Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 9 years and 3 months old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

I  started using Evernote back in 2009 when I got my first iPhone and had to find a replacement for the old ListPro app on my Treo. I used it primarily for random lists and notes but eventually started exporting my handwritten notes (from Note Taker HD on my iPad and Lecture Notes on my Samsung tablet), taking advantage of handwriting recognition and other features. Last year I finally upgraded to a Premium account.

This year, as part of my annual file cleanup/archive/re-org, I decided to start using Evernote even more, replacing other third-party apps where possible. My two big conversion projects: recipes and home inventory.

My wife’s recipe collection has gone through several digital conversions over the years: a custom-made database, to static PDF files, to a WordPress blog. Rather than continue to host a WordPress site (in addition to the one you’re reading, of course!) just for recipes, I dumped them into Evernote which, in addition to letting me drop my onerous tagging setup and give me better searching, allowed me to take advantage of the Evernote Food app. Using the Evernote Web Clipper and a custom script I wrote in an evaluation version of Automate, I was able to import over 500 recipes relatively quickly and easily.

My other import project wasn’t as easy: the home inventory. I started using What You Own, a Windows application, back in 2008 but then dumped it last March when, after I upgraded my desktop PC to an SSD, the application wouldn’t activate and the company wanted me to re-purchase a full license. I switched to the web-based Know Your Stuff, which allowed me to easily import my WYO data file and gave me a (albeit crappy, but functional) mobile app. It wasn’t an ideal system though: attaching files and photos was hit or miss, and certain quirks in the organization of different locations (like home and work) really bothered me. Evernote to the rescue! Unfortunately, my Web Clipper/Automate solution wouldn’t work on the KYS web site (the Clipper wasn’t capturing the text in edit boxes and the site structure didn’t loan itself to Automate scripting). Instead, I built a quick template in Evernote with a table to store data like the purchase date, cost, make model, serial number, etc. and then used the rest of the free form note to fill in the item’s description, attach documentation, manuals, photos, etc. Using Evernote’s tags I duplicated the “room” (master bedroom, family room, garage, etc.) and “category” (furniture, electronics, appliances, etc.) for easy organization, sorting, and searching. Yes, I had to do this manually, re-entering about 400 individual items! It took me a weekend, but on the bright side it gave me a chance to clean up and update the data so it’s nice and current now (and in Evernote).

So now my recipes and home inventory are in Evernote’s cloud, accessible from any PC or mobile device. I should probably look into how to back up all of this stuff locally, just to be safe. 😉

What else should I use Evernote for?