Here’s Every Gadget in our Connected Smart Home

Smart home gadgets have LONG been a conversation piece around here. We’ve shared how we keep our home running with the help of a smart refrigerator, automated lights, video doorbell, and internet hub. A few readers have emailed asking for a complete list of connected smart home items we use to keep things running smoothly while we travel. Not just one-off features, but an item-by-item list of stuff that helps us keep it all together.

32 Smart Home Features for an Independent Life

Here in the Day family, I’m always advocating for clever use of resources. Our household duties are often solved with either delegation or automation.”Work smarter, not harder” is the driving philosophy around here! Delegating things can be challenging, though, if you’re isolated or travel a lot or simply don’t want other people mucking around in your house. For seniors and active families, it can be a financial and time burden to manage the comings and goings of helpers. That’s when smart home features can step up and hold down the fort to give you the most independent life possible.

Smart home safety monitoring with an app.

Smart Home Safety Monitoring

This is the area of our home that Chelsea calls the “command center.” Elements of it have moved around during the never-ending renovation process, but this is where it … Read more

How to homeschool multiple ages

This How to Homeschool Guide is EPIC

I’ve been dragging my feet writing this how to homeschool guide for weeks. Months! Over a year, if I’m being honest. Our family’s journey to homeschooling has been up and down, forward and backward, and somehow fast and slow-feeling all at once.

Kitchen Sink Organizer Ideas for a Bright, Minimalist Home

We have readers reach out on occasion with questions about our kitchen sink organizer situation. Since we posted about our kitchen hub awhile back, it seems that minimalism in the cooking area is a hot topic! The organization in this space can’t really be contributed to a specific organizer or individual design purchase, though. When it comes to our farmhouse, Nate and I have made a long series of decisions that have contributed to a simplistic space in general. Here are some of our favorite kitchen sink organizer ideas.

The Happy Home Stockpile

I know what you’re thinking right now. “Woah, Chelsea, that is like a metric ton of toilet paper.” Indeed. People often ask how we juggle travel and home life with a big family. We’ve shared a ton of tips and tricks, but this is BY FAR the most important. The home stockpile.

This Smart Wi-Fi Hub helps connect ALL the things

This time of year is no joke. So much running around and things to do. Not gonna lie, you guys, I’ve been STRESSED! As I always do when things get overwhelming, though, I’ve taken a nice big step backwards and looked for inefficiencies that I can rectify. Where am I spinning my wheels? What minor, aggravating tasks are eating away at my day? I realized that we’ve become heavily reliant on tech as a family, but we were missing a smart home controller to bring everything together and minimize friction.

Sonos One smart speaker

The Sonos One Smart Speaker does almost Everything

I don’t foresee the Sonos One hopping up to wash my dishes anytime soon, but this sexy little number gives every other smart speaker a run for its money. And there’s even more capability on the way. The biggest testament to its abilities? It got this husband and wife to agree that it’s the best choice in home assistant hardware on the market today.

Home Air Health Essentials

5 Home Air Health Essentials to help Survive Farm Life

Having a little farm, it turns out, is a LOT of work. Nate and the boys are constantly shuffling around wood and dirt and hay – and I’m in a never-ending battle to keep all of that stuff from getting tracked all over my floors, couches and even counters.