Thank you Amazon Devices & Services for sponsoring this post.
After moving to Argentina, moving out of Argentina and then living out of an overweight suitcase for 3.5 years, my focus wasn’t exactly on making a house a home. After all, I didn’t even have one. It wasn’t until October of this year that my boyfriend and I moved into our first house together, and all to ourselves!
Due to these new and beautiful life circumstances alongside my endless travels, I needed a bit more security – both for my mind and my home. The thought of leaving packages at my front door for weeks on end was beginning to make me anxious – something I hadn’t had to deal with until now. Here are a few gadgets that have put my mind at ease while I’m away!
Ring Doorbell
If you haven’t seen all those cute ads showcasing this unique take on the age old doorbell, well…maybe you don’t watch that much TV. In any case, I’m obsessed with Ring Video Doorbell because I’m able to answer my door by either 1) staying inside my home office 2) traveling in another country or 3) shopping at the grocery store and the list goes on and on. I can literally answer the door/talk to someone standing outside my door/check-in on home from ANYWHERE. For example, I was recently in Switzerland and had lots of Christmas packages delivered. I was able to answer the delivery man’s ring from halfway across the world and advise him to put the package behind the gate to avoid porch pirates. Gosh I love technology.
Smart Plugs
I recently discovered just how cool these Amazon smart plugs really are. I’m able to control whatever is plugged into them by just simply using Alexa voice commands and the Alexa mobile app. Think coffee makers, fans, lights, etc. I’ve connected these plugs to my Alexa App and created a “routine,” (a list of commands to control my home). When I’m away, I have the plug turn on/off lights (even a Christmas tree!) at a certain time in order to make it look like someone’s home when in fact…I’m halfway across the world.
Echo Show
I *adore* my Amazon Echo Show. I love when one thing does a lot of different things (hey versatility!) and this little thing is a speaker, TV, and phone all rolled into one cute little Alexa-enabled device. My favorite feature is Guard Mode because when I leave home, I set my Echo Show guard mode to Away mode. That way, if my Echo device detects the sound of smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, or glass breaking, Alexa promptly sends me an alert to my phone. This is also helpful while we’re at home, of course. When the weather changed this winter, I turned on the heater and my carbon monoxide detector immediately sounded. Had I been away, guard mode would’ve detected it 🙂 I feel so much better going away now that these devices are set in place!
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