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My home may have been built during the 1940s, but with the amount of technological advancements I've made, I feel like I'm living in 2140. Okay, maybe not that far in the future, but I feel like having smart home stuff is like a dream come true for the tech-obsessed child that still lives inside of me.
There are still plenty of upgrades that I want to make in the future, but these additions have made my daily life breezier. As life continues to breeze by at an incredibly fast pace, these smart-home accessories automate my day and make it feel more futuristic than I could have ever imagined.
A smart lock is an accessibility dream Plus, I know who is entering my home with just a single notificationOne of the first things I invested in when I moved into my home was a smart lock. There are plenty of reasons why a smart lock is great, but the Wyze x Lockin was a perfect investment for me. This particular smart lock doesn't need Wi-Fi, as it connects directly to my phone if I need to lock or unlock things. It provides me with notifications when someone enters my home and lets me know exactly who it is, thanks to the passcodes and profiles I've set up. But one major thing was my driving force for this—accessibility.
My brother is in a wheelchair, and I actually ended up gifting him one of these after he commented on how nice it was to use it. Rather than needing to dig out keys from his bag, turn around, lock the door, turn around again, and finally head out? He can set an auto-lock or lock it with a button on his phone. It's incredibly nice and a great piece of tech that is usable by almost everybody.
Smart plugs make old electronics new again My old ceiling light feels brand new all over again
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The house I purchased had a few additional rooms added over the years, but the room we converted into the dining room was missing one key element—a ceiling light. Eating dinner in the dark could be fun sometimes, but I can only imagine that it would lose its luster rather quickly. So, my parents gave me an old chandelier that they had. It looks great, and pairing it with a smart plug makes it plenty more useful.
Reflecting on it, this is arguably the most 'first-world problem' imaginable, but it was also incredibly frustrating to locate the manual switch and turn it on. Now, I can bark at my Gemini-powered Nest Hub and ask it to turn on the dining room light, and it's quickly illuminated. Plus, having things like the Christmas tree plugged into one of these makes the process of turning the lights on and off a breeze. Plus, they're an incredibly cost-effective way to modernize any home.
I also love smart bulbs for the same exact reason Plus, some of them change colors. How cool is that?
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Fun fact—smart bulbs are the reason why I've become obsessed with random pieces of smart home technology over the year. My parents always like to make sure that their house is lit up if they're gone after dark, especially since they have a few cats and a dog there. While they used to use the old-fashioned timers, I helped them get into the 21st century, and we've never looked back since.
If for some reason the internet goes out? That's perfectly fine, as you can still turn on your lamps the old-fashioned way and get some light. But having an automation set up to turn my lights on at a specific time, regardless of whether I'm home, is great, especially when the smart bulbs are paired with something like an internet-capable camera.
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Speaking of smart cameras, they rule
One of my favorite investments has been my smart home camera system. When we first moved in, we had a very rowdy set of neighbors across the street from us. Living in the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin, I'd rather secure my property and make sure my investment is safe, so I purchased a battery-operated floodlight/camera combo and a video doorbell. These neighbors have since moved, but my video doorbell has been incredibly handy, especially around the holiday season.
As soon as someone rings my doorbell, my Echo Dot starts to chime, and I receive a notification on my phone that someone is at the door. If I'm in my office, I can quickly peek out to see who is outside and grab a gift or a package before anyone can see it. Or if someone is coming to visit, I know exactly who is here the second they arrive, due to my outdoor camera.
A smart home purifier literally saved my life This is by far the best investment I've ever made
Credit: Shaun Cichacki/MUO
I know that the term "something I can't live without" can be a little misleading, or even a little "clickbaity" to some, but an air purifier is literally something I can't live without. I've detailed it before, but this one particular piece of equipment saved me from having asthma attacks while we were remodeling my home, as I discovered shortly after I moved in that I couldn't be in here for too long without having lung issues. But its smart features are what I appreciate the most.
At a glance, the lights on top of this machine can tell me what the air quality is like. But jumping into the VeSync app, I can see a detailed graph of when my air quality goes down, adjust settings on both my 200s and 100s models, and see how much time is left on my filter before I need to replace it.
I still have plenty of upgrades I want to make in the futureI've experimented with a lot of different smart home stuff in the past: smart electrical strips, lighting, and even robot vacuums. The quest to turn my house into the home of the future will never end, except for when it eventually gains sentience and puts a stop to what I'm doing. I joke, at least for now, but smart home technology could be a great way to make a home accessible for folks with mobility issues, or to just make your daily life a little easier.