Seasonal

Tech the Halls: Smart Home Gadgets for a Stress-Free Holiday Season

The holidays are a time for joy, family, and celebration, but they also bring added responsibilities. Between decorating, hosting, and just keeping up with your daily routines, your home can quickly start to feel more like a neverending to-do list rather than your haven.

That’s where smart home technology comes in. It can help you streamline holiday tasks to focus on what matters most—spending time with loved ones and enjoying the season’s magic.

And there are more upsides to upgrading your home tech: doing so can also enhance the overall value and appeal of your property. Current research indicates that 77% of today’s home buyers are interested in smart homes, which results in an up to 5% increase in a property’s resale value! In general, estimates indicate that sellers who invest in smart home technologies realize a 50% return.1

So whether you’re thinking about selling in the near future or just want to enjoy your home to the fullest this season, adding smart gadgets is an investment that pays off. Read on for some of the best smart home solutions to simplify your holidays (and just maybe make your home more marketable down the road, too).

Entertaining Made Easy

Tech the Halls - Entertaining Made Easy
Tech the Halls – Entertaining Made Easy

Spending time with friends and family is the highlight of the holiday season—but entertaining can be a lot of work. These tools can help turn any gathering into a celebration to remember without all of the fuss.

1. Make Cooking Easier with Digital Recipe Access

Holiday cooking often means late nights and multiple trips to the store. Instead of juggling old recipe cards, let smart-home displays keep you organized with easy menu planning and grocery lists.

High-end: Google Nest Hub Max
This smart display offers an easy-to-use recipe mode with step-by-step guidance from the Google Assistant. It’s like having a sous chef right on your countertop.

Mid-range: LG – 27″ Smart webOS TV with Countertop Design
This smart TV can be perched on your kitchen counter or mounted on the wall to watch cooking shows, pull up your favorite recipes, or cast content from your mobile device.

Budget pick: Amazon Echo Show 8
With a Food Network integration and recipe assistance, this countertop model offers plenty of features in a less-expensive package.

2. Set the Mood with Smart Lighting

The right ambiance can elevate any gathering. Control colors, brightness, and temperatures remotely with these smart lighting options.

High-end: Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box
Watching a holiday movie? Sync your smart lightbulbs to adapt their colors to what’s on the screen for the ultimate festive movie experience.

Mid-range: Lutron Caseta Wireless Bridge
Use this small internet-controlled device to set up automations for your smart bulbs, so you can dim all your lights at once with a swipe on your smartphone.

Budget-friendly: Govee Lightbulbs
Just getting started with smart bulbs? This affordable option allows you to control color and brightness using your Alexa or Google Home device.

3. Amplify Your Holiday Spirit with Smart Speakers

From carols to party playlists, music sets the tone for the holidays. These smart speakers will get everyone in the mood to sing along.

High-end: Bose Smart Speaker 500
This powerful speaker delivers room-filling sound—and Google Assistant and Alexa are both built-in.

Mid-range: Amazon Echo Studio
The best device for Amazon loyalists who care about sound, music comes through loud and clear on this speaker.

Budget-friendly: Google Nest Mini
This diminutive speaker gives you voice-controlled playback at an entry-level price.

Traditions With A Twist

Decorating your home and popping on a holiday film gets everyone in the holiday spirit. These tech solutions make things easier and give you more time to enjoy the fun.

1. Watch Holiday Favorites in Style

Level up your holiday movie traditions with smart projectors that turn any room in your home—or even your backyard—into a movie theater.

High-end: Epson Home Cinema LS1100
This 4K projector is a serious investment, but it delivers cinema-quality performance and a laser light source that won’t require replacement bulbs. It’s also easy to set up and adjust.

Mid-range: Samsung Freestyle 2nd Gen Smart Portable Projector
Use this feature-packed, battery-powered projector nearly anywhere—it’s designed to level and focus your video automatically and to scale to the size of your space.

Budget-friendly: Vankyo Performance V700W
This 1080p projector offers a bright picture, high-quality audio, and the portability to move it from room to room (plus outside). You can cast from your mobile device or plug in a computer or USB.

2. Shine Bright with Smart Plugs

Tired of clambering behind furniture to get to a hard-to-reach plug for your decorations? Invest in smart plugs, and you can control all of your electrified holiday decor (plus anything else you might plug in!) easily from your phone.

High-end: Meross Smart Power Strip
This smart power strip includes four AC outlets plus two USB C and one USB A port. It’s compatible with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, and Google Home, and each outlet can be operated individually.

