This post is all about smart home items that make life easier!
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WHITE SOFA | ACCENT CHAIRS | PILLOW CASES | COFFEE TABLE
The CEO Of Our Smart Home Items: Alexa
We run all of our smart home items through our Alexa. It makes it so much easier to use everything! Here are a few unique ways we use our Alexa:
- We play the song quiz game while cleaning the kitchen at night. It makes clean-up fun & actually enjoyable.
- Alexa reminds us the night before trash day, so we never forget!
- I have a daily relaxing playlist that starts playing each morning to set the vibe of our home.
- We can turn all of our lights off from bed using Alexa!
- When we want to vacuum we tell Alexa to run our vacuum for us.
We own this specific Alexa model. It has worked great for us. If I didn’t have an open concept home, I would use this Alexa to have a “TV” feature in the kitchen.
Smart Lighting: Phillips Hue Lights
Confession… these lights were something I never wanted to buy. My husband pushed for them while we were living in our apartment in the city. I caved. We bought 2 bulbs and put them in our pendant lights. I fell in love! We now have them in almost every single room in our home. Here is how we use our hue lights daily:
- We have a dimmer timer set, so when work ends, relaxation begins. So many studies have attributed better restfulness to a consistent lighting schedule. We keep the lights dim and ambient at night.
- There is an on & off schedule too! We set a “lights out” which turns all the lights off at a certain time. This is a helpful reminder that it’s time to go to sleep. (Also great for nights that you fall asleep on the couch!) The “on” setting is great for a more natural wakeup (especially if you use blackout curtains!).
- Our lights are set on a schedule when we are out of town to prevent people from knowing when we come and go.
- We use a “candlelight” feature on the lights for a warm and soft flicker affect. It’s so fun for date nights or to just make the room more moody!
We have the hue bulbs & the recessed lights/can lights. The can lights were the easiest switch out ever and the bulbs simply screw in. You can break them into separate room/sections and customize everything until your heart is content.
We’ve tried a few off-brand options, and I personally don’t reccomend them. The hue lights have lasted FOREVER for us and have consistent reliable function.
HUE LIGHT BULBS | HUE RECESSED LIGHTS
Smart Cleaning: The Roomba
This one’s definitely on the “extra” list, but truly beyond worth it. Our cleaning time has been cut in half by not having to vacuum. If we have last minute guests coming over, cleaning is 10x easier. We can also vacuum when we aren’t home. I love doing that when we’re away for a weekend, so we can come home to a clean house immediately.
You can also name your Roomba & tell Alexa to make your vacuum run. We’ve given our Roomba the title of Gerard the butler & let me tell you, he’s the hardest worker in our home.
The Most Important Smart Home Item: Ring Security System
The amount of peace this security system has given me is insane. We purchased this exact set, and I can’t reccomend it enough. I listed a few of my favorite features below:
- You can set a “home & armed” alarm or an “away & armed” alarm.
- Security cameras can be used inside or not depending on your preferences.
- The “hub” keypad allows you to call police, fire, and medical all with one button.
- We can monitor the exterior of our home with ease.
- All doors & windows will “ding” through our Alexa when opened.
- We can set an auto-answer for our doorbell if we’re working during the day.
There are tons of other benefits too. I love that we can bring the “hub” keypad to our bedside. It gives me peace of mind when I’m home alone. I also think it would be really comforting for anyone with a new baby to have immediate medical response with the press of a button! Overall, our best purchase.
We did elect to pay for the annual membership fee and will continue to!
RING SECURITY SYSTEM | RING DOORBELL
Other Life Changing Smart Home Items
- Samsung Frame TV: Completely disguise your TV as a piece of beautiful art.
- Hatch Alarm Clock: Wake up more naturally and well rested with a fading light & other features.
- PURA: Give your home a custom scent that’s completely customizable and controllable from your phone!
- Smart Plugs: Control any outlet from your phone or Alexa. Turn your lamps on and off or give yourself peace of mind that you turned your curling iron off before leaving.
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