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Boost Your Home’s IQ With Smart Devices

  • By 7052540994
  • 25 Jan, 2018
Boost Your Home’s IQ With Smart Devices
You’ve probably been hearing the phrase “smart home” quite a lot lately. The Internet of Things is rapidly expanding into everything from thermostats to toasters. And it’s not all frivolous, some of these are genuinely useful, like getting an alert on your phone when the washer or dryer are done so you can remember to switch them out.

Since it’s winter, and exterior home improvements are probably out of the question, why not take a look around the house and see where you can add some smart home conveniences? Ok, so maybe you don’t need a new washer or dryer right now, but you can add the conveniences of smart home devices in lots of ways. Here are just a few of the best devices that popped up in the last year:

Amazon Echo Show ($229): This is the perfect kitchen smart device. Having your cookbooks and cooking videos up on the screen, or asking Alexa to set a timer or read the next part of the recipe to you because your hands have more egg-and-breadcrumb-coating than the chicken makes cooking easier to manage. It also integrates with things like wifi baby monitors, smart thermostats, front door cameras, and much more, which extends its capabilities.

Nest Thermostat E ($169):The thermostat that kicked off the smart home industry is still one of the best in the game. In addition to programmable schedules and the ability to modify your home’s temp from your smartphone from anywhere, it also learns heating and cooling patterns in your home to further optimize for efficiency. The Nest app also comes with some handy features like energy usage history and tips on improving your energy use.

Smart Plugs ($50 - $150): There are a variety of wifi connected smart plugs on the market that allow you to control the power to anything plugged into them from your phone or a remote. These are especially handy in older homes where retrofitting switches or lighting can be a major job. Many of these smart plugs can also be scheduled so that your lights automatically turn on and off at specific times, which is handy when you’re away from home for extended periods of time.

The home of the future is available today and improving fast. Start integrating these little conveniences, and pretty soon you’ll wonder how you ever went without them!
By 7052540994 03 Mar, 2020

Easter Sunday occurs this year on April 12th. If you are one of many families that celebrate by giving Easter Baskets to children, you may be working on them now. Smaller kids are easy, as they tend to get excited about any little snack or trinket that is offered to them. However, if you have an older child or teen that you give an Easter basket to, you may be struggling with ideas. Older children typically don’t have much use for stuffed animals, bubbles, or Play-Doh. So, what can you get them without going overboard?

1.      Hat Basket – One popular idea is a hat basket. Find a baseball style hat that they would like (a favorite sports team, a funny saying, or something else they like), turn it upside-down and fill it with their favorite treats. The hat won’t hold a lot, so no need to get much. Just a couple favorite snacks, maybe a small gift card and call it good. Simple and useful. Some hats will work better than others so double check that you will be able to put what you need into it before purchasing.

2.      Shower/Pamper Basket - If your teen or older child isn’t into baseball hats, try a bag of shower goodies. Use a make-up or shower bag as your “basket” and fill it with items they will use. Bath bombs, lotions, shower shoes, and nail files are a few ideas.

3.      Starbucks Basket/Cup - Another fun idea for a teen who likes Starbucks is to get them a Starbucks thermos for their “basket” and fill it with a Starbucks gift card and perhaps a small traditional Easter treat.

4.      Artist Basket – If you have an artsy teen or child you can make them an art basket. Use a crate lined with fabric or felt (to hold the supplies in it) and fill it with a few art items. Try blank canvases, paints, brushes, molding clay, felt, decorative cutting scissors, or whatever their art preferences are.

5.      College basket – For a teen leaving for college you can create a basket with college essentials. For a few ideas you can use headphones/ear buds, a daily planner, USB flash drives, a reusable water bottle, and don’t forget a gift that displays the logo for the college of their choice (a keychain, hat, or coffee mug would work).

6.      Fishing Basket – If you have a child who likes to fish, you can use a tackle box or fishing net for your basket and fill it with Easter treats and fishing gear. Swedish fish gummies, gummy worms, bug spray, sun block, lures, and other fishing gear are a few ideas to get you started.

These are just a few ideas for a teen or older child. There are many other ideas to help you out. Pinterest is a good place to check if none of these seem to work for your child. You can always keep it simple and do a traditional basket with Easter treats and throw in a small gift card to their favorite store. Happy Easter!

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