You are about to get your Entire Home and Life Organized using a very old idea
Tags: Anxiety, Home, Organization, Life, Ocd

It’s finally happening! The automation of you. And, you will soon wonder how you got along without it. This will take the form of an app that extends your brain, collects digital or physical paperwork, and the ideas and knowledge in your head, related to the things in your life and home. The app will be an extension of you, and it will be with you 24/7 to help you in inconceivable ways. While the app will start as your place for your home and consumer life, it will show you more capabilities very naturally — and you will love it because it becomes more like you over time. And, it will be free, encrypted and will have no ads. It will be just you and your life in an app. This is our app, Itemtopia.

But, let me digress.

Companies started implementing systems like this in the 1990s. They grew in scope and usefulness such that today, they are so crucial; I would say 80% of businesses would go quickly if that functionality was removed from their operations.

Instant access to data is critical for business, and they use it to be more productive and keep the company machine running. However, since the 1990s, people were left behind, never getting themselves ‘automated’. They have continued to store their paperwork in a box/drawer and their product knowledge experiences in their heads. If you already use a database or save photos to keep track of your things, you will soon realize (or maybe you already have) that this not a solution. That method is just an early adopter’s first step in the right direction.

To understand where we are today and why I see a revolution coming soon, let me digress to where companies were in 1990 because I was there. And, I see striking similarities between then and now.

Small businesses finally became automated with accounting software in the late 1980’s, moving from ledgers and spreadsheets to the first inexpensive applications. The success of those implementations’ saved them enormous amounts of time, and it gave them the confidence to take a chance on something new — which happened to be a new type of software that I was selling at the time. This software was asset management and knowledge-base software designed to make their entire company and its employees more organized.

Ask yourself this. What do you use today to keep all the information about what you own, your things, your home, and the details of the services you, your family, your pets and your home has. Well, you have your brain, and a box, or a small filing cabinet — which is usually the only place this stuff goes.

If you save photos, use notepad or use a database app which you have configured yourself, that’s a generation 1 solution. But it is certainly better than nothing.

So, why is a ‘Getting a Person’s Life Organized’ app so exciting, and what can it do?

Well, as a consumer, things get complicated quickly. All your ‘stuff’ in your life means there is other ‘stuff’ about all these things to remember. Regardless of the amount of knowledge you gain, or the paperwork associated with receipts, warranties or reminders about these things, you could continue your present actions (keeping it in your head, or a box), but why would you?

The early adopter companies in the late 80s and early 90s attempted to solve the problem with spreadsheet or database software to keep their asset information at hand. But this quickly fell apart as it was designed to store data, yet it was not helpful. This reminds me of the personal app called Evernote. It ‘was’ popular, but it fell by the side as it just stores’ data’. There is no way my Mom is going to use a database solution as it is not designed to be dropped into a person’s lap to start managing their home/life immediately. A database requires thought to structure it so that it is useful. The same goes for saving photos of your life and things (purchases) in a number of folders. Doing this cannot proactively ‘help’ you in any way.

The similarities with companies in the 1990’s and today in the 2020’s with people (soon) realizing they should be using something (or using something more than a database) — are startling.

Companies jumped on board to implement knowledge-based and asset management software because it ensured that any new employee would know just as much as anyone else. Imagine if your entire family could collectively share their wisdom and their content with each other.

The next twenty years will be exciting because several billion people will be concluding they cannot get along without an app to help them organize their lives. They just don’t know it yet.

So what does this ‘new’ personal type of app do?

Well, as a consumer, you have things — lots of them. The app knows what you have, and it keeps a history of everything that happens to it, or (when important) what you learn about that thing. It could be a router, a pet, or a person. But, let’s focus on things for now. You experience product issues — so, who did you call? Were there expenses or changes you made? Maybe you renovated your home; you bought something that requires maintenance; something has a high value, or something has instructions if something goes wrong.

Your future app will be a service that keeps track of everything, and it looks out for you, and it will be (must be) confidential and never target you with third-party ads. And, last but not least, it should be free. Yes, free.