Mid-range: Enbrighten Wifi Smart 2-Outlet Plug
This smart plug turns one wall outlet into two smart outlets. Control the plug using an app or with Google or Alexa voice assistants.

Budget-friendly: Kasa Smart Plug Ultra Mini
These inexpensive plugs are designed to take up minimal wall space yet offer plenty of features. Plus, they’re compatible with Google and Amazon home ecosystems.

3. Create a Winter Wonderland with Smart Outdoor Lighting

Whether you want to wow the neighborhood with an eye-catching display or simply add a touch of outdoor holiday charm, setting up lights doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Smart outdoor lighting makes it simple to illuminate your home’s exterior with minimal effort or planning.

High-end: Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights
Install these permanent outdoor lights on your home and celebrate year-round with app-controlled color and effects options for every holiday you can think of.

Mid-range: Twinkly Icicle Lights
Drape your home in any color you can think of with these easy-to-use, app-controlled icicle-style lights. True to the name, there are plenty of twinkling options to choose from!

Budget-friendly: Brizled Smart Christmas Lights
String up these indoor-outdoor lights wherever you’d like to enjoy customizable colors and effects, or sync the bulbs with music for a truly eye-catching outdoor display.

Simplified Home Management

Tech the Halls - Make Life Easier and Free Up More Time for Family Fun
Tech the Halls – Make Life Easier and Free Up More Time for Family Fun

There’s plenty to manage at the holidays as it is—make things easier for yourself by automating some basic home tasks and functions. Less time spent on tedious chores means more time making memories with your family.

1. Keep Your Home Spotless with Robot Vacuums

The holidays can create a lot of mess — stay on top of it with smart vacuums that clean up all of those cookie crumbs and bits of wrapping paper for you.

High-end: Roomba Combo J9 Plus
Say goodbye to vacuuming and mopping with this high-tech robot, which comes complete with AI obstacle avoidance to keep it from banging into your furniture.

Mid-range: Roborock Q5 Max+
This powerful robot vacuum is highly customizable—use the app to set up cleaning preferences like a second pass through high-traffic rooms or to block off areas you’d like left alone. Plus, it empties its own bin!

Budget-friendly: Shark Ion
This robot vacuum may not come with all the bells and whistles, but it does a great job keeping dirt and pet hair off the floor. You can control it with Amazon Alexa or the Google Assistant in addition to a dedicated app.

2. Manage Deliveries and Greet Guests with Smart Doorbells

The holidays tend to bring a lot more people than usual to your door. Keep track of who’s coming and going, and keep your home safe with smart video doorbells.

High-end: Eufy Dual+ Security Video Doorbell
This large video doorbell offers a much wider field of view than most competitors, plus high resolution and night vision. It’s compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices and can be set up wired or wireless.

Mid-range: Google Nest Doorbell Camera
This sleek doorbell camera is easy to set up and control from a distance and offers fast notifications and the ability to respond by voice or with preset messages. Advanced features include package detection and facial recognition.

Budget-friendly: Arlo Video Doorbell
This doorbell offers a wide field of view, high-resolution images, and the ability to zoom in, and is compatible with multiple smart-device ecosystems. However, some of its features, like recordings, require a monthly subscription.

3. Protect Your Home While You Travel

Unfortunately, the holidays tend to bring higher rates of home break-ins. Whether you’re traveling or staying local, these tech solutions can help keep your home and family safe.

High-end: Ring Alarm Pro
Ring is well-known for video doorbells, but they also offer full home security systems, complete with professional monitoring (for a monthly fee). With high-performing devices and a built-in router to ensure working wifi, this system lets you keep an eye on things no matter where you are.

Mid-range: Abode Smart Security Kit
This kit is designed to work with all of the major smart home ecosystems, allowing you to connect as many devices as you’d like for a seamless experience. It includes a hub device, a door/window sensor, and a motion sensor, and you can easily add on from there to customize a system to your needs.

Budget-friendly: August WiFi Smart Lock
Lots of visitors coming and going this holiday season? This smart lock upgrades your existing deadbolt, allowing you to give access to trusted family and friends. Best of all, it attaches to the lock on the inside of your door, so it won’t impact your curb appeal or draw unwanted attention.

Enjoy A Better Holiday Season With Smart Home Tech

Ken and Libby Guthrie, Guthrie Group Homes, Knoxville TN
Ken and Libby Guthrie, Guthrie Group Homes, Knoxville TN Real Estate

Incorporating smart home technology can help make this holiday season more relaxing—and it can also be a great investment that adds value to your property in the long run. From energy-efficient lighting to reassuring security systems, these gadgets do more than just make life easier; they enhance your home’s appeal to future buyers.

