3 Alexa Life Hacks That Will Make the Holidays Easier

Smart Assistance for a Relaxed Holiday

Since the release of the Amazon Echo, Alexa has become a household name. Currently one in six American households have a smart speaker, and that number is rapidly growing. But for those who still haven’t taken the leap to smart speaker technology, many are still wondering what the appeal is.

Below are 3 Alexa Life Hacks that will make your life easier.

Hands Free Kitchen Helper

Have you ever been busy cooking cranberry sauce on the stove and realized you forgot to set a timer for the gingerbread cookies in the oven? Okay, that’s a really specific scenario, but I’m sure you’ve been in a similar situation. Alexa works great in the kitchen as a helper with the ability to convert measurement sizes, set timers and so on. So while your hands are covered in flour you can simply say things like:

“Alexa, set a timer for ten minutes.”

“Alexa, how many tablespoons are in a cup?”

“Alexa, how much time is left on my timer?”

“Alexa, remind me to buy more eggs.”

Lights Out

So you got the children all nestled snug in their beds and your crawling into your own bed for a long winter’s nap, but suddenly you realize you left the Christmas tree lights on. There used to be a time when that meant getting back out of bed, putting on your slippers, and trudging all the way to the living room to unplug the lights. But these days, with the help of Smart Plugs, you can simply say, “Alexa, turn off the Christmas tree lights.” Isn’t that a lot easier?

This bit of home automation can be accomplished by setting up a Smart Plug and running your christmas tree lights through it. Smart Plugs are simply plug adapters that fit into your existing outlet. They connect to your home wifi network, and can be controlled from your phone to turn power on and off. Once they’re set up on your wifi network they can be identified and controlled by the Alexa App.

Change The Channel

Let’s say you have relatives over, a lot of relatives. (Don’t stress out, this is just hypothetical). People are taking up every seat in the house, and the living room is packed. Suddenly someone says, “Let’s watch a Christmas movie.” Everyone’s on board, but you can’t get to the remotes, they’re on the side table at the far corner of the living room just past a gauntlet of cramped knees and elbows. Fortunately you planned ahead, and Alexa has you covered. “Alexa, turn on the TV,” you say confidently. Your relatives ooh, and aah as the TV, beams to life – as if by magic.

In order to pull off this home automation magic you’ll need a Logitech Harmony Hub, which is a smart device that can be programmed to control your tv from an app on your phone. After it’s set up on your network, you can connect it to Alexa, and now every function on your TV remote can be accomplished through simple voice commands.