Nine Ways ALEXA Has Improved Our Lives

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We’re a family of four and we have nine Alexas in our home. 

Four people with nine Alexas. 

That’s more than twice the number of Alexas than people! 

Why so many, you wonder?

Because having Alexa available in several rooms throughout the house has IMPROVED OUR LIVES IN MANY WAYS. 

We started with one Echo in the living room and were so impressed that we added eight more Alexas over the course of a few months. 

Our Alexa army currently includes the following…

a Dot on my vanity {Mama Wolfe}

a Dot in my mom’s suite {Train Gampen}

a Dot in our son’s bedroom  {The Lone Wolfe}

a Dot in our son’s playroom/office {The Ploffice}

a Dot in my husband’s home office {Alpha Wolfe}

an Echo in the basement family room {The Wolfe Den}

a Dot in my workspace in the basement {the Wolfe Sanctuary}  plus

a Dot in the boringly named Kitchen and an Echo in the Living Room. 

But, why so many?!?!?!

Alexa has way more to offer than just random trivia bits or info on what time the local grocery store closes. She has a long list of skills….so long that we have just begun to scratch the surface. 

Below are NINE WAYS ALEXA HAS IMPROVED OUR LIVES so far.  

ONE: {Alexa has TAUGHT us a lot.}

Our son, who will soon be 13, definitely uses Alexa more than anybody else in our family.  He is homeschooled and will ask Alexa for definitions of unknown words he comes across while reading. He checks his math problems {after he computes them on his own, of course}. He confirms correct spelling as he is writing. He even asks Alexa to read long Bible passages for Bible history.

But, he’s not the only one who uses Alexa to learn new things. If the family gets into a debate over a historical fact, some random bit of trivia or whether Columbus Day is a federal holiday, we ask Alexa to settle the debate.  All we have to do is say her name and ask the question. She instantly reports what she finds on the Internet. She has TAUGHT US A LOT!

BONUS: Anything that is asked of Alexa instantly appears in the app on my phone. So, if the 12 year old is seeking inappropriate information, I would instantly know. 

TWO: {Alexa has GIVEN us peace of mind.}

My elderly mother lives with us. and she has an Alexa next to her bed that she uses anytime she needs help. She can either drop in  on one of us and ask directly for help with something or she can make an announcement  which goes out to every Alexa in the house at the same time. Being able to easily ask for help when needed  has allowed her to have continued independence and GIVEN US PEACE OF MIND. 

BONUS: My mom also uses Alexa to help in other ways, including turning her lights on/off, setting timers, controlling her TV and more. 

THREE: {Alexa has DECREASED hollering.}

Our house is not huge but it is big enough that in order  to communicate with with one another, we used to do a lot of hollering. From room to room. From upstairs to downstairs. From one end of the house to the other. But, with Alexa’s drop in  feature, the hollering has come to a halt. Now, we just drop in  on one another. If I need to check on whether our son is showered and ready to roll, instead of hollering upstairs, I can just drop in  on him in his bedroom and gently ask. Or, if I’m in the kitchen and my husband is in his basement office but I want to find out if he wants meatloaf or burgers for dinner, I don’t need to scream. I can just drop in  on him and ask {or remind him to take out the trash, hang the Christmas lights, call the plumber….} So, Alexa has DECREASED HOLLERING and increased calm conversations. 

BONUS: Whomever you drop in  on cannot ignore you and pretend they don’t hear your question. When you drop in,  it opens a two-way conversation so you instantly hear everything in the other room while the other room can also hear you. It truly allows for calm two-way conversations. 

FOUR: {Alexa has ORGANIZED our lives.}

Alexa is amazing at organizing things. She can make lists, set reminders and assign chores. And she does all of those things with a simple command.

Our son is actually pretty good at doing his daily chores but struggles to remember things that are only required of him once or twice weekly. But by assigning “trash” and “dog doo” to his chores, Alexa reminds him {instead of me nagging him}. She even offers him praise when he completes the chore. 

She can also keep track of grocery lists and tasks  to do. From anywhere in the house, I can simply ask Alexa to “add peanut butter to my grocery list” and she does. Or, if I’m brushing my teeth in the downstairs bathroom and suddenly remember that I need to change the kid’s dentist appointment, I can ask her to add that to my tasks  for tomorrow and she does. I’ve always been a fairly organized person, but Alexa has ORGANIZED OUR LIVES even more so!

