You want to do more when you have a smart home. Well, you really want to do less, which is why you put devices around your house that make your life simpler. Setting up your smart home is a satisfying endeavor, if you want to go down the path. Some people have no interest in having a smart home while others go all-in and automate practically every part of their life.

Most of us are somewhere in the middle. Maybe the extent to which you have gone is having a smart speaker. Maybe you’ve got a few smart bulbs and a motion sensor that triggers some of them. Wherever you land on the spectrum, you should consider using your smart home for some routines. These are ones that you can set up, forget, and enjoy daily.

My smart plug makes my tea each day

This one makes my morning smoother

I’m a tea drinker and love having a cup to start my day. I realized that part of the morning that was slowing me down was heating up the water, letting the tea bag steep, and then enjoying it. By the time I’d pick up the tea again after it was done steeping, the tea would be cold because I was running around, getting my kids up, making them breakfast, and helping them get off to school.

The switch I made to upend this bad routine was adding a smart plug into the equation. I plugged my SMEG electric tea kettle into the smart plug and began setting up my tea preparation the night before. From then on, I’ve filled up the kettle before I go to bed, turned off the power to the smart plug, and pushed the plunger down on the kettle.

Then, I set a routine for the smart plug to turn on at 7 AM. This way, my alarm goes off, and I can go downstairs to let the dog out and feed him and by the time I get down there, the water is already boiling. Automating this part of my morning routine has saved me time and allowed me to ensure I’m drinking my tea when it’s still warm.

I’ve used multiple smart plugs in the past and almost any on the market can set a schedule, so setting up this smart routine doesn’t rely on a hub or anything like that. This is one that anybody can do.

My lights are triggered by motion

It helps my peace of mind

Another product I’ve tested a number of is motion sensors. These can be used as a part of many smart routines, as they can act as triggers for other actions. They are the middle portion of an automation at their core.

Motion sensors are useful and do just what they say by detecting motion that’s around them. But just because it detects motion doesn’t mean it only sends your phone a notification that something has passed by it. It can connect to other smart devices, like lights or alarms, and set them off as well.

Think of them as a bridge to other actions. I have a routine and automations set up that when someone moves past my Ring Video Doorbell, the lights on the front steps turn on. This is a simple if/then automation that lets the person coming to the front steps see better, and lets me see who is on the front steps if it is dark out.

Knowing I have a video camera on my doorbell helps because I want good lighting to see who is outside. While the night vision works well enough, it’s never a bad idea to have more light.

Motion sensors also show me the feed

This is another step on my safety journey

Another way that I use my Ring Video Doorbell is by syncing it with my Amazon Echo Show 8 speaker. That way, any time there is motion in front of the door, the lights go on and the feed for the doorbell automatically shows up on the speaker.

When I upgraded to the Echo Show 8, I did so because I liked the larger screen and the ability to stream a live video feed from my cameras. The Echo Show 8 is also a Thread Border Router that helps connect devices across my home and has proven to be a device my smart home can run through.

With the Ring feed popping up, anybody in the kitchen can pass by it and see what’s going on. This has come in handy when the doorbell has been rung and nobody has heard it. But the person happened to be walking by the Echo Show speaker and noticed the feed.

I set my smart lock to lock at a certain time

This is because I forgot to check the front door one time

Credit: Chris Hachey / MakeUseOf

I have a Yale Smart Lock on my front door. I installed it when we moved in, as we realized we didn’t know how many people had a spare key from the previous owner of our homes.

Rather to be safe than sorry, we popped in the smart lock into the deadbolt and haven’t looked back. I like being able to check to see if the front door is locked from the Yale app on my phone. It has come in handy more than once, as my wife was upset that I once forgot to lock the door at night and it was the one time someone rang our doorbell late.

So, what I did was set a timer on my smart lock to lock itself every night at 10 PM. This way, I wouldn’t risk ever forgetting again and going to bed with the door unlocked.

If the door is already locked, nothing happens and it’s all fine. But if it’s not, it locks itself and I don’t have to worry. The only time that this might be an issue is if I happen to be outside at 10 PM and get locked out. But the chances of that happening are slim, as I rarely hang out in my front yard that late and there is a keypad on the front of the door that allows me to manually open the door.

I set up Vacation Mode any time I leave town

My lights pop and flash for me

Credit: Jonathon Jachura / MUO

If I’m going away for a while, I set up Vacation Mode with my smart light bulbs. This means that they will randomly turn the lights on for brief periods of time during regular hours.

It wouldn’t work well if the lights were randomly turning on at 3 AM, so mine cycles lights on and off during normal business hours and then early evening. It’s just like using an outlet timer that plugs into the wall and you plug your device into it, except the Wi-Fi-controlled lights can be accessed with my phone.

Sometimes, I change the colors away from warm white just to liven up the experience for anyone passing by. But Vacation Mode is mainly used to make it look like I’m home when I’m really not. I don’t know if this has ever scared away any intruders, but it’s possible.

Routines can provide a sense of security

Setting up smart home routines is simple and doesn’t require much planning ahead. You can let the device take advantage of its abilities, which lets you focus on other aspects of your home. Using smart home devices as triggers as well as focal points of your smart home is a smart investment.

Integrations

Matter

Dimensions

1.57″D x 2.62″W x 1.5″H

The Kasa Matter Smart Plug comes in a pack of two and can be controlled with various ecosystems. These monitor energy as well.