Technology has brought the world of convenience to our fingertips. With a few taps on our phones, we can hail cabs, book hotels, and make restaurant reservations. And yet, when it comes to certain industries, there is still room for improvement.
Though self-storage is estimated to be a $22 billion per year market, storing our physical stuff is still a total headache. First, you have to pack your boxes; then, you have to load them into your car and drive them to a facility, followed by paperwork and lugging your boxes up several stories high. Once you're home safe and happy everything is packed, it's impossible to remember what you stored away, and, to top it all off when you ultimately want to go back to get something, more often than not you don't because - let's face it - you don't want to deal with the hassle. To address this issue, one ambitious startup wants to do for self-storage what uber did for taxis. There are also apps to manage your schedule, do your laundry, deliver your groceries, and run your errands. Suffice it to say, the trend of convenience is on the rise.
Below is a list of five great startups aiming to make our lives a little easier:
1. For storage: Clutter (www.clutter.io) For those who wish to stash away seasonal clothes, organize closets and garages, or just feel the sense of relief that comes from cleaning out one’s space, Clutter is the ideal solution. Using the iPhone app, users can have reusable storage boxes delivered right to their doorstep, photograph the items they are packing so they always know what they have in storage, and schedule their boxes to be picked up and stored securely by trusted Clutter employees. Currently the service is only in Los Angeles, but will soon be launching nationwide.
2. For errands: TaskRabbit (www.taskrabbit.com) This service allows users to request help fulfilling a specific task from other people who live in their neighborhood. Whether it’s walking their dog, fixing a leaky faucet, or sewing their child’s Halloween costume - there’s a TaskRabbit for that. Users can post task descriptions, set a price or request bids, and their TaskRabbit (who’s already been vetted and background-checked) will do the rest. It’s a personal valet for the everyman.
3. For scheduling: Donna (don.na) Donna is like having your own private secretary. Currently available for the iPhone, this app syncs with your calendars and contacts to keep you organized, but goes one step further by accounting for the details we tend to overlook, such as travel time with traffic or weather, and notifies you accordingly.
4. For laundry: Washio (www.getwashio.com) Nobody likes doing laundry. Fortunately, now there’s Washio. Currently a web-based service with apps coming for iPhone and Android soon, Washio offers 24 hour turnaround on eco-friendly laundry and dry cleaning services. Like Clutter, Washio currently serves Los Angeles, but will be launching in select cities over the coming months. Goodbye laundry day, hello free time!
5. For groceries: AmazonFresh (fresh.amazon.com) Amazon admittedly doesn’t qualify as a startup, but their new AmazonFresh service, currently available in Seattle and Los Angeles, has the potential to be so revolutionary in the convenience app sector that I couldn’t leave it off the list. For busy families or workaholics, the prospect of taking care of grocery shopping from their computer or smartphone is a huge time saver. Subscribers can place orders any time, save grocery lists for future reference, see past purchases, and search for recipes, and have your order delivered within 24 hours. With Amazon’s network of fulfillment centers expanding across the country, AmazonFresh is promising to be convenience at its best.
