Smart Home Resolutions You’ll Want to Keep

Happy new year! Each year, humans resolve to make differences in their lives; to create more balance, to get healthy, to be brave. For technology lovers, these New Year’s resolutions might include their use of smart home products. Hey, I’ve known New Year’s resolutions to include much stranger things!

Resolve to actually use what you already have.

It might be tempting to try to get a fresh start with your smart home by purchasing new  products for the new year, but maybe you should start with what you already have at home. Are you using all of the products you already own? If not, make a rule that you can’t get anything new before you get rid of something old. Or at least until you do an inventory check and get rid of, gift, or donate the products that you aren’t using. Doing a bit of smart home “Spring Cleaning” at the beginning of the new year can do wonders on how you feel about your home automation, and about how you use it in the coming year.

Resolve to cut back on what you don’t need.

That’s right, I’m encouraging you to disconnect from the smart home products that you have bought and paid for, and spent the time to set up. There are so many reasons to do this, including security (but that’s a different paragraph…). Some products just aren’t right for your household, and that’s totally fine. You don’t have to use every smart home product out there; you only need to use the ones that add convenience and efficiency to your life. You may have jumped the gun on purchasing a product because it was on sale or because it had great reviews, and you’ve found that you just don’t use it. It’s time to clean (smart)house.

Resolve to update your security.

Once you’ve decided what you are going to continue to use in the new year and what you are going to stop using, you can focus on updating your security measures. Unfortunately, hacking is a constant concern for personal household smart products, and for anything that is ‘connected’ (so, basically, everything nowadays). That shouldn’t change your feelings about using smart home products; it should just further your resolve to research and execute how to best protect your home’s network. There are ways to secure your network on your own, and there are also paid resources that might take less time but cost you some of your monthly budget. Either route is worth it.

Resolve to learn more about what you can do with the technology.

When you start the new year with a fresh take on your mart home, with all the clutter cleared, you’ll be able to focus on just what’s left. That means you have less to learn and can really become an expert on the products you kept in your home. Learning more about each of the products will allow you to maximize their effectiveness on their own, and in sync.