This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Husqvarna Automower for IZEA Worldwide. All opinions are 100% mine.
This is a sponsored post, but there are no affiliate links in this post. I’m just sharing the products we love! We have collected these devices over the last few years (my husband loves tech!), so I’m definitely not saying to buy them all at once! See what would help your life the most and start with that one!
Raise your hand if summer is your favorite time of year! Me!!! And even though it feels like it should be relaxing, it feels just as busy as, if not more than, the school year with all the reunions, activities, swim lessons, family gatherings, BBQs, etc. With only a few months of warm weather, it feels like GO TIME! My kids have only been out of school fr 2 weeks and I’m tired already!
I want to enjoy my summer with my kids rather than be stressed about all the housework that isn’t being done because we’re out having fun. I want to have some time to finally read those books on my dresser. And I want to work on some house projects that have been on my to do list forever. So there are a couple of things that we’ve added to our daily routine to help automate our summer so the work happens all on its own.
Automower
Did you know there are automatic lawn mowers??? We recently got a Husqvarna Automower and it is awesome! It runs when we want it to and cuts all our lawn all on its own. We can control it from an app and it keeps our yard neat and short even when we’re gone on vacation! And we don’t have to spend our Saturdays mowing the lawn! Instead we can work on the house projects we want to or go on a fun outing.
One of my favorite features of the Automower is that it’s absolutely quiet. You have no idea that it’s cutting. It’s also very child friendly. There are only 3 blades that are hidden underneath a disc so if it were to run over any little shoes, it’s totally fine. It’s also very gentle and if it bumps into toys or kids, it just backs up and turns the other way.
The Husqvarna Automower also comes with an alarm so you don’t have to worry about it roaming all over your yard unprotected. It also goes back to it’s charging station all on its own! Once it’s installed and set up, you just let it go and your lawn looks great all summer!
Pros: Keeps your lawn neat and short all the time! Safe for kids, protected with an alarm, and runs and charges all on its own! It’s also cutting just a small amount of the grass so it’s always mulching which is healthy for your lawn.
Cons: It doesn’t quite get to the edge so you do still have to edge your lawn. It can also ruin things it will run over like small toys or a hose. We know from experience, so just make sure all the little things are off your lawn when it mows.
Robotic Vacuum
Speaking of self charging machines, my husband bought me a robotic vacuum for Mother’s Day. I spent so much time vacuuming and sweeping with 5 little kids. No matter how many times I tell the kids that we don’t eat in the living room, there is constantly crumbs on the living room floor! I was vacuuming at least once a week, but honestly, I probably should have been vacuuming every day. But who has time for that? Not this momma.
So every night, we pick up the floor and the vacuum turns on and goes. It’s also controlled from my phone so it will alert me if it gets stuck or needs to be emptied. Then every morning I wake up to freshly vacuumed floors!
Pros: Vacuums multiple floor surfaces and can run as often as you like! You’ll have fresh vacuum lines and clean floors every day! No more sweeping or vacuuming!
Cons: You do have to make sure everything is picked up off your floor when it runs (which you should do when you vacuum anyway) and this specific model doesn’t mop, but you can get a mopping one that’s more expensive.
Google Hub
We love our Google Hub. I know a lot of people have Alexa’s, but being named Alexis, that doesn’t quite work for our family. 😉 In fact, my parents have an Alexa and call it Alexis all the time. Ha! Actually, we’re just big fans of Google, but whether you have a Google Hub or an Alexa, you can program it to be connected to your smart devices to turn things on and off for you. Ours turns our TV on and off which is so helpful when you can’t find your remote! Which is all the time at my house. It can also tell my kids stories, play sounds that help them fall asleep, and I add things to my grocery list all the time!
Pros: We love all of its features – it plays music, turns the TV on and off, puts things on my grocery list, broadcasts to other Google Home devices around the house, etc.
Cons: Sometimes it doesn’t hear me very well and I have to get close to it. It sometimes has a hard time knowing what music I’m asking for or finding a specific playlist on Spotify.
Auto Door Lock
We recently bought an August smart lock. I love that we can all get in the house without a key! And it automatically locks a few minutes after the door is shut so we don’t have to worry about locking it. I can also control it from my phone which is great for when people need to get in and I’m not there! My mom was coming over the other day and I wasn’t quite home yet. I just gave her the code to get it. I could also unlock it right from my phone!
Pros: You don’t need a key to get into your house so your kids always have a way in and you don’t have to take your keys when you leave the house. It automatically locks when you leave.
Cons: Our front door sometimes isn’t shut all the way and it still tries to lock. Most of the time it just beeps at you, but sometimes it tries to lock and leaves a mark on the door jam. It also is not automatically set to low power mode for the batteries. Make sure you do this on the app or the batteries run out super fast!
Nest
And finally, we have a Nest that controls the temperature of our home. Anyone else struggle with setting the normal thermostats? I feel like I could never get it to stay at the right temperature! But a Nest is so easy to use. And it knows when nobody is home and will turn up the temp to help save money and energy! It automatically adjusts to our lifestyle all on it’s own. And if it’s too warm or too cold, I can just quickly turn the nob.
Pros: Automatically adjusts to when you’re home or not. Easy to set and helps you save money and energy! I also love that you can have it run the air or the heater for those in between times in the spring and fall when you need both!
Cons: Sometimes it goes a little cooler or hotter than I want it to, but I just turn the nob to the right temp and we’re good to go.
These are our favorite things that are saving us time and energy so that we can enjoy our summer, time together as a family, and give us more time for other projects.
What are you favorite auto devices that are making your life easier?