For those who want more from our smart home gadgets, it can be frustrating when brand-based apps don’t do as much as you need them to or when certain smart home devices don’t talk to other smart home gadgets. IFTTT solves a lot of those issues by creating pathways for communications between disparate brands, ecosystems, and gadgets. If you’re not familiar with IFTTT, or If This Then That, it’s worth getting to know this tech platform, because it can make your life a lot easier, particularly as we start the slow slide to fall and winter.
As days get shorter, and schedules get busier, now is a great time of year to put automation to work for you in a smart, productive way. IFTTT uses Applets which are like tech recipes to create triggers and results for your devices. The good news is IFTTT works with almost every tech brand. Here are a few of our favorite IFTTT Applets for the fall season.
Automate your morning coffee
When your alarm begins to go off before the sun peeks over the horizon, it can be tough to start the day. Imagine what your world would be like if you could have your coffee brewed and ready for you before you get out of bed. Even if you don’t have a smart coffee maker, you can create a smart coffee experience with some gadgetry and IFTTT.
If your coffee maker isn’t smart, plug it into a smart plug, like an Amazon Smart Plug (which is quite inexpensive) so you can get remote or automated control over a coffee maker or kettle. There’s also a gadget called Switchbot that will actively press a button on almost any appliance or machine. Combine one of those devices with this IFTTT Applet for coffee automation, and it can start the brewing or boiling process when you hit the snooze button on your alarm. Morning magic.
Here are some other cool suggestions from the brains at IFTTT to kick start your morning routines.
Turn lights on at dusk, off at dawn
It’s always nice to have plenty of lighting when the days get shorter, but leaving lights on all day isn’t efficient. A better solution is to automate the entire process. This IFTTT lighting Applet uses your location to calculate the shifting sunrise and sunset times. Use it to automatically turn your smart lights on and off at sunset and sunrise, no matter the time of year.
Get a frost alert
It’s also at about this time of year when we start to worry about the coming cold. One of the most immediate needs for those who like to garden is to know when frost is coming so they can pick or protect vegetables growing in the garden. This handy plant IFTTT Applet will use your location, combined with weather forecasting to send you a note or message if frost is in the forecast for the following day. No more freeze-burned tomatoes!
Find out when snow is coming
As we advance further into the winter season, snow can come on rather unexpectedly. For those of us who don’t have cable TV and aren’t following the local weather forecaster, there’s the magic of IFTTT to notify you if there’s going to be snow. You can have IFTTT send you an email or push notification if snow is coming or (a personal preference) get IFTTT to turn your smart lights blue ahead of any white stuff.
Drink water every hour
When the temperature drops and we spend more time indoors, it can be easy to forget about some of the healthier habits we may have developed over the summer, like drinking lots of water. This Applet will send you a push notification from the IFTTT app every hour on the hour to remind you to hydrate.
Get out of awkward situations
We’ve all been stuck in those too-long meetings, awkward conversations with the neighbor or feeling trapped with a long talker at a gathering. This Applet lets you extricate yourself from nearly any situation with a perfectly timed phone call. There’s versions for getting out of awkward situation for US phone numbers and an IFTTT Applet for international calls, too. This is the Applet you won’t know you need until you need it, so trust us; install it today and thank us later.
Fall is a great time to explore new technology and get yourself organized. Use our suggestions for these handy Applets to set yourself up for the season or check out some of the best IFTTT Applets.
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