I went into the kitchen this morning to find my dishwasher still jam-packed full of dirty dishes. I had forgotten to run it overnight, again. This made me start thinking of some ways my house could help me more…
Dishwasher alert: Sensors indicate soap has been loaded in the soap tray. What time would you like the dishwasher to start? (Or did you mean to leave it overnight, again?)
Microwave: The last runtime was 12 minutes. Items in the unit will be exceedingly hot. Confirmation required that you have potholders in hand before the door will unlock.
Smart-Yeti <> Calendar Integration: Your beverage is empty and your next hour-long meeting begins in 10 minutes. Refill your cup now to survive the meeting.
Gas Tank <> GPS app Integration: Your planned route includes an isolated stretch of highway with distances between gas stations that exceed your current fuel amount’s potential mileage. Please refuel at one of the next three gas stations.
Smart mailbox: The mail has been delivered. Don’t bother walking out here, it’s all junk mail, again.
How about you, what “smart” features would make your everyday household items a little more helpful?
@southpaw, does your dishwasher have a delayed start feature? This isn’t "smart, " but I’ve found it to be really helpful to waking up to a clean load of dishes. We load the dishwasher after dinner, and if it’s full enough that we want to run it, put soap in the tray and turn it on with a 4-5 hour delay. This accommodates any extra dishes that might occur between dinner and bed and runs it overnight while we sleep.
Another non-smart technology that has been absolutely transformative for me is a tea/coffee mug from Joeveo. Have you ever burned your mouth because your drink was too hot? And then by the time you get back to it, it’s too cold? The inventor of this mug loves coffee, was really frustrated by this, and set out to solve the problem. His solution uses a phase change material with a specific temperature of about 140F, which is considered an ideal temperature for hot drinks. When you pour in your hot drink, the material absorbs the excess heat, lowering your beverage to a drinkable temperature in 2-3 minutes and keeping it at that temperature for 2-3 hours.
My wife calls this the “mug for moms,” as they’re often getting interrupted and come back to a cold cup of coffee. Almost everyone I’ve bought these for now swears by them, and it’s so ingrained in my beverage habits that it’s a letdown anytime I don’t have a mug that uses a phase change material.
I do have a delayed start feature, @jigamo. I just sometimes forget to set it because I’m not sure the entire household is through adding things. I put the soap in, but I figure I’ll come back later to set it… then I don’t.
And yes, a very kind soul once gifted me a Joeveo mug and it’s still my favorite mug for my hot tea. I like it so much, I bought some as gifts to give my team when we all got together at our annual meet-up last September. Bonus: the company is somewhat local to me, so it was nice to be able to give something local and very practical to my coworkers who live in California, Australia, and Venezuela. Now I just need a great idea for our 2025 meet-up!
The last runtime was 12 minutes. Items in the unit will be exceedingly hot. Confirmation required that you have potholders in hand before the door will unlock.
Your beverage is empty and your next hour-long meeting begins in 10 minutes. Refill your cup now to survive the meeting.