Inspiration

My happy place

Article by Homes to Love

Next editor Sarah Henry’s Morepork by Spark home security system means she can head to her caravan on weekends without worrying about everything at home

Sarah-house

If there was one word to sum up my weekdays it would be hectic! Monday through Friday is a revolving round of ‘to-do’ lists, washing, meetings, searches for missing socks, deadlines, supermarket visits, traffic jams, reports, school lunches, email alerts, more deadlines, searches for crucial toy parts, washing, did I mention the washing? It’s a full-on pace that all working mothers will appreciate which is why, come some weekends I can’t wait to escape to my little piece of paradise – a compact grey and white 1970s caravan housed at a place a world away from my central Auckland life.

This is my happy place, my sanity saver, a haven where my son Cooper and I go to chill out and just “be” rather than “do”. We go as much as we can but up until recently there has always been a nagging worry in the back of my mind when we’re there – what’s happening back at home? I still haven’t forgiven the little so-and-sos that broke into my house a couple of years ago, helped themselves to my stuff and created one hell of a mess and hassle. So I have to admit that every time I drove through my gates after being away I’d dread what I was going to find.

Well, no more. Thanks to my Morepork system from Spark I can now fully relax in the knowledge that all is fine on the home front – plus I’ve discovered some other smart-living advantages – who knew home security could be so helpful?

First up, I have lost count of the number of times I’ve had to turn the car around and go back because I’ve forgotten to turn on the alarm (getting out of the house with a small child and boisterous puppy can be chaotic). Not anymore though. Quicker than a Facebook like, I can switch my alarm on from anywhere as long as I have my phone. This feature is also really great if you have those moments like, ‘S**t, did I turn the alarm on?’ A simple check of the app will answer that for you. Now if they could just do that with hair straighteners my life would be complete.

Sarah-Henry

In the loop

Secondly, is there anything more annoying than hearing someone’s house alarm going off randomly in your neighbourhood for hours on end? This used to play on my mind when I was away as my old system used to do just that. But with Morepork I can share access using the Loop-In function with my best friend, who (along with me) will get alerts on her mobile phone if my alarm is triggered and she can go and check things out. It only costs me a bottle of wine on my return, but at least she shares it with me.

Code keeper

But one of the features I love the most is the fact you can give out temporary codes. In the past I’ve had times where I’ve had to delay trips away or even cancel them when something comes up. Just the other day I needed an item for work on the Monday morning and the only time I could get it dropped off from my contact was during the weekend. In the old days I would be cursing about ‘bloody work taking over my life’; instead I simply arranged to get the person a key before I left and gave them a special unique code for my Morepork system. An alert was sent to my phone when they entered the house and I also got one a few minutes later once they’d left so I could carry on with my time-out knowing my house was secure and I wouldn’t be stressing out come Monday morning about where my vital report was.

When I first got Morepork, I thought it was simply an alarm system and not that much to get excited about, but I’ve realised it’s so much more than that. It’s a piece of technology that is helping streamlined my hectic life in more ways than I ever imagined. And isn’t that what we all want?

Sarah-morepork

Peace of mind these holidays is just an app click away with Morepork by Spark

  • Give family, friends or neighbours access to the app. If you choose the Professional Response plan, alerts go to your home security monitoring service too.
  • Or check in on the teenagers at home – or pets, builders and babysitters (just let them know!) Request a still photo or live video feed using the “peek in” function on the app.
  • No need to annoy the neighbours with a piercing alarm that can’t be switched off because you can turn Morepork on or off from the app. That means it’s also no problem if you’ve forgotten to set the alarm before you leave home.
  • If your alarm goes off, you can see a photo or video clip of what triggered it so you can decide what to do. If it’s a false alarm, you can simply reset your Morepork.
  • View your history. See a record of what’s happened in your home by viewing the history list.

Morepork looks after the things you love:  www.morepork.nz

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