Small apps made for everyday annoyances

Simone makes the boxes searchable

Simone Giertz has a familiar workshop problem: she knows she has a part, but cannot remember which box holds it. In her project video she builds a small finder: an item field and a box field feed a saved list, and a search box filters that list by item name. She enters a few supplies, saves them, then searches for a hinge and opens the box named in the result.

The first version finds the box but leaves her with two entries called screws. She adds a note field for size and includes it in the displayed results, then tries the search again. Now she can tell which box to open before pulling them both down. The useful part of the build is watching her try the first answer against the actual boxes and change what the app needs to remember.

Pulenaz makes a list that can change

Pulenaz wants to remember the food already in her fridge when she is deciding what to buy. She makes a small app with a name and a planned-use date for each item, then displays the list with the nearest date first. In her video she enters spinach and yogurt, saves them and opens the list again to see which she plans to use first.

After making a meal, she notices the spinach still appears as though it is there. She returns to the build and adds a used button that removes an item from the active list. She tests it with the spinach, then checks the remaining yogurt before her next shop and leaves another pot off her list. It is a modest fix, but the test shows why a list of what arrived also needs a way to record what has gone.

Follow the change, not just the idea

Simone’s search gets more useful when the two similar entries become distinguishable; Pulenaz’s date list becomes useful when she can keep it current. Both take a small irritation through a working first version and a change prompted by using it.