NOT RING BELL’ note over the doorbell is one option, otherwise you can update to a smart bell which allows you to turn it on/off. There are loads of different options for all budgets, from one that simply turns on and off to ones that sync with your phone and allow video and alerts to your phone.

5. MAKE USE OF YOUR PHONES VOICE RECORDER

Many of us probably find this app on our phone quite useless, but it can actually be quite handy. You can leave yourself reminders or make to-do lists while driving. And you can even use it for things like doctors appointments (with the doctor’s permission of course) but for things like doses for medicine or symptoms to watch for, because how many of us walk out of the doctors and can’t remember half of what they just said?

5 TECH HACKS FOR BUSY MUMS