5 of the Most Useful Gadgets to Have in Your Home

So what can you buy on Amazon which is any good these days? We thought we’d throw together another updated post featuring some of the best, handy gadgets to order on Amazon, to have around the house. 

 

Here at Prizes Drop, our members are busy earning points which can be swapped for free Amazon gift cards, codes, or other leading store vouchers across the web. (Sign up to get your own, personal dashboard right now! All you have to do is complete easy mini-tasks like watching ads or completing short surveys.)

 

Another need for this article is that many of us are spending more time at home these days in the wake of Covid-19, which continues to place restrictions, curfews and complete lock-downs. Instead of spending money on holidays, many folk are trying to improve their living spaces and try their hands at some DIY - or by online shopping! Is it about time you streamlined your home living experience with some tech?

 

 

1. Amazon Alexa / Smart Speakers

 

 

Let’s face it, these are only really useful for weather reports, news summaries and as a speaker playing any radio station or music library track. But... these are pretty useful and requested things, on a daily basis! Also, these Amazon, Google speakers etc. also do reminders, countdowns, games and stories, calculations, translations etc, and are becoming more interactive home ‘stations’ with their touch-screens.  They’re also darn good value for their price now.

 

View on Amazon.com

 

 

2. Wi-Fi Plugs - linked to smartphone / smart speakers

 

 

We don’t all have the latest Google Home setup linked to our smartphones and speaker devices, with the power to control lighting, heating, security etc. 

 

However, we can all order a bunch of these plugs and link them to our smartphones or Alexa's - which is very similar. Any device can then be set on a regular schedule, such as a lamp in a certain room - or a move-able heater - switching off automatically on certain days and times. 

 

This can not only be handy for convenience but also save even further on already LED-based lighting. 

 

View on Amazon.com

 

3. Motion-sensitive Night Light

 

 

This might seem obvious, but if you’ve got a low-lying plug socket at the top or bottom of a staircase, then getting one of these can provide night-time security for your household. This means you'll no longer need to switch on a bigger light in the middle of the night. Also great for kids stumbling around or sleep-walking, providing extra security and peace of mind. You can put them in a kitchen socket too, for automatic lighting when you need that hot drink or medicine after dark. 

 

View on Amazon.com

 

4. Dimmable Touch Lamps

 

 

And no more fidgeting around trying to find the light switch next to your bed. You - possibly - haven't found time to solve this infuriating aspect of modern life. Well, these useful, dimmable touch-lights are the answer, and they come with USB phone/charging ports. They also have an incremental setting, meaning if you touch it once it comes on low, twice it’s brighter, three times brightest, and finally to turn it off.

 

The attractive wood-based ones don’t look so bad compared to many metal-based alternatives. Touch-lamps are a great way to quietly illuminate any room, without having to whisper to an Alexa (that doesn't want to listen!) or hunt for the darn switch. In fact, these lamps are the way forward for mankind as a whole.

 

View on Amazon.com

 

5. This Bedside Clock / Wake-up Light

 

 

You might already have an Alexa smartspeaker in your bedroom, which whispers the time at you, but this is even better, since it displays the time all through the night! Plus, it will wake you up every morning with a gradual light growing in intensity, and can be programmed to match the light of dawn. Studies have shown that it’s healthier to wake up with light to aid our body clock and to prevent sleeping in for too long in darkness. 

 

Really though, it’s just handier not to have to switch on a light at all, from a source which isn’t so bright it necessarily wakes up everyone at once, in one blinding flash! And having a bedside clock always displaying the time night or day, is surprisingly overlooked for single people and partners with different sleeping habits. 

 

Note: Ideally, latest Amazon Alexa's etc. should have this feature included via a Skill or app. Those with a screen-based Alexa will already have an illuminated bedside clock, but the glow from the above light is larger and more effective at present. 

 

View on Amazon.com

 

 

That’s it for this round-up of our top 5 handy, affordable items from Amazon, to have in your home. This list may not be super-exciting or super high tech, but lighting, energy saving and receiving daily information are the most common - and overlooked - things to get right in any home. 

 

Will technology ever advance beyond this? Perhaps when we’re all wearing AR glasses permanently attached to your faces, but at least not until then. 

 

Keep busy earning those points here at Prizes Drop and you’ll be swapping them for these brilliant home devices - in no time at all! 

 

We’ll be back again soon with fresh round ups for other things you can swap your points for, including Netflix or Prime streaming releases, video game highlights and other useful household gadgets.