If you’re curious about how upgrading your home’s tech might impact its value, we’d love to help. Reach out for a free consultation to learn more about the latest trends in smart home technology and how it can align with your real estate goals. Whether you’re looking to sell soon or simply upgrade your lifestyle, we’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Sources
1. National Association of Realtors – https://www.nar.realtor/blogs/emerging-technology/smart-homes-can-help-you-grow-your-business-heres-how

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Seasonal

5 Ideas for an Eco-Friendly Holiday at Home

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. But for many families with festive plans and hectic schedules, it’s also the most wasteful.

According to one survey, for example, 60% of respondents admitted to throwing away more than usual during the holiday months as they filled up their trash bins with uneaten food, wrapping paper, gift bags, and commercial packaging.1

The reality is, Americans routinely toss about 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s than at any other time of year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.2 In fact, we throw away so much ribbon during the holidays—around 38,000 miles’ worth—that the discarded material could easily run more than one and a half times around the Earth.3

As our holiday schedules grow busier, many of us also forget to take simple steps at home to shrink our carbon footprints or prepare for a more energy-efficient winter.

Luckily, it’s not that hard to shift our habits and plan for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly celebration. Here are five ideas for ringing in the holidays this year without overstressing Mother Nature.

1. Prep Your Home for Winter

Depending on the amount of time and resources you have available, you could cut your carbon emissions significantly this season just by winterizing your home.

Investing in a more sustainable way to warm up your surroundings—such as a geothermal heat pump or solar heating—could be especially impactful if your current HVAC is underperforming and you can afford a more expensive system.4 Replacing old appliances or things like chronically leaking windows with newer, more energy-efficient solutions can also save you money over the long term.5 Plus, you may be able to claim a federal energy-efficient tax credit for up to 30% of your investment.6

You don’t necessarily have to spend a lot upfront, though, to prep your home for winter. Even simple tweaks—such as sealing windows and doors or upgrading to more energy-efficient window coverings—can lower your energy consumption and reduce your carbon footprint.7

Incorporating environmentally healthier habits into your routine can also make a meaningful difference. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, for example, dialing back your thermostat by as little as seven to 10 degrees for eight hours a day can trim up to 10% from your bills.8

Consider a home energy assessment to help you pinpoint what needs fixing. Depending on your comfort level, you can audit your home’s energy efficiency yourself with the help of the Department of Energy’s DIY Guide.9 Or you can hire a professional, such as a home energy auditor or weatherization contractor.10 Call us for a recommendation or personal referral.

You May Also Enjoy ->

Our Top 10 Christmas Movies of All Time

2. Decorate Sustainably

Decking your home’s halls is one of the most jolly seasonal activities of all. There’s something special about gathering ’round with friends and family and relaxing in the comforting glow of a festively decorated space.

But since so much of the holiday-themed decor that’s sold in stores is notoriously disposable, it can be a challenge to spruce up your home sustainably. Cheaply produced and rarely recyclable, store-bought decorations are often made with plastic, styrofoam, and other environmentally unfriendly materials that can crowd landfills for generations.2

Luckily, you don’t have to trade style for sustainability when making your holiday decor. Thrifting is still in vogue, so consider crafting new and on-trend decorations out of secondhand finds or upcycling items already in your closet.

For example, you could transform an ill-fitting sweater into a holiday-themed pillow, turn teacups into candles, or turn leftover shipping boxes into creative decorations. Alternatively, natural decor foraged from your yard—such as dried leaves, flowers, pine cones, and branches—can make for especially beautiful wreaths and centerpieces.

If you do purchase store-bought decor, proactively look for the most environmentally friendly options. LED lights are now ubiquitous in stores and use far less energy than incandescent versions.11 Similarly, if you celebrate with a Christmas tree, think twice about choosing an artificial option. Plastic trees may be reusable, but natural trees are generally thought to have a smaller carbon footprint.1

5 Ideas for an Eco-Friendly Holiday at Hom
Cut Back on Holiday Shopping

3. Cut Back on Holiday Shopping

Shopping online or at the mall may be convenient, but it can be costly for the environment. The greenhouse emissions from shipping and transportation alone add up fast, as do the emissions that are produced when an item is first made. According to the online consignment and thrift store thredUp, 4.5 billion pounds of carbon emissions could be saved if every American bought just one used item instead of new this year.12

Splurging on brand-new products also makes it more likely that the gently used but still functional items that you’ve got at home will wind up in the trash.

