Alexa life hacks

Nonamesavail · 2020-12-25T23:18:01+00:00

Have got an amazon echo dot. Looking for things that can help make life easier. I'm am adult with asd and 4 children so anything that helps with organising etc. Am apprehensive about it, is it easy to use/set up?

user1471453601 · 25/12/2020 23:22

Welk, I got two smart plugs so they can turn the lights on and off for me ( I find it hard to bend down to turn side lights on and off).

Otherwise, why don't you ask alexa?

combatbarbie · 25/12/2020 23:22

Really easy. We have them all over the house but the main one in kitchen is used for adding items to shopping list (that are then in your phone in alexa app) reminding me when to take stuff out/put in oven.

Playing radio, weather report etc and not to mention the random rambling questions of children, they can be entertaining 😂

SlothWithACloth · 25/12/2020 23:23

We use ours for reminders and timers all the time.
I think you can link your online calendar to it but we haven’t done that.

combatbarbie · 25/12/2020 23:23

Oh yes all the bulbs and radiator valves I can control by room. Turn xx bedroom light off. Set dining room to 19 degrees etc.....

Dugee · 25/12/2020 23:25

Alexa, start my day is good. Mine is set to say date, time, weather, news highlights and traffic on my way to work, but you can set it to say what you like.

Original poster

Nonamesavail · 25/12/2020 23:26

Oh brilliant. Thank you. The adding to shopping list and timers will be useful!

OP posts:

Saladd0dger · 25/12/2020 23:28

My lot like games on it. What’s the time mr wolf keeps them occupied. I just use it to turn the tv on as I can never find the remote. I gave up with smart bulbs they never seem to last long for us

skippetyskoo · 25/12/2020 23:31

Useful fir checking temperature outside/weather. We have several and use it to announce things eg ‘Alexa announce dinners ready’ It’s then broadcast all over house. If you drop in on another Alexa , you can use them like an intercom too.

pumpkinpie01 · 25/12/2020 23:31

If it's set up on your phone you can ask it to ring other phones , that's often handy. I use ours to set alarms multiple times a day especially when cooking and on a school morning .

PuppyMonkey · 25/12/2020 23:34

Alexa told me when to put all the stuff in oven etc today - and when to take it out. I set up reminders.

In the morning when it’s quiet and you don’t want to wake everyone else up, you can whisper to Alexa and she’ll whisper back.

ArseWipesLemonade · 26/12/2020 07:33

Not sure how old your children are but if they're old enough the following are great for the "I'm bored" moments:
Alexa, what's the question of the day?
and
Alexa, open the riddle of the day.

Ifailed · 26/12/2020 07:43

it's main use is to furnish Amazon with details about your life so it can market stuff to you and sell the info onto others.

Aposterhasnoname · 26/12/2020 07:52

I have four and they are in constant use. Yesterday they did all the timings for the dinner. Shopping lists are reminders are great, my council has an app which tells you which bin to put out on what day which is helpful.

Plugs and bulbs are great, I have a number of routines which switch various things on and off, and my beloved robo vac dusty is connected to it. I never tire of saying “Alexa this place is a shit tip” and watching dusty come beetling out of his corner while Alexa berates him

Lonecatwithkitten · 26/12/2020 08:13

Chronic illness and hate bright lights so all side lamps are controlled by Alexa. I listen to music and audio books I sent alarms and timers.
Honestly my amazon suggests seem all powered by my purchases and nothing that Alexa seems to have picked up. I suspect my life is too boring for Amazon to spy on.

TodgerStrunk · 26/12/2020 09:05

Routines - I tell Alexa on the kitchen that dinner is ready and the one upstairs plays lots of noises and yells dinner is ready. I've got one to tell DH to put the kettle on.

Reminders - used to have these every 10 minutes in the morning with a countdown to when we were leaving for school. That was she was nagging, not me.

When do the bins go out - can't remember the name of the skill but you tell her which day which colour bins go out on which week - setting it up is a pain if you have 3 different colour bins on different schedules but once done you just ask her which bins are going out this week and she knows

Timers. Lights. Drop in.

The IT Crowd skill that says 'have you turned it off and on again'

Magic door.

Ask her if she's reversed the polarity of the neutron flow. Or what the Romans ever did for us.

Ask her to set Red alert.

What I really want is someone to make a cat flap skill that works with the sure microchip hub so you can ask where the cat is

Original poster

Nonamesavail · 26/12/2020 13:17

@Ifailed

it's main use is to furnish Amazon with details about your life so it can market stuff to you and sell the info onto others.

Thought this and DH waS against it for so long but its going to make my life so much easier. The bins thing is always a major stress as I often forget etc so I think it will be worth it for me.

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Aposterhasnoname · 26/12/2020 13:27

On the privacy thing we’ve tested it many times, talking loudly about buying certain items that we haven’t googled. I’ve yet to have a single ad for any of them.

violetbunny · 27/12/2020 04:58

@TodgerStrunk

Routines - I tell Alexa on the kitchen that dinner is ready and the one upstairs plays lots of noises and yells dinner is ready. I've got one to tell DH to put the kettle on.

Reminders - used to have these every 10 minutes in the morning with a countdown to when we were leaving for school. That was she was nagging, not me.

When do the bins go out - can't remember the name of the skill but you tell her which day which colour bins go out on which week - setting it up is a pain if you have 3 different colour bins on different schedules but once done you just ask her which bins are going out this week and she knows

Timers. Lights. Drop in.

The IT Crowd skill that says 'have you turned it off and on again'

Magic door.

Ask her if she's reversed the polarity of the neutron flow. Or what the Romans ever did for us.

Ask her to set Red alert.

What I really want is someone to make a cat flap skill that works with the sure microchip hub so you can ask where the cat is

We have just bought some Tiles (one for each cat) in the Boxing Day sales. I plan to attach one to each cat's collar and hook them up to Alexa. Then we can ask Alexa where each cat is

violetbunny · 27/12/2020 05:01

*Disclaimer: We will mainly be using the Tiles to locate their collars if they lose them. Don't think Dcats will take kindly to us making them ring all the time with Alexa to locate them... but, you know, we could

AlexandraPeppernose · 27/12/2020 10:27

Ours reminds us when our cat litter usually gets low and re orders it for us. Saves many a 'why didn't you remind me' we have no cat litter situation

megletthesecond · 27/12/2020 10:37

The TCP smart plugs work with an alexa. 12yr old DD has set hers up to turn her light on and alexa to radio 1 in the mornings. In the evening it turns the light off and plays ambient music when she says goodnight. DS has a Google home mini which isn't as chatty as alexa but it works with smart plugs and turns things on and off.

I don't have a smart speaker, we don't have any paid subscriptions or use Amazon.