25 Genius Home Upgrades That Transform Daily Life

Buzz Feed

23-07-2025

Sometimes, a small addition to your home can make such a big difference that you wonder how you ever lived without it. Recently, people on Reddit shared their favorite small home upgrade that improved their lives, and it's given me a ton of ideas. Here's what people had to say:
"I got a smart bulb in my bedroom lamp that slowly comes up in brightness for 20 minutes before my alarm goes off. Because our bodies are programmed to wake with the rising sun, I actually feel more awake when the alarm goes off, rather than like a patient being jarringly shocked back to life by an alarm going off in the dark."
—HaiKarate
"We added smart open/close sensors connected to smart thermostats, so if someone leaves any window open, it sets temp high in summer or low in winter and then reverts to regular schedule when windows close. Also notifies me of which window opens/closes."
"Ceiling fan on the back porch to keep bugs away."
"A high-quality garden hose and nozzle. The nozzle is a nice-to-have, but the hose is just soooo much easier to use. Such a time saver when getting it out and hanging it back up. Less kinks and easier to move around."
—DavidAg02
"Motion sensor switches in the laundry room and walk-in closets. My wife kept forgetting to turn off the light in her closet, so I installed them. Typically, we have our hands full moving folded laundry, so a motion sensor switch eliminates us from using our elbows/hands. Also keeps the wall and switch clean since we also go in and out to the garage through the laundry room."
"I started keeping scissors in every drawer, and as they migrate away, I just keep replacing them until the house reaches equilibrium."
"Keeping a battery on-hand for power outages is really nice. You could build a simple DIY solar system, or just use a bench (lab) power supply to keep the battery trickle-charged. Then, connect a cigarette lighter and USB car charger to the battery. Boom, you now have phone, laptop, and USB flashlight backup power."
—960be6dde311
"Here's a relatively minor, but stupid life hack that came with my house: the light switch to the basement is installed upside down. Infuriating, right? Wrong! When you're going down the stairs with a basket of laundry, a downward motion turns on the lights. When you're coming up with a basket of laundry, and upward motion turns off the lights. It just works naturally."
"My husband bought some smart LED light bulbs from Phillips that have an app to use them. You can adjust the color, set up a timer, and turn them on or off from the next county over. I'm a big fan! I especially love the color adjust feature. He has them set to a warm tone, almost peachy. It is so homey!"
"Maybe not a home upgrade but a robot vacuum. We have a dog that sheds like a fool and a long-haired orange cat. It takes a minute or two to empty and brush out the container every morning. It keeps the hair under control, so I only have to actually vacuum every 10-14 days."
—Unlikely_Kangaroo_93
"Top down window shades if you're in an area where the homes are close together, as well as magnetic door holders if you're the type who likes to have your windows open for the breeze."
"Installing those outlet covers that include a nightlight built-in, especially on stair landings and outside the bathroom."
"Outlets with USB/USBC ports included and code locks for front door."
—gretchens
"Adding a garbage disposal. We still compost food scraps, but cleaning the soggy crumbs out of the sink drain was always my least favorite chore."
"A motion sensor for the driveway/front walk. If I'm coming home, it kicks on for me to pull in. If I'm already home, I know if anyone is outside or coming up the walk in the evening."
"Dimmers in several rooms: main bathroom, baby's room, and baby's bathroom. It's such a lifestyle improvement to be able to dim the lights when we're getting ready for bed or in the morning. I also have a few smart ceiling lights in the living room and kitchen that I can dim with a phone app. I don't love connected devices, but it was the simplest solution."
—1bananatoomany
"I built a bar as soon as I moved in. It's been the center point of conversation, the hub of entertainment, and the greatest investment I've made in the home."
"Blackout shades on my bedroom windows that slide into a frame that's attached to the window frame, so there's no light at all when I'm sleeping. I no longer wake up at dawn every day, and I don't have to put a sleep mask on to sleep in past 5 a.m."
"We installed pot racks in our pantry, and we hang all our pots and pans there now. It improved access to the items we use all the time and freed up a ton of cupboard space."
—AThousandBloodhounds
"It's amazing how quiet new dishwashers and bathroom fans have become. If yours are 10+ years old, you'll be stunned at how much pointless noise you've acclimated to."
"I installed timers on the light switches that control the outside lights. Saves the headache of remembering to turn them on before I go to bed and off when I wake up, and gives me some peace of mind when I am gone that the lights still change (like someone is home). Such an easy thing to do!"
"A bidet."
—Lotsavodka"My bidet has a motion-sensing light and lid built in. Also, heated seat and water."—lead_injection
"Fingerprint locks on my front and back doors! With a push-button start on my car, my keys never leave my purse; it's wonderful! I can also control them from my phone from anywhere, so letting someone in to water my plants is easy."
"We replaced our kitchen cabinet hinges with soft-close models. Much quieter when kids slam them late at night."
"Two comforters for the bed! There's no reason to ever have to fight for covers."
—PaxtonSuggs
"Wall-mounted can crusher. You can fit more cans in the recycling and reduce trips to the larger bin in the back of our house."
"Instant hot water heater. Makes nearly boiling water at the tap. If you like tea, need to quickly sanitize things, or boil pasta, etc, it's the best $400 I've spent on my house, I think."
"I replaced the old smoke/CO2 alarms throughout my home after moving in. They look nice, the batteries last 10 years, they are very easy to get down if needed, and I have the option to silent test them, which is perfect for dogs. I can also silence them from the app (yep, my cooking has already caused one to go off), which comes in handy for tall ceilings and having to find a ladder during the chaos of one going off."
"The cherry on top is that I can see the status of them on an app, including battery status. So if one goes off and I'm at work, I get a notification. The app is also set to bypass DND if alarms go off, so I would never miss an alert. I highly recommend it."—hark_the_snark
And finally, "All our doors have handles, not knobs. Hands full? Just lean whatever you are carrying on the handle and it opens."
Is there anything else you would add? Tell us all about it in the comments or via the anonymous form below!