Before children, the idea of having a personal assistant seemed like some sort of unattainable dream; a frivolous luxury even. Now, with the variety of home delivery services and the reality of trying to accomplish a to-do list with two kids, having a sort-of personal assistant is actually very accessible.

From grocery shopping to planning date nights, the internet really does have it all. Here are some ways you can add a little personal assistance to your hectic life:

Stitch Fix

I’d bet that Stitch Fix is THE most talked about subscription service among mothers. Everyone is always talking about wanting to try it or what happened when they tried it. Why does it especially suit mothers? Well, for one thing, we’ve endured months (or years) of our body changing to grow and nurture human life. Stitch Fix does a great job of accommodating this by offering maternity styles and styles suitable for nursing.

We also find ourselves realizing how much we took shopping in solitude for granted. Taking the time to shop for ourselves is near impossible when we’re dragging kids around trying to keep them contained in cramped dressing rooms.

Suddenly, getting a personal assistant to pick out my clothes seems like a necessity if I ever want to find something stylish to fit my new body.

Personally, I think we all deserve to enjoy shopping for clothes again! Plus, this method of shopping happens to suit my habit of being indecisive when I shop. With Stitch Fix, I try on an item, but I’m never sure exactly how much I like it. So, I take it off, wait a few hours (or the next day) then try again to see if I like it better or worse the second time – all from the comfort of my own home. It even gives me the time to show friends what I’m trying on and get their opinion.

Each fix has been better than the last. The last one was a clean sweep! I kept ALL 5 items (it helped that it was my birthday).

Home Chef

There are lots of meal prep subscription services out there, but Mallory, especially, has been a big fan of Home Chef.  We both enjoyed how easy and accessible their recipes are. I used it a couple of times and now I adapt the recipes on my own. Mallory used it so much, she ended up gifting the service to her family as well! It’s a very nice feeling when all of your meal prep and shopping come straight to your door in a neatly packaged box.

Wal-Mart Grocery

Continuing on the topic of groceries, my local Wal-Mart just started offering Grocery Pick-up. Oh, man. GAME. CHANGER! All you have to do is place your order online, reserve a pick-up time, and they come straight to your car with all of your groceries. Not having to drag my impatient kids into the grocery store made me want to hug the store attendant!  It doesn’t cost anything extra to utilize the service (just a $30 minimum), but I will say that I usually leave most produce off my pick-up shopping list. I’m picky about produce and they don’t necessarily choose the best looking apples.

Warby Parker

A few months ago I was in desperate need of new glasses, but most glasses really DO NOT flatter my face. I tried going to sample some frames in the store, but I ended up just swatting my kids hands away from the displays while quickly trying to swap styles on my face. I really couldn’t get a sense of what I wanted, so I left. Now was my chance to finally try Warby Parker. They send you 5 frames to sample and you choose one and they’ll send you the glasses with the correct prescription.

So, I chose 5 hip pairs, received them in the mail. Unfortunately, like I predicted, NONE looked good on me. I chose the ones that were the least offensive on my face, snapped a picture, sent it to a Warby Parker Stylist who very very politely told me why they didn’t look quite right and offered 5 new alternatives that arrived at my house a few days later. She sent me a winner!

Labor of Love Co.

There are tons of crafty/DIY boxes that you can order, but I thought I’d plug the one we tried: Labor of Love.  We tried their DIY candle kits and it was surprisingly easy! You can read more about our experience here. What are some DIY kits you have tried?

HOOT for Kids

Boxes for kids can be a lifesaver too. I got to try HOOT for Kids at a time when it was very helpful to have something to distract my oldest kid. They send age-appropriate toys hand-selected by an occupational therapist. It’s another experience you can read more about in one of our blog posts. I’m out of ideas for things to get my soon-to-be 1-year-old, and I think HOOT might help!

Services on our “to-do” list…

Date Night In

This one is on my to-do list because my husband and I rarely get out of the house for Date Night. Getting a “date night” delivered to our door might be a fun way to get intentional about spending quality time together. I’ll update you on what I find out, but let me know if you’ve already done one of these!

Ellie

Now that running is one of the activities I regularly get to do for myself, I’m very interested in getting the gear that goes with it. Ellie is a subscription service that, depending on which plan you choose, sends 3 pieces of active wear to your door OR 3 pieces of active wear plus 2 fitness accessories. It seems affordable compared to some other fitness subscription alternatives. I look forward to finding a box on my doorstep in the future.

What services have you tried lately that you’d recommend? Any services to avoid? Tell us in the comments!