The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Have you ever browsed the web and come across a great DIY project, vacation rental or recipe that you’d like to ac­cess later? Sure, you could bookmark the site, but what if that one idea is all you’re really interested in? And what if you were away from your computer and wanted to share your great find? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just “clip” that tid­bit and store it in a virtual folder to be accessed from any computer or mobile device? With Evernote, you absolutely can, and it’s free, to boot.

Evernote.com is an ex­tremely helpful organiza­tional tool that can be used in a variety of ways. It al­lows you to create virtual notebooks with pages of information, including pho­tos, voice messages, notes, scans, web clipping and more.

For example, if I was planning a vacation to Yel­lowstone, I would start a “Yellowstone” notebook. Then, I could set up pages for maps, top stops, flight or travel info, hotel confirma­tions, etc. Everything I need would be neatly organized in one spot where I could easily access it from any computer or smart phone.

When undertak­ing a dec­orating or remodel­ing proj­ect, you could cre­ate a notebook and designate pages for measurements, paint colors (with a clip or scan of the color chips), pho­to clippings of inspirational ideas, and project receipts. Then, a year or two down the road when you need to buy paint for a touch-up but can’t recall the color, just pull up your notebook and find it in a jiffy.

Evernote works espe­cially well as a research tool. Let’s say you’re research­ing the purchase of a new lawnmower. As you clip contenders that you find on different websites, Evernote allows you to add your own notes to the clipping as you save it. It even works in sync with Google by displaying items you’ve already saved to avoid duplication.

For Smartphone users, Evernote is the perfect solu­tion for accessing clothing sizes, window measure­ments, color swatches, or anything else you might need to recall while you’re out and about. Imagine stop­ping by a yard sale and being able to determine immedi­ately if brand new window shades will fit your windows simply by a glance at your notebook.

Another nice feature is that you have the option of sharing information with anyone you choose. For in­stance, if you’ve planned a family reunion, you can sim­ply check the info you’d like to make available and create a link where those you invite can access it. Alternatively, you can convert the informa­tion into a PDF file for easy download.

Evernote is an extremely versatile tool that tends to be used differently by everyone, depending on their needs and interests. Students use it to take and store notes and research, homemakers turn it into a virtual recipe box, bloggers use it to store post ideas, and teachers use it to gather and organize ideas for classes and projects. What can Evernote organize for you?