Why I Stopped Saying “Good Morning” to Alexa

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My life has always been a quest to be the laziest possible. Wait—let’s rephrase that—the most efficient possible. 😏

As a software engineer, my job is to automate the life of my customers by creating tools that save them time. As a team lead, my job is to automate the lives of my developers (and, let’s be honest, mine too) to eliminate repetitive tasks and move faster. And as a smart home enthusiast, I just want to avoid doing the same things over and over again.

So what is this repetitive task that I decided to eliminate?

Opening the curtains every morning.

That’s it. But trust me—it’s already too much for me. 😆

The Importance of Morning Light ☀️

Opening the curtains isn’t just about seeing the world again—it’s about letting the sun in. Morning sunlight does wonders:

It gives you free light (saving a bit of electricity 💡)
It provides natural blue light that helps wake your brain up
It helps regulate your circadian rhythm, making it easier to sleep at night
It can even improve your mood (goodbye, zombie mornings 🧟‍♂️)

For that, I use SwitchBot Curtain . It’s a small device that clips onto your curtain rod and opens or closes your curtains automatically.

Morning Automation Ideas 🌅

Of course, curtains aren’t the only thing you can automate in the morning. Here are some fun ideas for your smart morning routine:

Turn on your lights with Adaptive Lighting , so the color temperature matches natural sunlight.
Start your coffee machine automatically with a SwitchBot Bot (nothing beats waking up to the smell of fresh coffee ☕).
Play your favorite playlist or radio station when you wake up.
Have your Assistant tell you your schedule, weather, and commute time.
Turn on the bathroom heater or defog the mirror before you step in.

But personally, I don’t do much in the morning—I mostly work remotely, skip breakfast, and move directly from “bed zombie” mode to work mode.

So my main needs are pretty simple: ☀️ Open the curtains 💡 Adjust the light temperature automatically with Adaptive Lighting (if you haven’t read my article about smart lights, check it out!)

The Problem with Voice Assistants 🎙️

A lot of people just say, “Good morning, Alexa” or “Hey Google, start my day.” Sounds nice, right?

Except… I tried it. And hated it.

Why? Because I’m not a morning talker. I’m more the “try to sleep five more minutes, then shuffle half-asleep to the bathroom” kind of person. Repeating myself to Alexa every morning felt like small talk before coffee. No thanks.

I also tried smart switches, but pressing them became… another repetitive task. So that wasn’t it either.

My Quest for the Perfect Trigger ⚙️

Then I thought: Let’s be smarter about this.

I used a Withings bed pressure sensor to detect when I got up between 6:45 and 14:00 (yes, my mornings can start that late—don’t judge 😄). If it wasn’t too hot (checked with the Weather integration) and the sun was above the horizon, then the curtains opened automatically.

It was brilliant… in theory.

In reality? Not so much. I tried adjusting the “time out of bed” setting to find the perfect balance — but it always backfired. Sometimes I just got up to go to the bathroom and boom, the curtains opened. Other times, I had brushed my teeth, changed clothes, and the curtains were still closed.

Back to the drawing board.

The Most Unexpected Solution: My Toothbrush 🪥

If only there was something I did every single time I woke up, without fail…

Wait. There is. Brushing my teeth!

When I first saw that Home Assistant supported some smart toothbrushes like Oral-B, I laughed out loud. “Who needs that?!” I thought.

Three months later, I bought one on sale on Amazon. 😂 What can I say? My laziness—I mean, my pursuit of efficiency—won.

How It Works 💡

I paired my Oral-B toothbrush to Home Assistant using its official integration, which connects over Bluetooth. To extend Bluetooth range, I used some ESP32 devices running ESPHome as Bluetooth proxies (I already used them for my SwitchBot devices, and they’re much cheaper than buying multiple hubs).

Then I created an automation:

When I use my toothbrush for more than 5 seconds, and:

The sun is above the horizon (checked with the Sun integration),
It’s between 6:45 and 14:00
The temperature isn’t too high (checked with the MET weather integration)
I’m home (using the Home Assistant app on my phone for presence detection),
And the trigger ID is not “morning”,

→ The curtains open automatically. 🎉

And just in case I’m not home, I added another trigger at 09:00 (with trigger ID “morning”), which opens the curtains automatically under the same conditions—so my plants still get their daily dose of light. 🌱

For easier management, I grouped all my curtains using a Group Helper, but you can use labels or other grouping methods too.

You can use my ready-made Home Assistant Blueprint !

The Result: Goodbye, “Good Morning” Alexa 👋

Now, when I wake up and brush my teeth, my curtains open automatically—without me saying a word. No buttons, no voice commands, no frustration.

Just… pure efficiency.

My mornings now start by themselves, and I can proudly say: I stopped saying “Good morning” to Alexa.

Because my smart home already knows I’m awake. 😎