When we moved to Texas from Kansas City 3 years ago, it gave Mark the opportunity to design our home automation from scratch. Mark put a ton of thought into outlets and lighting and cameras and TVs, but he left Alexa to me. So she got used strictly as a kitchen timer for a few months.
Now, I’m a pretty tech-savvy gal, but when he said he wanted to use me as a test case for what I could do with Alexa, I was…let’s say nonplussed. We have a 5-year old, 2 dogs and 2 fish, and both of us work, so we are your typical busy, messy home. Mama is tired.
Anyway, after a moderate amount of complaining, I started my mapping the lights so I could use Alexa to turn them on and off. I set up a Good Morning routine that turns the kitchen and living room lights on and tells me the weather. Good Night turns off all the lights in the kitchen and living room (and also works from the bathroom Alexa if you’re scared of the dark. Just me?) Then maybe I had a wine or two, because I set up Mommy Time that dims all the lights to 17%. Mood lighting!
Now, before I had a kid I could remember everything. Mind like a steel trap. Once I had a kid, and ESPECIALLY since COVID happened, I feel like Dory. (People without kids, Google it.) I could not remember to make my kid brush her teeth, and when I did, she wanted to argue about it. So, I turned to Alexa. I set a reminder at 7:10 every morning and 8:10 every night to tell G to brush. Poof! No more forgetting, and BONUS - G can’t argue with Alexa. And when I was concerned she wasn’t brushing long enough, I added a skill called “Chompers” that tells funny jokes and stories while kids brush their teeth for the full 2 minutes. (You can get it through Spotify now.)
Did I mention my kid uses her Echo Dot as an alarm clock? I also hooked it to my calendar so family events (swim lessons, birthdays, days when we are traveling) show up on the screen. And the “drop in” feature is nice when you need to call everyone to dinner. Or scare them from the other room. Whatever.
And then we got the fish. I do not like fish, but G loooovvveesss them. Taco and Oreo are all right, I guess. But you have to remember to feed them. Fish fact: They don’t whine at you when they’re hungry like dogs do, so you can easily forget them. So, I set up another routine that just says “Feed the fish” at 6 PM each day and nobody gets hurt.
There have been a few fails, like forgetting to set the alarm routine to not go off on Saturdays and Sundays…or trying to set a sleep timer on some music in G’s room (which just set a real timer for 60 minutes called “Sleep” that had been going off for WHO KNOWS HOW LONG when Mark heard it.)
All in all, I think we are better off for all the little things it helps us do. And even some of the fails too - mostly so Mark can make fun of me. Eventually, I’d like to get the dogs in on this with an automated doggy door and dog feeders that I could control with Alexa. I still use her as a kitchen timer too - I can’t let her forget where she came from.
You can always reach out Sheila@TexasAH.com if there’s something you’d like me to try with Alexa. I have no shame anymore.
And if you’re programming your own, just remember - use it for good, not for evil.
Sheila