Life

The One App All Work From Home People Should Have

by Brianna Wiest
yongyuan/E+/Getty Images

Though modern technology has made life a scene from The Jetsons compared to our standard of living even just 10 years ago, there are still some pesky perils here and there, which is why things like this app that lets your neighbors receive packages you ordered online when you're not home are so important — it may be a simple concept, but it will save you a serious headache. The app eNeighbr helps you enlist trustworthy people and businesses to receive your shipments when you can't make it to the door, and it's going to be your next biggest lifesaver.

If you've ever been in the terribly annoying position of having a package shipped back to its sender or missing it at your door time and time again because you forgot to mark that you don't want a signature (or worse, because it's expensive and you do need a signature, but can't wait around at your door for three to eight hours a day) you'll understand why this is important. ENeighbr will help you connect to reliable people and businesses who are willing to receive your packages when you're not around. You can sign up through the platform's app or site, and find hosts based on location and availability.

The concept of this app is a sibling to things like Uber or AirBnB — the "sharing economy," where individuals provide services and members are asked to rank and rate said services so you have a customer-verified account of how trustworthy these people really are. And if you were wondering what the incentive would be for those who are simply receiving the packages, the answer is a few extra bucks here and there. Users pay a fee of $3.99 per delivery, and $3.50 of that goes to the person who is accepting the packages. Because it's like a small business more than it is just a matter of goodwill, it's an additional incentive for hosts to ensure that the packages arrive to their owners safely and securely.

If the idea of having your (possibly very important) packages sent to strangers unnerves you a little, there are other options. Apps like Slice will track your packages automatically, and Doorman will actually function as a middleman, allowing you to schedule a window for delivery at a time when you can be home to receive it. The latter is available in major cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, while unfortunately eNeighbr is currently limited to select neighborhoods in NYC — though they do have plans to expand to the rest of the city, and San Fran is up next on their list of places to conquer with more effective, economically sustaining life hacks you never knew you needed.

Images: bojanstory/E+/Getty Images; eNeighbr (2)