GoKawiilMitja Rutnik / Android Authority
A few months ago, I decided to take my household management to the next level. I’d already gotten pretty good at keeping up with the basic chores, but I needed a system to track our family calendar, family goals, and household inventory. Plus, I wanted a way to customize the experience for my family, pets, and the actual number of rooms in my house.
I tried several existing household apps, and a few came close to what I was looking for. Still, I wanted something completely tailored to my situation, not just something “close enough.” That got me thinking: could I make my own solution? Plenty of people are already using AI tools to learn programming, or for simple vibe coding, so I dove in with Claude to see what I could build, what walls I’d hit, and whether this could be a better fit for my needs.
There were a few ways to go about this, but I started with the simplest: a progressive web app. Below, I’ll walk through how I built it, what it does that other solutions can’t, and where this approach falls short.
Have you ever used Claude or another AI to make a customized app? 25 votes Yes, I've found this super useful actually 52 % I've tried, but wasn't all that impressed by the results 4 % No, I have never done this but I am interested now 32 % No, I'd rather jump right into making a real Android app personally 12 %
Why I didn’t use an existing chore and household app
You might wonder why I didn’t just use one of the many chore or household management apps that I tried out. I came close, actually. I played around with Cozi Family Organizer, OurHome, Sweepy, and a few other apps, trying to find the perfect solution. Some of these apps were nearly what I was looking for, but there was always something missing.
Sweepy has a highly customizable chores list that lets you add unique tasks and rooms to truly tailor it to your home, plus a decent calendar system. What you won’t find is a household inventory feature. Cozi comes closer there with a solid shopping list system, but this side of the app is more of an “add tasks manually” sort of affair. What I wanted was a list already filled in with common household products that I could then modify to my exact needs. The other problem I ran into is that some of the better features required a subscription or premium upgrade.
I soon realized that most of what I wanted already existed, just not in any one app. So I set out to merge my favorite features into a single household management app. It’s been months since, and I use my custom app nearly every day. I’ve gone through many iterations now, but I still consider the whole thing a work in progress. That’s what I love about it. If I find something else I’d like to handle, I don’t have to wait for a developer to decide to add a feature, as I have the power to update my custom app at will.
How I built my household management app
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