BACK TO SCHOOL POWER TIPS

BACK TO SCHOOL POWER TIPS

With the kids back in school, the after school activities are back as well. Between the PTA meetings, sports games, band practices and play rehearsals, your devices are probably getting more of a work out than you are! When you are constantly taking pictures, getting directions, listening to music, checking email, making phone calls, checking in on Facebook, and most importantly looking at what your friends have pinned on Pinterest – your phone is DOA!!

If you do your research, you will find a whole list of how to keep your phone battery usage low to save that power. You will find ideas like turn the vibrate mode off, stop using certain features on your phone (like GPS), turn off your wi-fi, keep calls short or just turn the phone off. Hmmm… isn’t this why you bought your phone in the first place - to do all of those things that drains your battery? Lucky for us, Goal Zero has the perfect portable power pack option to keep our devices going and keep us powered all the way through the very last note of the fall concert. My favorite portable power supply that keeps my cell phone running longer than me is the Goal Zero Switch 8. This little pack has 8 wonderful watts of power. To you and me, this translates into 1 extra life for my smart phone. It comes with a USB charging cord which I just plug into my USB wall plug at night, then I toss the battery in my purse in the morning and I am good to go. The battery is a whopping 0.2 lbs! It can also be charged off the Nomad 7 Portable Solar Panel.

For those of you that would like more bang for your buck, the Sherpa 50 portable power pack is my next fav. This one will give my cell phone 7 full lives. For the times I need to do a little heavier work while I am waiting for flute lessons to end, the Sherpa will give my laptop 1 full life. The Sherpa 50 even comes with some handy laptop tips so you can charge directly to your laptop and not worry if you happened to forget your wall charger. It can also be charged with a portable solar panel, The Nomad 13.

This extra power allows me to work through the day, then sit at symphony practice and take pictures that will most likely end up embarrassing my daughter well into the future! All joking aside, between mine and my husband’s work schedules, there are times when one of us does not get to make it to the symphony concert. The extra power that Goal Zero gives my devices allows my family to capture the moments that make memories. When my daughter has a solo, it can be captured forever. I never have to worry about getting out my phone to record the moment that will make her a star and see that little red line on my battery life. After the concert I can smile as big as she is because I get the “best mom award” for remembering to record her good side!! Rebecca oversees the Goal Zero Share the Sun Program while still managing to be an amazing mom.

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