Google Home: how I use it, what I love about it, and why I’m completely obsessed.
Have you heard of Google Home? It’s okay if you haven’t, because it gives me a chance to talk about my obsession with it, and to share how I use it all day, every day. We’ve become inseparable, my Google Home and I.
So, let’s discuss. What is Google Home? Well, it’s a smart speaker a with a built in assistant for your home.
What does that mean? How does one use it?
Here’s how we’re using it in the Czarnecki household. Google Home sits on the bookshelf in the study, which is one of the main areas of our house, right next to the kitchen and dining room. When I come down the stairs in the morning I ask (in a regular, non-shouty voice) “OK, Google, what’s the forecast for today?” and Google Home will respond. Today, for example, as I was coming down the stairs to the kitchen I asked about the weather and learned that the forecast includes snow all day, with a high of 20 degrees with a winter storm warning.
The best part is that this happens while I’m walking into the kitchen to get breakfast ready, without touching a thing. This is really helpful not just for me, but as I’m getting my kids out the door for the day. I can ask about the forecast while I’m making toast and know whether or not to add a hat and gloves to my kid’s backpacks without lifting a finger.
Another cool feature I’m loving is that I can ask Google Home to tell me what the inside temperature is, and based on that number ask it to change the temperature on my Nest thermostat. For example, the other night I was watching the Gilmore Girls marathon on the sofa in the family room, and I felt extra chilly. So I said, “OK Google, what’s the thermostat set to right now?” and Google Home told me it was 65 degrees, so I said, “OK Google, turn the thermostat up to 70 degrees”, all without moving an inch from my comfortable perch on the sofa. Pretty cool, right?
The feature we use and love, probably more than any other on Google Home, is to play music from Spotify without doing anything. We almost always have music playing at my house, and Google Home has made the process so easy I don’t know what to do with myself.
Instead of playing a Spotify playlist from my laptop on the kitchen table while I make dinner, I say “OK google, play ‘Night’ and Google Home will play my Spotify playlist called ‘Night’ while I chop vegetables. And when one of my kids comes into the room to talk, instead of asking them to turn the music on my computer off I say, “OK Google, turn the music down by 30%” and the music gets turned down by 30%. Or, if the music is too distracting I can just ask it to pause, or to stop, and the music gets turned off altogether.
It’s like magic, but better, because it’s completely dictated by me.
The other thing I love a lot is that the microphone on Google Home is really sensitive, so I don’t have to yell to be heard, even when I’m in the middle of listening to loud music. And the sound quality is so good, music can be heard throughout the house.
I am, in a word, obsessed. Smitten. Enchanted. Google Home has only been in our home for a few short weeks, but already it is a beloved member of the family, “OK, Google, how do you say ‘I love you?'”
// This post was written in partnership with Google Home. All naughty children, photos, and obsessions are my own. Google Home was sent to me to try in participation with this post. As always, thank you for your kindness to the sponsors who keep Petit Elefant going. //
Allison
Hello there! I'm Allison Czarnecki, founder + editor of Petit Elefant, a blog all about style on a budget for every part of your life: style / home / travel / family. I do a lot of how-to beauty + style tutorials, travel posts, easy recipes, home remodel projects, and cool DIY crafts you totally want to try. I'm super happily married (to a hot Polish immigrant) and am the mother of two kids, a daughter and son, all of whom are featured here on the regular. We live in the country but we're a little bit rock + roll. Welcome!
