When I first began testing early smart plugs, they had limited on/off functionality and often clunky apps. Today’s smart plugs are another beast. They’re compact and easy to setup, with features like scheduling, advanced home routines or energy management. Today smart plugs are one of the most versatile, useful gadgets you can add to your home.

My CNET colleagues and I have turned everyday appliances — such as old coffee makers and living room lamps — into smart devices we can control from our phones, all in just a few minutes. Here are our favorite ways to use these added functions every day. Keep reading to see which tricks will fit into your life, too.

Upgrade waking up with hot coffee, warm curling irons and more

It’s not always easy to get out of bed in the morning but smart plugs can make it a little more pleasant. Use a smart plug to sync your bedside lamp and radio to greet you with your alarm to help you get moving and motivated to start the day. 

Is coffee a key component of your morning routine? Same here, which is why I use a smart plug to automatically brew a pot first thing. Just remember to fill your coffee maker with grounds and water the night before.

You can also schedule your electronic toothbrush to begin charging when you wake up and stop charging after a few minutes to save some energy — it doesn’t need to charge all day. Or, program your curling iron to heat up 20 minutes after waking up. I also find setting my radiant heater to come on a little early in the office does wonders on cold mornings.

Tell Alexa to turn off the lights

Most smart plugs work with popular smart home ecosystems and offer an easy entry point for connecting to voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Home. That’s useful for lamps that don’t have smart bulbs, holiday light strings and other plug-in devices. Siri works for some plugs, but it’s much more rare.

Instead of pulling the app up on your phone and manually turning the lights out at night, simply tell your smart home hub to do it with a command like, “Hey Alexa, turn off the dining light,” or “Hey Google, run the nighttime routine.”

You may also like it for nightlights, which can make it hard for sensitive sleepers to fall asleep but can be activated with a word when attached to a smart plug.

Be sure to name the smart plug carefully so your hub knows which device to turn off. Keep the lights in the “on” state and let the plug manage off/on based on your voice commands.

Or let home routines do the work

Now we’re really talking about “smart.” Many smart plugs are built with IFTTT capabilities or compatibility with platforms such as Alexa and Google Home, enabling you to pair them with other smart devices and automate how they interact.

For example, with a compatible smart plug and thermostat, you could automate a fan to turn on if the temperature gets a little warm and then turn back off when it’s cooler. You could also do the same with a space heater when the temperature drops. 

For home security, try setting your smart plug to turn on a lamp when your outdoor camera detects activity in the backyard or automatically set a lamp to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise.

A kick for the kids

Some of our favorite smart plug uses at CNET include impressing kids. While we know how smart devices like plugs and lights work (mostly), to a child, it’s nothing short of magic. 

Have the app for your smart plug ready, then proclaim your uncanny ability to turn the lights on or off at your command. Use a countdown or the trusty “abracadabra” to really sell it, then hit the button in the app.

Your audience is sure to be captivated, but what’s even more fun is letting them be the magician. Instruct them to use a word or gesture to control the lights and use your phone to make it happen each time they do.

Fair warning: This will get old for you before it gets old for them. Be prepared for the “batteries to go out” or the light to “break.” Also, you can set voice assistants to recognize and respond to specific voices only if you’re tired of the lights going on and off all the time.

Manage dinner and other food prep

I’m not quite as sold on this idea as the last one, but some busy cooks swear by it. Use your smart plug to start your money-saving crockpot or sous-vide steak before you get home. Doing so will take much of the idle time out of cooking, potentially paving the way for recipes and cooking methods you wouldn’t otherwise be able to enjoy. 

My concern here is food safety. How long are you leaving that food out before the cooking begins? Be mindful of foodborne illnesses when using your smart plug to delay the cooking process. That said, this kind of scheduling is handy for other food tasks, too, such as starting the kettle when you’re busy around the house or turning on a warming bowl for dip while you’re watching game highlights.