Rather than buy new, check vintage stores and consignment shops for unique gifts that you and your recipient can both feel good about. According to research by thredUp, most people are open to receiving gently used presents, especially if they’re socially conscious members of Gen Z.12 Alternatively, consider regifting items that you haven’t used, upcycling something you own, or try crafting gifts by hand.

Giving away special experiences, such as concert tickets or community memberships, may also be a more eco-friendly option. So is donating to a favorite charity in a gift recipient’s name or offering gifts of time, such as promising to help a loved one clean out their garage or fill their freezer with home-cooked meals.

Research shows that gift recipients often value thoughtful gifts with sentimental value, especially if they’re homemade, nostalgic, or will provide them with a unique experience.13

And if you prefer to buy something tangible, look to local businesses that source or manufacture their goods nearby. Craft fairs and community markets are a great place to start. Or, give us a call, and we’d be happy to share a list of our favorite local stores, depending on the type of gift and your budget. We make an effort to patronize the independently-owned shops and restaurants around town and would love to share our recommendations.

You May Also Enjoy ->

Top 10 Christmas Songs of All Time

4. Green Your Holiday Dinner

Do you hail from a family of passionate carnivores? If so, trading your meat for a vegetarian option may seem like a step too far—especially for a holiday dinner.

But swapping your meat for beans isn’t the only way to “’green” your holiday meal. For example, you can consciously source your meat from ethical sellers, prioritize local producers for seasonal sides, and serve enough filling vegetables to satisfy a large portion of your appetite.14

You can also minimize food waste by planning ahead so that you don’t cook more than necessary. Check out the Natural Resources Defense Council’s dinner party “Guest-Imator” to help you narrow down how much food you and your guests will actually need.15 In addition, consider using the USDA’s FoodKeeper App to help track safety recalls and set up calendar reminders for expired food.16

Once you’re finished eating, clear the table immediately and either freeze the leftovers you’d like to keep or send guests home with reusable containers. Or, if you have untouched food that’s still whole or in unopened packaging, take it to a local food bank or homeless shelter. We’d be happy to share a list of options in our area.

Donate or Recycle What You Can
Donate or Recycle What You Can

5. Donate or Recycle What You Can

Once the festivities are over, the real work on behalf of Mother Nature begins. This is the time when taking a few minutes at the end of your holiday celebration to swiftly collect wrapping paper and ribbons, unwanted packaging, and other discarded items can make a real environmental difference by reducing what you send to landfills. Your goal should be to reuse what you can and compost or recycle what’s left over.

For example, if you upgrade any electronic gadgets over the holidays, you can conserve resources and limit pollution by donating or properly recycling your old versions. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that recycling a million laptop computers could help save the energy equivalent of 3,500 homes’ annual usage of electricity.16 Similarly, the EPA says that recycling one million phones can help salvage 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium.17

It can also help to reimagine new ways to make old traditions more eco-friendly. For instance, if lighting candles is part of your holiday celebration, consider choosing beeswax candles this year instead of the typical paraffin wax, which is a petroleum derivative. Not only are they cleaner-burning and less toxic, but the leftover wax is biodegradable and can be composted, unlike traditional candle wax.18

There are also plenty of earth-friendly ways to dispose of a natural Christmas tree without kicking it to the curb. Trees that are sent to landfills release a potent greenhouse gas called methane.19 So, it’s important to properly dispose of a live tree, if you have one, so it can be recycled or composted. If you’re not sure how, reach out for a list of local options.

The Bottomline

Guthrie Group Homes, Knoxville TN
Ken Guthrie and Libby Guthrie – Guthrie Group Homes, Knoxville TN

We can still celebrate a fun and festive season without draining our community’s resources or sending leftovers to the landfill. And remember, we’re here to lend a helping hand, now or in the new year. This is the perfect time to strategize your next move or set some real estate resolutions with personalized guidance from an expert. Reach out today to schedule a free consultation.

The above references an opinion and is for informational purposes only.  It is not intended to be financial, legal, or tax advice. Consult the appropriate professionals for advice regarding your individual needs.

Sources:

  1. Eco Watch
  2. Architectural Digest
  3. The New York Times
  4. Environmental Protection Agency
  5. U.S. Department of Energy
  6. IRS
  7. Energy Star
  8. U.S. Department of Energy
  9. U.S. Department of Energy
  10. Kiplinger
  11. U.S. Department of Energy
  12. Thred Up
  13. The Conversation
  14. Popular Science
  15. Natural Resources Defense Council
  16. USDA
  17. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  18. CanICompostIt.com
  19. CNN

 

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Seasonal

5 Holiday Sanity Tips for You and Your Family

The holidays are here and like most, you probably have way too much to do before Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

So here we present 5 articles to help you through the holidays. Click on the images below to read the full articles.

