4 smart home updates i made this spring
Now that Shawn and I primarily work from home, I’ve been thinking about different ways to make our home more efficient for everyday living. We’ve made quite a few updates to our home over the last year because of this. It’s nice because it shows our willingness to evolve and make changes to support our current circumstances. Home is forever evolving for all of us!
This spring, I teamed up with Amazon and chose a few Alexa and Ring devices to update my space. I’m so excited for this collab because I truly love their smart home devices! I love that they are not only aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but they benefit us and our overall experience at home as well.
We’ve always wanted a because of the amount of traffic we have at our home and around our property. Since my blog is my business, I also have a lot of packages coming and going haha! It’s nice to be able to monitor the front steps from my Echo Show 10 or the Ring App on my phone to see when packages come and if visitors arrive, rather than watching the door and waiting for both! I also love that Ring offers wireless, battery-operated and hardwired options for their doorbells, too.
A few of my family members have Ring devices and they’ve always shared positive things about theirs, so I did have that feedback to go off of when choosing mine! What I personally loved most about my experience so far is how easy it was to install. I didn’t have to hire anyone, and it literally took me about 15 minutes total to set everything up!
For us, design is always an important element in our home – whether I’m talking about decor or technology! Ring WINS in this area. I absolutely love that you can switch out the faceplates and change colors! You can see more faceplate colors IRL on my Tiktok, here!
I switch up my doorstep at least 1-2 times per season and I love that I can switch out the colors with the seasons. How adorable is this green color for spring?!
My favorite of all of our smart upgrades is definitely my new Echo Show 10. It looks so beautiful and elegant in our kitchen!
I am always watching videos and tutorials so rather than having my phone screen, I now use my Echo Show 10! Now, Alexa tells me when packages are arriving, and I can see and talk to the delivery driver directly from my Echo Show 10 by using the Ring Skill and my Ring Video Doorbell.
It’s super useful - especially when I’m already busy multitasking in the kitchen, since the screen moves with me! And, whenever I’m looking for a little recipe inspiration, I can just ask Alexa to find recipes for whatever we’re craving then add any necessary grocery items directly to my shopping list. Shawn loves it for the sports updates, time, weather, and the kitchen timer. There’s also this really fun game (an Alexa Skill) I play called ‘Escape the Room’. Alexa describes the room and you try to get out, like a literal escape room! I think it will be so fun to play while hosting.
Lastly, my new Echo Dots! These fit in so well with the decor in our home. I added an Echo Dot to the bathroom and I use it to play music when I shower and to play nature sounds for my plants. I’ve read that it encourages their growth!
I also added a new Echo Dot in our office. It’s perfect, because someone is always in our office so we can utilize it throughout the day, whether we’re organizing our week with Alexa calendars, making announcements for lunch, Dropping In on the kitchen, or other requests we bring to Alexa, haha! PRO tip: The bottom turns yellow when Alexa has a notification for you, so you can keep up with your packages and any updates!
We’re so happy with all of our smart home updates and love how they’ve improved our overall experience in our home. At the end of the day, that’s what is most important! For more ideas on how to reset your home this spring, check out these Alexa Picks. Which device(s) would you choose to update your home this spring? Let me know in the comments!
SOURCES
Ring Video Doorbell 3 Faceplates
Echo Dot with Clock- Glacier White