That’s Itemtopia. It’s the name of a new type of Life, Organization, Knowledge-Base and Personal Asset Manager app for people. It is available for iOS and Android, and while Itemtopia uses a database, people only see the front end of this sophisticated system. Itemtopia gathers your information as life, (personal and consumer) continues on, yet it does so in a way that requires no training.

Let me share this story of how Itemtopia came to be and why I believe we are on the cusp of a change in consumer/home/life behaviour as it relates to automation.

I landed my first job at a technology company selling IBM small mainframe computers. After training (by several well-dressed IBM executives right from the set of the TV Series, Mad Men), I was soon dispatched to fly around North America to customer’s sites to set up software designed to track the things they owned, using a database of course.

My air miles racked up quickly as I installed this solution in hundreds of sites in just five short years. Eventually I had gained the experience and confidence to start my own company building the same type of software. My new team did something right, and our ‘new’ software was more flexible and much easier to install, and we experienced incredible growth. Within five years, we had customers in over 45 countries. While it was not cheap (up to $25K), we won numerous awards for the simplicity and featrures, and for doing everything at a fraction of the price of the ‘big’ companies like Microsoft and Oracle, which cost $100K+. Eventually, we became public, and soon after, Blackberry acquired us. This then gave me the time and financial resources to reflect on my career and my future. It was at that moment that I recognized that organizing things for a company was still very important to me, and yet there I was, wondering how to do something in the same realm — but somehow different.

It dawned on me that I needed something — a software — to help me and my family keep the details about the things in our home. I began to feel like it was 1990 all over again because I knew everyone needed this, just like I thought all companies needed it back then. I instantly knew that I wanted to use my experiences to create something everyone could use for their life and home.

Today, using our new app called Itemtopia, when I buy something, I add the receipt, add a warranty, snap a photo of it, and add any documents. It takes just a few seconds. If I make repairs or update something in my home, I snap a photo, maybe make a note, and it’s saved in my home profile. Or, if I need to set a reminder on my cottage to turn off the outdoor taps, or buy new dock rope in the spring, or to turn on the heater switch to keep the well water pumping during the winter, I create a recurring reminder list for each season.

Itemtopia keeps a history of the things I completed and it also knows the things I forgot. Itemtopia also manages my golden retriever’s vet appointment and flea/tick medication reminders during the summer.

So how else is Itemtopia useful, and what can you use it for?

Well, we all buy products with warranties, and we learn something about our things over time that we (or someone in the family) may find helpful. Sometimes this is a YouTube video that helps us with our products, our for our home/pets. You can add these videos directly to your pet, your home, your computer or your car. You can’t store a YouTube video in a box. You also receive PDF files, receipts and documents, and these can also be attached to the specific thing it’s for. But, what’s more important is that the app proactively helps you with recalls and with suggestions (when appropriate).

Our goals for Itemtopia are numerous but they’re all important. Be easy; be fast; keep a constant backup; work off-line; encrypt all data transfers, sync with other devices; and allow a family to share the account, so everyone sees the same data at the same time. Working off-line is very special to us, because we know people buy things in the mall, or need to make a note on something when there is no internet access, but they still need to access their data.

Off-line is actually critical to this type of a ‘life’ application because your life is often unplugged but your access to your data should not be. Itemtopia is fully operational while off-line, so it’s always there for you. And, if something is added while off-line, it immediately syncs what you have added with all the other devices on the account when that device is back in wireless coverage.

To ensure privacy and security, 256SSL data encryption is used for the cloud backup service and multi-device synchronization, just like a banking transaction. And even though Itemtopia is a free service, never does any other third party ever get access to your data. It is just you, and your data.

We continue to expand Itemtopia’s capabilities and are also currently building more advanced features, including some for pro-users/small businesses with a small fee.

I thought I would close this, our first ever article on Itemtopia, with some examples of how I personally use the app.

Notes: As I learn something about my items, services, family, or pets, I add a note to it. Notes can include images, documents or links to YouTube videos, which then appear in Itemtopia. This eliminates having to find it again on YouTube — which is almost impossible to do.