BONUS: She has an amazing listening range and can pick up commands even when not in the same room.

FIVE: {Alexa has SAVED us time.}

One of my favorite ways to use Alexa is to ask her for weather and news updates  while I am getting dressed to start the day. When I use my phone to check for those details, I always get sucked into the blackhole of FaceBook or get stuck swapping texts back and forth with a friend. But, with Alexa, I can easily listen to a quick weather report  or news update  while still putting on makeup or getting dressed. It’s as easy as can be and has saved me countless precious minutes each morning. And who doesn’t want to SAVE TIME? 

SIX: {Alexa has REVAMPED our sleeping habits.} 

We are a family of night owls, which means we find it hard to fall asleep at a decent time and then struggle to wake up early in the morning.  But Alexa has helped us REVAMP OUR SLEEPING HABITS. Our son’s personalized playlist  helps him fall asleep each night and his alarm  wakes him each morning.

I don’t like to sleep to music but I utilize Alexa in a different way each night. I like to read in bed until I feel sleepy but now I use Alexa to read to me! All I have to do is ask her to read my choice from the Audible Library. She uses her soothing voice to read the next chapter of my book until I feel sleepy enough to finally fall asleep. All I have to do is say, “Alexa, stop” and she does. 

BONUS: From the app, I can change the volume of my son’s music or stop it completely after he falls asleep. I can also verify that his alarm is set, change the time of his alarm or cancel the alarm altogether. She also offers several different types of alarms. Some are downright hilarious {Sharknado!} And you can even ask her to wake you up with your personalized playlist. 

SEVEN: {Alexa has ENHANCED our days.}

Our son loves to listen to music…while he works, while he plays and even while he sleeps and having Alexa and unlimited Amazon Music  has been a game-changer for him.  It does not matter if he is doing his school work on the couch, at his desk or in the basement, he is able to access an unlimited array of songs instantly. Not only can he listen to some upbeat tunes during his math lesson, he can also listen to various samples of whatever classical composer we are studying at the time. He can even access the songs we use to memorize Scripture. The offerings on Amazon Music  are truly vast and the instant access to such a variety of music has ENHANCED OUR DAYS in a big way. 

BONUS: With the Alexa app, I can control the volume, stop the song and filter his choices. It also shows me everything he has listened to {in the off chance I did not HEAR it firsthand, ha ha!}

EIGHT: {Alexa has CREATED a peaceful space.}

This one might be unique to just our family but, I can definitely say that Alexa has CREATED A PEACEFUL SPACE for this Mama!  Our son has a Ploffice for his school work and elaborate Lego collection. My husband has a home office in the basement. My mom has a large suite with loads of privacy. But, until I carved out a little sanctuary in the storage area of the basement, complete with comfy chair, big desk and Alexa, I did not have a work space to call my own. But, now I have a private, quiet, peaceful place to work on blog posts and TpT products.    And because Alexa is a part of that equation, I can work diligently in my little sanctuary without feeling guilty for shirking my household duties or concerned that our son is ignoring his school work. My mom can reach me if she needs something. Our son can too. 

NINE: {Alexa has INCREASED family time.}

The best thing Alexa has done for our family is INCREASE FAMILY TIME.

Between jamming to tunes while cleaning the house together and reminiscing about the “old” music my husband used to listen to, Alexa has used music to INCREASE FAMILY TIME. 

Then you add in the GAMES that she offers, with or without game buttons, and Family Game Night has taken on a whole new dimension. 

For a family Christmas gift, I plan to get an Echo Show for the kitchen so we can easily pull up recipes, catch the news and watch lunch-time documentaries!

My husband uses the Alexa app to drop in on the entire house on his way home from work. This allows us to put away the school work, quickly pick up any messes and be ready to greet him when he walks in the door. This habit has changed the dynamics of weekday evenings for the better in an immense way. 

And with the increased communication throughout the house {including cutting into the gaming headphones}, making plans to spend more time together has never been easier. 

And that’s something that everybody deserves!