With four young children and my husband and I working full-time jobs that literally take all our time, I knew I needed to be proactive about creating systems in my household to ensure it runs like clockwork. One thing I learned from my career that translates into my home is to utilize tools that are accessible to you and can help make things easier for you. The goal is to work smarter, not harder. The following are three tools I use at home that help me do just that.

Alexa

When we were in the process of building our family home, we were given the opportunity from our builder to add a few “smart home” features and it was worth every single penny! The smart home package included being able to operate several of our home appliances to Alexa. We can operate our home thermostat and set it at different temperatures depending on the time of day or change in outside weather. We can operate all the televisions and sound system within our home. We are able to set a timer for the lights to be turned on and off. We are able do automate and do so much in our home just by saying “Alexa turn off the lights at 10 o’clock…” or “Alexa, set the oven to 400 degrees for 30 minutes.” It has made life so easy! Keep reading! At the end, I have a list of all the appliances we have connected to Alexa in our home.

Google Calendar

My husband and I have made so many failed attempts relying on our memory to accomplish certain tasks on time. We need reminders for so many things like the last day we have to return an Amazon package or to bring the trash can out before trash day. Now, we add our reminders and schedule them into our google calendar. Not only does the reminder show up on both of our phones but since our google calendar is connected to our Alexa, Alexa announces the reminder in our home. Every night at 8pm, Alexa reminds us to start our night routine with the older twins. Adding reminders in our google calendar and having Alexa alert us of those reminders have really helped us in remembering all the simple tasks that easily slip your mind.

Family Email

Having a family email that both hubby and I have access to has been the ultimate life saver. Before, emails like bills, information regarding the kids schools and doctor’s appointments have been connected only to my email. If I forget to read an email or talk to my husband about an email, it gets forgotten. Having a family email has allowed both of us to see important information instead of relying on one person to be the holder of all important information.

Technology has really come a long way in allowing our household to work smarter and not harder. What are come cool gadgets and tools your family use to manage your household? Want to see a video demonstration of how we use all these tools in our home? Comment and share this blog post and I’ll work on a video for you all!

Until next time,