Reminders: I no longer use personal iOS reminders for things referring to my items, services, family members or pets. The reason is that Itemtopia sends me these reminders, and I can tap and go directly to that reminder, which is linked to the item. When I complete the reminder, (such as draining the oil from my boat motor at the end of the season) this is saved to the history of my boat motor. When I look at my pet’s profile, I know the food she does not like, her allergies and when she had her last grooming. I also know when my eyes were last checked because my last eye appointment was a reminder in Itemtopia.

Warranty Expiry Notices: It takes a few seconds to add the warranty of a product, the terms, and all the documents that came with it. Itemtopia alerts me to check these products 30 days before the warranty expires so that I can take advantage of any issues for free.

Vehicle Recalls: When I add a vehicle to Itemtopia, it scans the most recent NHTSA vehicle recall database and any recalls are immediately displayed. Then, each night, Itemtopia scans for new recalls for my vehicle. If it finds a match between a consumer and a new recall, it notifies the owner of that vehicle immediately.

Itemtopia has helped my family so many times; we cannot even think of getting by without it.

Here are some examples of how we have used it for some particular products we have in the family;

Free Luggage Repair. Seven years after buying some luggage with a lifetime warranty, a wheel broke. At the store we purchased it at, we explained the issue, and the lady said we ‘need proof of purchase and a copy of the original lifetime warranty document’. Five seconds later, it was in her hand, and a copy was emailed to the store.

Seven years after buying some luggage with a lifetime warranty, a wheel broke. At the store we purchased it at, we explained the issue, and the lady said we ‘need proof of purchase and a copy of the original lifetime warranty document’. Five seconds later, it was in her hand, and a copy was emailed to the store. Sea-Doo Watercraft Issue — When I Sucked up a Rock. Twice! After telling my kids’ never to go too close to shore or you may suck up a rock, on day one of ownership, I did the same thing, and I broke the impeller. (It’s a part which shoots water through the watercraft by sucking the water in). I decided to learn my lesson by fixing it myself. So, I had to do all the research necessary to know what parts to buy and then find the YouTube videos on how to take it apart and put it back together. It’s complicated. But, the very same thing happened the next summer. I went Into Itemtopia, and everything was immediately at my fingertips so that I could (re)order the new parts, watch the video again, take it apart, and get it up and running quickly.

After telling my kids’ never to go too close to shore or you may suck up a rock, on day one of ownership, I did the same thing, and I broke the impeller. (It’s a part which shoots water through the watercraft by sucking the water in). I decided to learn my lesson by fixing it myself. So, I had to do all the research necessary to know what parts to buy and then find the YouTube videos on how to take it apart and put it back together. It’s complicated. But, the very same thing happened the next summer. I went Into Itemtopia, and everything was immediately at my fingertips so that I could (re)order the new parts, watch the video again, take it apart, and get it up and running quickly. Race Car Expense Tracking and Notes . My son and I track two Spec Miata race cars a few dozen times a year. We use Itemtopia’s note and expense functionality to track each car’s tire pressures, track temperature matched to our track qualifying times, fuel loads for different tracks and length of race and the weather for each day we raced. This allows us to see how we did, and what our performance was on those past days. We even use it to know how much we spend keeping our cars race-ready. We can now see the monthly or season running costs (then we gasp, and we never mention it to my wife).

. My son and I track two Spec Miata race cars a few dozen times a year. We use Itemtopia’s note and expense functionality to track each car’s tire pressures, track temperature matched to our track qualifying times, fuel loads for different tracks and length of race and the weather for each day we raced. This allows us to see how we did, and what our performance was on those past days. We even use it to know how much we spend keeping our cars race-ready. We can now see the monthly or season running costs (then we gasp, and we never mention it to my wife). Steps to Winterize; our ATV, Boat, Cottage, Outdoor Equipment, Snowmobiles and other gas yard tools. We even have a check list of what we need to do for our home.

We really created Itemtopia for ourselves, knowing if we needed it. And, the eventual self-realization of everyone’s need for an app like Itemtopia is why we are here.

Itemtopia is now available in 11 languages, and people 65 countries use it today, proving that everyone everywhere wants to be organized. You can reach out to Itemtopia from our web page or follow us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/Itemtopia

Quick Video of how Itemtopia helps you. https://youtu.be/kGTjzgHeog0