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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

Today, arriving home after dark, I was met with the welcoming lights from my newly installed smart garage door opener! Needless to say, since the lights in my old garage door opener have not been working in years, it was nice (and safer) not to have to stumble my way through a dark garage. 

Back in 2001, Steph and I installed an opener. The install took a good three days, as we hit problem after problem. We were a little hesitant about tackling the install on the new Genie opener, considering our history.

But after getting started, we couldn't have been more pleased with the ease of installation! The online video and written instructions walked us seamlessly through the installation process. What problems we did encounter, were easily solved. 

Genie has made the installation of garage door openers a very DIY friendly process. As long as you have the right tools, a bit of patience, a clear understanding of the process, and a buddy to help- this is a project is for you!  

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

About a year ago, we installed the Schlage Sense lock at my house. We had a very easy time with the install and smart features' setup. As part of The Home Depot #smarthome campaign, we had a chance to try out the Schlage Connect Lock. Schlage makes three smart locks, and here you can click to see the differences.

With the Schlage Connect, you need an additional hub for the smart features to work. If you already have one of the compatible hubs in your home, which you can see here, then this might be a great lock for you. Check out below as we show you the lock install at Steph's house. 

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

My very first smart home product was the Philips Hue Go, that I use as a nightlight as well as an alarm clock. I've added several Hue bulbs since then and enjoy the app enabled features, to be able turn the bulbs off and on automatically. I was thrilled to see this Hue Pendant lights on the Philips website. 

As part of the Home Depot #smarthome campaign, we are able to request additional items to install and review. I knew when I saw this pendant light that it had to be installed at my home!

I love the clean lines and the mid-century look of it, and knew it would be perfect above my 1967 Norwegian teak mid-century table. 

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

This year, we are part of The Home Depot #smarthome campaign, which means we get sent the latest smart home products to try out and share with you! 

When we received the Emerson Sensi Touch Wi-Fi Thermostat, we debated where to install it, as we both have smart thermostats already installed in our homes. I decided to try it at my house, as my Nest thermostat is 5 years old, and I wanted to see what this new technology had to offer. 

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

We've now installed about half a dozen Ring brand smart home products at my house and Steph's house, although she has way more than I do (I feel like we need to remedy that situation)!

Ring has a variety of outdoor security devices to meet the needs of many homeowners and renters. There are models that are hardwired, some are battery operated, others plug-in, and some actually run on solar power! 

In this tutorial, we are replacing an existing floor light fixture with a wired Ring Floodlight cam. Click on the video to see the entire installation process. 

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

We've installed, and used, a variety of smart home products recently, but none as new to the market as the Ring Alarm Wireless Home Security Kit. This is a brand new offering from Ring, the makers of the widely used Ring Doorbell! If you like the Ring Doorbell, you will be excited to learn about this new DIY friendly security system. 

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

There's something magical in my garage! All I have to do is say "Alexa, garage on" and all the fans and lights just turn on! It's magic, I say, magical!

Really, its just smart home technology at its best! With only two different Leviton smart home products, we've been able to automate four fans, and 8 lights in the garage. These of course can be individually turned on, but Alexa gets the job done fast and the garage starts to cool off almost before we've closed the door.

Read on to see how we used them, and then think about what you might want to automate in your home. 

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

When it comes to upcycle or repurposing projects, this drum table lamp was a pretty straight forward transformation. You only need a couple of power tools for this project. A  jig saw, which is one of the least intimidating and inexpensive saws out there, as well as a drill and a hole saw bit. 

You may have seen our previous drum upcycle. It was a small tom made into a table/lamp. We liked that one so much that when we saw this drum on the curb on trash day, we knew we had to rescue it!

The drum we used is a floor tom, which means it already has legs. Because of this we didn't have to build something for it to stand on. That step alone eliminated a lot of work and need for additional power tools. 

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

We have had a small drum in Steph's garage for quite some time. We bought it at a thrift store a while back for $5. It never made it to the top of the to-do list for use in a project until now! 

As part of the #smarthome campaign with The Home Depot, we received two types of WiZ smart light bulbs to review. We didn't just want to review them for you, but wanted to use them in a project. What better use than to put them into some kind of lighting fixture!

That's where the drum comes in. We decided to make a little lamp/end table with one of the new bulbs. We have been using the lighted log end table for some time and love the way light is incorporated into that table, and wanted to do the same with our little drum.

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

We are continuing to bring you reviews of smart home products as part of The Home Depot SmartHome Campaign. Today's post is all about smart light switches. 

We got to try out two different switches by Leviton. You may not know the name Leviton, but you may have their products in your home and not know it! When we had electrical work done in the garage earlier this year, the electricians used all Leviton products. It's a company that's been around for a long time and they know their stuff! They have now entered the smart home market with a variety of products including these two switches. 

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We want to thank The Home Depot for sponsoring this post!

Earlier this year, we made over an underused closet at Steph's house into a highly organized and functional craft storage space. The last step in the makeover was to add lighting. We decided Philips Hue lightstrips. With these we could get the bright light we wanted, as well as the ability to control them remotely or to set them up to turn on with motion. 

Both Steph and I have been using Phillip Hue lighting for many years now and have been impressed with the simple setup and long term ease of use. These lightstrips are no exception--they're easy to install and require no attention once they are setup to active with motion. 

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The install for this Ring wired security camera is as simple as plug in and go! There's a little more to it than that, but not much more. The most difficult part of the install was deciding where to place it. Watch the end of the video to see who's placement wisdom won out!

This is the second Ring product we've installed. We've been using it for a few weeks now and couldn't be more pleased with its features and ease of use. 

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This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.

Smart home technology has been a part of Steph's home pretty much since she became a homeowner in 2013. For example, Phillips Hue light bulbs went in almost as soon as she closed on the house! So, partnering with The Home Depot on their Smart Home campaign is a natural fit. Over the next year, we will be reviewing and installing a variety of smart home devices.

​Up first is the Ring Video Doorbell Pro. The Ring comes with almost everything you need for installation. We only needed to provide a drill and a small bit. It comes with a screwdriver as well as a drill bit for drilling anchor holes if needed. 

The front of my house faces east so it gets a lot of direct sunlight. The door had faded to the point that it needed new paint so we decided to give it a new coat of paint. 

Once the door was finished it was apparent that the lock and handset were looking a little dull and worn. We discussed several options and decided that we should look into installing a smart lock. We talked with The Home Depot and they offered to send us a lock and handset to try out in the brand and style we wanted!

My husband uses the front door 99% of the time. He usually has his hands full making it hard to use the key without having to set things down. With the smart lock, all he has to do is tap the code into the screen (or use his iPhone) and the door opens. Easy Peasy! 

The install was a breeze and went without a hitch. Take a look at the process. 

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There is nothing more annoying than decorating with Christmas lights and then having to plug them in to turn them on! I’ve had an outlet switch for years that I keep just to control the lights on my tree. All the lights are plugged in end to end and then the last one is plugged into the switch which is plugged into the outlet. I can toggle it on and off to control the lights. 

That’s a very low tech way to control the lights but these days there are so many ways to control those lights. There are so many options from low to high tech!

Take a look at some of the ways to control your holiday lighting.