These 5 Smart Home Gadgets Will Save You Hours Every Week

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Smart home gadgets are getting increasingly popular, and for good reason. The primary motive of these devices is to make our lives easier. Whether it's smart gadgets for home security or something as simple as a smart plug that can automatically turn devices on and off, these accessories seamlessly integrate into our lifestyle and provide added peace of mind. Beyond automating existing devices and reducing the physical effort required to complete a task, a key use case of smart home tech is saving time. Time is money, and that's especially true for those who work tough jobs and have barely any time to spare for household chores.

If you often find yourself caught up with too much work, and you don't want to spend any more time carrying out mundane activities around the house, these smart gadgets can save you hours every week. Once you automate certain tasks around the house, you will have more time on hand to enjoy a movie in your home theater, head out with friends, or even spend some time playing games on your favorite gaming console. We've compiled a list of five smart home gadgets that can give you back a substantial amount of time each week. While we've personally used some of these gadgets, we've also relied on user reviews and testimonials to select the right ones. From must-have cooking gadgets for your kitchen to cleaning robots, we've covered it all.

One of the most essential activities at home, and arguably the one that takes the most time, is cooking. Of course, making a simple sandwich or salad may not take more than a few minutes. But you can't eat that every day, can you? You may be avoiding cooking fancy meals purely because of the time and effort it takes. Well, Posha — a cooking robot — is here to address this exact issue. Posha sits on your kitchen countertop and automatically prepares your favorite dishes in a matter of a few minutes. All you have to do is add the required ingredients and select the relevant recipe on the onboard screen. Posha then adds all the ingredients and cooks the dish at the proper intervals — all by itself. There's absolutely no human intervention required.

Posha can cook multiple cuisines, including American, Indian, Chinese, Italian, and Thai. It's essentially a mini-restaurant chef that makes cooking entirely autonomous, so you don't have to spend nearly as much time in the kitchen. If a single meal can require an hour or more of manual labor, Posha can save you several hours per week, which is significant when extrapolated over a month or a year. Moreover, Posha can save you a considerable amount of money each month, as you can now prepare your favorite dishes at home instead of spending on takeout. Now that's a win-win!

Along with cooking, cleaning is a highly time-consuming task. Some people prefer cleaning their homes every day, while others dust and mop once a week. While the frequency may vary from person to person, what remains constant is that cleaning the house is a tedious task that takes a lot of time. So, why not automate the cleaning process? Now, there are a ton of robot vacuum cleaners out there for this job. Among them, the Roborock Qrevo series robot vacuum stands out for several reasons. For starters, this is an all-in-one vacuum, which means it can not only sweep the floor but also mop it with water and detergent. There's also an anti-tangle brush, automatic object avoidance, and a massive 8,000Pa suction power — one of the highest we've seen on robot vacuums.

While the cleaning is obviously automatic, one of the main reasons behind recommending this Roborock vacuum is its large self-emptying base. Thanks to this, you don't have to manually clean the vacuum's filter every time it finishes cleaning. The robot goes to its base, empties its dust filter, and is ready to clean again the next day. Thanks to the huge 2.7L self-emptying base, you only have to manually clean the filter once every seven to nine weeks, which saves you even more time. Just use the smartphone app to schedule your cleaning sessions, and enjoy watching TV while your floors stay neat and tidy.

If you have a large home with lots of open spaces and a huge backyard, you're inevitably going to spend a good chunk of your weekend mowing the lawn. While everyone loves having a green, trimmed lawn surrounding their castle, maintaining it is an enormous hassle. Segway wants to change that with the Navimow i105N robot lawn mower. It's a compact device that functions similarly to a robot vacuum, except it doesn't clean floors. It cuts grass. Once you position it in your backyard, you can use the companion app to run a scan of the lawn area. The Navimov robot automatically detects areas to be mowed and sets a virtual perimeter. You can also set boundaries using the app for areas where you don't want the robot to enter.

As per Segway, this robot lawnmower can work even in wooded areas because it can detect obstacles automatically to avoid them. If you have multiple lawns at home, you can set specific schedules for each section in the app. For large houses, this is a massive time-saver. Using a traditional lawn mower also requires a substantial amount of effort, so this machine also saves you manual labor. You can integrate it with Alexa for voice commands, so you can also operate it without reaching for your phone. While the result may not be as impressive as someone manually carrying out the task, it's impressive for the price, given it's a one-time investment.

Now that you've mowed your lawn with a robot, it's time to take care of it with proper irrigation. While watering your lawn and the plants in and around it may not take a lot of time, you can still save a good few hours every week or month when you compound the time spent carrying out the activity every few days. The Rachio Wi-Fi smart sprinkler makes it extremely simple to water your lawn remotely without any manual effort. The third-gen system provides up to eight zones for installing sprinklers, after which you can control it via the companion app. The best part of this gadget is the app itself, since it gives you a wide range of irrigation methods to choose from.

For starters, you can set a fixed irrigation schedule for certain days of the week. The Rachio smart sprinkers also have the ability to activate based on weather conditions. If it's raining in your locality, the sprinklers automatically shut off even if they are scheduled to run that day. While the primary goal is to save water by using smart irrigators, these gadgets also save you a good amount of time by automating the process. Of course, the installation process may take some time, especially if you're new to gardening, but that's a one-time task. If you have plenty of plants and want them to stay healthy without all the elbow grease, this may be a must-have gadget. Customers have even reported that it saves money in the long run, since it reduces water runoff from over-saturated zones.

While this is the most expensive gadget on this list, it's also one of the best, not only for saving time but also for reducing sleepless nights. The Cradlewise smart bassinet and crib is the ultimate gadget for your baby. Along with being the perfect place for your kid to sleep, Cradlewise has added some extremely useful tech into this gadget that makes it a worthy investment. For starters, there's a built-in baby monitor — a device most parents purchase to keep a constant eye on their children. Since it's built into the crib, you won't need a separate one. The monitor also sends you real-time alerts when the baby is uncomfortable or crying. This way, you're always connected to your baby even when you're away from home.

Then, there's the built-in sound machine that reduces background noise and disturbances to help your baby sleep better. There are some baked-in smarts that automatically detect a baby's actions and trigger certain tasks. For instance, if your baby starts stirring while asleep, the crib gently moves and bounces to help put the baby back to sleep. The monitor also alerts you when it detects that the baby is on the verge of waking up. It replicates human movements, such as bouncing and light swinging, to comfort the baby as needed. You can also view your baby in the app, track its sleep, and set notifications when it needs your attention. This helps you rest better, saves you substantial time you would otherwise spend manually checking on the baby, and increases your peace of mind. 

All the gadgets on this list automatically solve a problem in everyday life that would otherwise require human intervention and time. The idea is that these gadgets make life simpler by handling chores like cooking, cleaning, etc., by themselves, allowing you to spend more time relaxing or pursuing hobbies. Along with time, all of these gadgets ensure you put a lot less effort into mundane activities, while also being able to focus on your work or leisure activities. The Posha cooking robot, Roborock Qvero robot vacuum, and Cradlewise smart crib have been personally tested by the writer over a duration of several weeks, while the remaining gadgets have been picked based on excellent user reviews on the online storefronts they're available.