Command your outdoor lights

Outdoor lighting can be about more than deterring unwanted visitors. Something as simple as a good set of outdoor string lights can really spruce up your outdoor living space. But plugging and unplugging them? That’s a hassle. And next month’s power bill? Even worse. 

Employ outdoor smart plugs to automatically turn on your outdoor lights, fan or any other outdoor plug-in accessory in the evening and then turn it off at sunrise. Do the same with an indoor plug for the lights on your Christmas tree during the holidays. 

Turn fountains on or off

I found a particulalry effective use case by accident while I was experimenting with smart plugs and a number of different devices. One troublemaker was a pet drinking fountain I had that was designed to let water flow silently. However, when its spout would occasionally drifted or get partially blocked, the fountain started making loud trickling noises.

That noise gets annoying over time when you’re trying to enjoy a meal, watch a movie or read a book. I quickly appreciated the ability to shout commands at the fountain to turn it off until I could find time to fix what was wrong. This trick should work on any plug-in fountain that occasionally acts up.

Set up a candle warmer schedule

When I was reviewing the latest smart candle warmer from SwitchBot, I remarked how nice it was to set timers or start the candle warmer remotely without worrying about burning the house down. That way, you can come home or wake up to a room filled with scented candle smells without making smoke detectors angry.

Using a smart plug, you can recruit any candle warmer (which are available around $20 to $30 from a variety of shops) to get the same benefits. That’s also an additional trick for rentals and dorms where open flames may not be allowed. Set a schedule for an hour or so before you get home for the best results.

Secure your garage door

Modern garage doors have ways to stop would-be burglars, from remotes that automatically shift codes to prevent hacking to built-in smart features. But not all garage doors are modern — many are 20 to 30 years old and still chugging along, and they’re more vulnerable to security issues.

If you’re worried about someone spoofing your garage door remote or using codes to break in, look to the ceiling. Most garage door motors are plugged into a standard outlet. That means you can attach them to a smart plug with the help of a ladder.

Connecting a smart plug let’s you set the garage door motor to off, ensuring it simply won’t work, even if someone has the remote or the frequency the remote uses. In my tests this really seems to work, and could be a useful safety precaution for long vacations and other trips. Simply use the app to turn the garage motor back on when you get home.

Remotely restart your router

Even the best Wi-Fi routers can give you some trouble when you need to access them. The top of a bookshelf is a good spot for your router, unless you need to reach it. Your router could also be tucked away in a closet, depending on where your internet connection enters the home. Or your router may be easily accessible but on another floor when you need to restart it. Mine is currently on a mantle shelf, and I use a dual-outlet smart plug to make room for all needed connections while also giving the router smart powers.

In case of trouble, use your smart plug to cut power to your router for around 30 seconds, then turn it back on, effectively restarting it. Note that if your router has a battery backup, this won’t work. But if that’s the case, neither would unplugging it — you’d still have to take the batteries out. 

End your day the right way

Wouldn’t it be nice if your bed was cozy and warm before you got in it? Preheat your bed by plugging that comfy, cozy electric blanket into a smart plug and letting it heat up a few minutes before bedtime. And no need to worry about drifting away to dreamland before turning the blanket off. Just set your smart plug to turn it off for you.

I can’t tell you how often I’ve fallen asleep reading a book, leaving my bedside lamp on. Not only does that waste energy but it’s also annoying to anyone else trying to get some sleep. A smart plug can either turn the light off automatically at a certain time or give the person on the other side of the bed the means to turn out the light without getting up.

The same could be said for the TV if you like to wind down with a show. While most TVs include a sleep timer, the setting may not be easy to find. Also, you may be using the remote to a streaming device, which doesn’t have the button to access sleep timer settings. Either way, using a smart plug is a great way to keep your TV from staying on all night. 

Now’s a great time to check out more tips and tricks, like where to put your thermostat, how to get stains out of your clothes and ways to protect your home Wi-Fi network.