6 Irresistible Instagram-Inspired Holiday Decor Looks That Will Make You Want To Start Decorating Right Now

6 Irresistible Instagram-Inspired Holiday Decor Looks
6 Irresistible Instagram-Inspired Holiday Decor Looks
(Photos via Instagram by jpipermenell / simplysoutherncottage / reserve_home)

For some people, decorating for the holidays is a no-brainer—it’s simply the thing you do after Thanksgiving. But for the rest of us? It can be hard to muster the motivation and harder still to know where to even begin with such an overwhelming task.

So let us give you a motivational helping hand.

Whether your style is over the top (à la Chevy Chase in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”) or more classically subtle, this list of inspired decor themes we discovered on Instagram has something for everyone.

So if decorating for the holidays has started to feel as dull and predictable as the Christmas Eve menu (ham again?!), keep reading. Here are six merry and bright decor ideas that will make you want to start decking the halls ASAP.

7 Organization Tips for Your Holiday Gear and Decorations

Storage tips that’ll make packing up jollier, and fun a bit more hollier.

(OK, hollier isn’t a real word…) 🎄

7 Organization Tips for Your Holiday Gear and Decorations
Image: iHeart Organizing

Decking the halls is good fun and all, but shuffling through piles of wreaths, lights, ornaments, dreidels, wrapping paper, and stockings is nothing to fa la la la about.

Cut back on the holiday overwhelm with these organizational ideas for your festive gear.

Tips include:

#1 Make a Holiday Closet

#2 Use Clear Bins

#3 Organize With an Inventory App

#4 Hang Your Wreaths

#5 Equip a Baking Cart

and more.

Top Christmas Songs of All Time

While you’re organizing and decorating the house, enjoy our favorite Christmas songs over an open fire. 🔥

Top Christmas Songs of All Time
Top Christmas Songs of All Time

Christmas songs and carols are just as much a tradition as Christmas movies, and since we previously did our Top 10 movies, we thought it would be a good idea to do music this time, thus the title,  Top Christmas Songs of All Time.

But there are a gazillion or so Christmas songs out there, and since we did 10 movies last year, 10 songs sounded about right.

But, trimming down the thousands of songs to just 10 is nearly impossible, so we decided to:

A) include a mix of traditional carols, hymns, and more modern tunes that you might hear on the radio today. (Do they still have radios?) 📻

B) choose songs we could find videos for on YouTube.

So in that spirit, here are our Top Christmas Songs from 2017.

Plus we included the lyrics to each song so you can sing along. 👩🏻‍🎤👨🏻‍🎤🎶

Tips on Preparing For the New Year

So the past few years have been pretty tough. Let’s start off 2022 the best we can.

Tips on Preparing For the New Year
Tips on Preparing For the New Year Getty Images/RgStudio

With the arrival of 2022, it’s the perfect time to put forth a good attitude to start the year off right, knowing that things aren’t going back to “normal” but we can make the most of it.

Whether you’re moving to a new place — be it a whole new city, just a new home, or just a new frame of mind — it’s important to do all you can to set yourself up for success.

Let’s plan ahead and pull out all the positivity we can so we can start 2022 on a high note: that means outlining some resolutions for the new year.

If you haven’t made resolutions before, now’s the perfect time to start. If you have made resolutions before, chances are you’ve made the same one every year. No, really!

Statistics show that more than 60% of people made the same resolution for 2020 that they made in 2019. If you’re down to try something new, let’s consider the options.

9 Ways to Share the Spirit of the Season

As the saying goes, sharing is caring. Remember this holiday season to give back to the community around you. You’ll make this world a better place.

9 Ways to Share the Spirit of the Season
9 Ways to Share the Spirit of the Season

The holiday season is upon us, and many of us have already begun to celebrate. From trimming trees to lighting candles, it’s the time of year to fill your homes (and hearts) with holiday joy.

But there’s no need to stop at your front door. Let the spirit of the season radiate outward from your house into your community.

Some homeowners hang outdoor lights and decorations to help make the neighborhood “merry and bright.” But that’s not the only way to share the magic of the holidays with others.

Not sure where to start? Check out these 9 inspirational ideas for spreading cheer far and near!

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

You probably don’t have to look far to find someone who could benefit from a gift or kind gesture this time of year. Try one (or all) of these ideas for sharing the season with those closest to home.

From all of us at Guthrie Group Homes, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Libby Guthrie

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