5 Smart Tools That Help Make Your Daily Routines Easier

Inside: Consider using some of these smart tools that make your daily routines easier by helping to automate processes in your home.

A guest post by Evelyn Long

Some days, it feels like your family is moving from one task to the next on repeat. Get the kids ready, remember the bags, lock the doors, tidy up, get everyone home, and somehow keep track of everything else on your list.

The right tools can take some of those little jobs off your plate. Smart devices can handle repetitive tasks, keep useful information close by, and make everyday routines easier to manage. 

Here are five smart tools that make your daily routines easier and help busy families keep things running smoothly.

5 Smart Tools That Make Your Daily Routines Easier

Consider using some of these smart tools that make your daily routines easier. Reducing friction with your habits will save you time and energy.

1. Smart Lighting Makes Morning and Bedtime Routines Simpler

Lighting can support family routines in small but useful ways. Smart lights can follow schedules, respond to motion or voice commands, and work as part of simple automated scenes. That lets you set up lighting around the moments when your family tends to need it most.

For instance, bedroom lights can help the whole family get ready for bed easily. Philips Hue, a smart lighting product line owned by Signify N.V., explains, “Your lights will gradually transition to warm, red tones and slowly dim until they’re off, mimicking the natural setting of the sun.”

Its Hue Bridge Pro connects smart bulbs and accessories, supports more than 150 lights and multiple accessories, and can use motion detection to trigger lighting. The starter kit includes four color-capable bulbs with adjustable white light and color options.

You can use similar automation earlier in the day. Entry lights can switch on around your usual arrival time, and hallway lights can respond to motion at night. Lights can switch off after everyone leaves in the morning, so you have fewer rooms to check before heading out.

2. Smart Garage Door Systems Make Coming and Going Easier

Smart garage door openers can make daily departures and arrivals easier. You can open or close the door remotely, receive activity notifications, and check its status from your phone.

Models with built-in cameras also give you more ways to check on things around your home as you’re rushing to get out the door. Parents can glance at the garage feed to check on their children who are eager to get to school, and pet owners can keep an eye on their furry friends if they’re enjoying a solo run around the yard.

Video monitoring can also help protect the garage as a secondary entry point to your home. Garage door experts from LiftMaster with Clopay say, “garage door openers help protect this vulnerable access point with advanced security features designed to prevent unauthorized access and deter intruders.”

Many reliable smart garage door systems with integrated video surveillance now let you see and respond to activity in real time. For example, LiftMaster’s 84505R pairs a built-in camera with two-way audio.

Through the myQ app, you can view a live feed and communicate with your kids or other family members in the garage.

3. Robot Vacuums Handle One More Repetitive Chore

Floor cleaning is one of those household jobs that keeps coming back, especially when you have kids or pets. A robot vacuum can handle some of that repetition by cleaning on a schedule, which means you can focus on other tasks. 

These vacuums now come with various features to make your life easier, such as mapping, scheduled cleaning, automatic charging, and obstacle detection. Mapping helps the vacuum learn your home’s layout, and obstacle detection helps it move around furniture and everyday objects.

Automatic charging lets it return to its dock when the battery gets low, so you don’t have to remember to recharge it yourself. Robot vacuums are a great cleaning tool that saves you time and energy.

You can schedule cleaning for a time when everyone is at school and work, or set it to run after dinner when crumbs and other messes tend to collect. Once the schedule is set, vacuuming is no longer a job you need to remember.

4. Smart Thermostats Keep Temperature Changes Off Your To-Do List

Temperature adjustments can become another small decision during a busy day. A smart thermostat can handle some of that work through schedules, occupancy sensing, and remote controls.

You can set different temperatures for mornings, afternoons, and evenings, then let the thermostat follow your routine automatically.

For example, you might set a weekday schedule around school and work hours, with the temperature changing before everyone returns home. Since these thermostats usually come with remote controls, you can easily adjust when plans change, and your usual schedule doesn’t fit your family’s needs anymore.

As a bonus, a smart thermostat can help you save energy. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Star-certified smart thermostats shave heating and cooling costs by 8%, or $50 annually.

5. Smart Locks Simplify Who Can Get Into Your Home

Smart locks can make home access easier when several people come and go throughout the week. Instead of keeping track of physical keys, you can use keypad entry, temporary access codes, or an app to unlock the door. Some systems can send notifications when someone enters or let you lock the door remotely.

That can come in handy when your babysitter arrives before you get home, a family member needs to stop by, or your child gets home from school ahead of you. You can provide access without arranging a key exchange, then update or remove the code later.

“Keyless electronic locks not only make your day-to-day more convenient but offer peace of mind when you’re away,” Schlage, a well-known manufacturer of residential and commercial door locks, notes. The company’s Schlage Encode Plus lets you manage unique access codes, check the lock status, and lock or unlock the door remotely through its app.

The ability to manage your home from your phone can be useful when you’re already at work, running errands, or away with the family. In addition, the unique user codes mean you can grant someone access while you’re away without giving them a spare key.

Many smart locks can support Apple Home Key as well, which lets you use a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch to lock the door.

Let Your Home Do Some of the Busywork with Smart Tools

Household friction usually comes from dozens of small tasks that repeat every day. If you’re not sure which tool to add to your home first, start by identifying the part of your routine that causes the most delays, forgotten tasks, or unnecessary trips.

Then choose one tool that addresses that specific problem. The best household tools quietly handle routine jobs, so your family has fewer things to remember.

Are you using any of these smart tools that make your daily routine easier? Let us know in the comments section below.

Sign up on the form below to get weekly decluttering and simplifying inspiration sent straight to your inbox. You’ll also get the free 8 Quick Wins for Decluttering Worksheet to help you start to simplify your life today.