ThingzSafe
Included with Pro

Using Alexa
with ThingzSafe

Find your belongings, check what is in a cupboard, and update your stock as you use it or restock it. All by voice.

Alexa voice commands use UK English. Translated examples explain how it works; they do not promise voice support in other languages.

Alexa voice control is included with Pro. This page explains how to use it.

Getting started

Set up once. Talk any time.

You will need:

  • A ThingzSafe Pro household
  • Your inventory saved in the cloud, with an internet connection
  • Your cupboards and storage places already set up in ThingzSafe

  1. Link Alexa

    Connect Alexa to your ThingzSafe household. Check you have chosen the right household.

  2. Say the opening words

    Begin with “Alexa, ask ThingzSafe to…”.

  3. Say what you want

    For example: “…add four tins of tomatoes to the kitchen cupboard.”

Never say a password or sign-in code aloud. You do not need to.

Sharing an Echo? Anyone who can use a connected shared Echo may be able to ask about your stock. Use read-only mode to prevent changes, or disconnect Alexa at any time.

Things you can say

Say it your way.

Alexa understands everyday wording such as add, put, remove, take out, how many and where.

Add supplies

“Add four tins of tomatoes to the kitchen cupboard.”

Four tins are added to what is recorded.

Use something

“Remove one tin of tomatoes from the kitchen cupboard.”

One tin is taken off the total.

Finish a package

“I've finished a packet of teabags.”
“I've used up a tube of toothpaste.”

One packet or tube is removed. Alexa asks where it was if needed.

Correct the count

“Stock check five jars of tomatoes in the kitchen cupboard.”
“There are five jars of tomatoes in the kitchen cupboard.”

The total becomes five, once you confirm. It does not add five.

Check a quantity

“How many tins of tomatoes are in the kitchen cupboard?”

Alexa reads out what is recorded.

Find something

“Where do I have tomatoes?”
“Where is my drill?”

Alexa tells you where matching items are recorded.

Move supplies

“Move two tins of tomatoes from the kitchen cupboard to the barn store.”

Two tins are moved from one place to the other.

Get help

“Help.”
“What can I say?”

Alexa gives you a few short examples.

Reverse a mistake

“Undo that.”

Alexa checks the last voice change and asks before reversing it.

One instruction at a time. Add the milk first, then remove the tomatoes as a separate instruction. For a longer list in one cupboard, use quick mode (below).

Adding something new

Say “Add toothpaste” and Alexa asks how many. If it is not yet recorded in that cupboard, Alexa offers to add it as a new item inside that cupboard, and checks the details with you first. To create new cupboards, Areas or Sites, use the app.

Quick mode

Restocking or counting a whole shelf?

Pick one cupboard or storage Thing, then say your items one after another. You only say the cupboard once.

Quick add

Start with one of these:

  • “Add the following to the kitchen cupboard.”
  • “Start list mode for the kitchen cupboard.”
  • “Start quick add mode for the kitchen cupboard.”

Then say each item with its quantity, for example “tinned tomatoes four”, “five gherkins”, “six pork chops”. You can say the quantity before or after the name.

  • Quick add increases what is recorded.
  • Each clear entry is saved straight away, with no yes or no each time.
  • If a name, place or amount is unclear, Alexa asks.

Quick stock check

Say “Start quick stock check mode for the kitchen cupboard” or “Start quick check mode for the kitchen cupboard”. Then say “gherkins two”, “tomatoes five”. Each number is what is there now, so it replaces the recorded count. It does not add to it.

Finishing

Say “Finish”, “Stop” or “Cancel” to leave quick mode. Entries already saved stay saved. Cancelling does not undo the whole list.

Tips. Wait for Alexa to finish speaking and start listening before your next entry, because it cannot follow two things said at once. Use full product names when several things might match. Singular and plural, such as meringue nest and meringue nests, should be treated as the same item when there is only one match.

If Alexa gets a name wrong

You do not have to be perfect.

If there is a likely match, Alexa checks with you before it changes anything.

YouAdd four cans of gherkins to the barn cupboard.
AlexaDid you mean add four cans of gherkins to the barn store?
YouYes.
AlexaAdded four cans of gherkins. You now have six in the barn store.

If the suggestion is wrong, say “No”. Alexa asks what you meant. Nothing changes until the corrected instruction is confirmed.

YouNo.
AlexaWhich location did you mean?
YouThe kitchen cupboard.
AlexaAdd four cans of gherkins to the kitchen cupboard?
YouYes.

If several items or places match, Alexa asks which one you mean. Add the Site or Area if it helps, for example “the kitchen cupboard at home”.

Teach Alexa your own names. You will be able to save a nickname, such as “barn cupboard” for “barn store”. Alexa always asks before it remembers a new name. Different products are never joined together just because they sound alike.

Changed your mind?

  • Say “Actually, make that three” to change the amount before it is saved.
  • Say “Cancel” to stop without changing anything.
  • If you leave a question unanswered for too long, just start again. A late “Yes” will not complete an old request.

Counting

Be clear what you are counting.

Say what you are counting: four tins, two packets or one tube. Finishing one packet of teabags takes one packet off, not every teabag inside it.

  • “Tins” and “cans” mean the same thing.
  • Jars, pots and cans may be different things, so Alexa may ask which you mean.
  • “Four tomatoes” and “four tins of tomatoes” are kept as separate entries, unless you choose otherwise.
  • Weights and part quantities depend on the unit recorded for that item. Alexa asks if it cannot use the quantity you give.

When you count what is really there

Say “There are five…” or “Stock check five…” to replace the recorded count. Alexa reads back the old and new numbers, and asks you to confirm. It also notes when the stock was last checked.

Taking away more than you have

If you ask to remove more than is recorded, Alexa tells you what is recorded and asks what you want to do. It never quietly goes below zero. An item with an unknown quantity is not the same as an item with none left.

When something runs out

Empty does not mean forgotten.

Items stay in ThingzSafe when they reach zero, so you can find them and restock them later.

“I’ve run out of toothpaste” could mean you have finished one tube, or that you have none left anywhere. If it is unclear, Alexa asks.

Out-of-stock report. In the Android app and on the web, choose a Site, Area or storage place and see what is empty. An empty cupboard with spare stock upstairs is different from having none anywhere; the report shows the difference.

Shopping list. Pick items that have run out, add them to a ThingzSafe shopping list and share it. Ask Alexa what has run out, or add toothpaste to that list. Adding the same item twice does not create a duplicate.

Amazon’s own shopping list is not part of this feature. The ThingzSafe list is separate.

Finding belongings and borrowed items

Alexa looks through your Things and Contents. Sold and disposed items are left out. If something is on loan, Alexa tells you it is not available, and never uses borrowed stock when you remove or move items. If there are lots of matches, Alexa offers to read more.

If something goes wrong

Quick fixes.

Alexa cannot find the item

Use the name as it appears in ThingzSafe, and add the cupboard, Area or Site. You can also ask “Where do I have…?”.

Alexa suggests the wrong match

Say “No” and give the right name. Nothing changes just because Alexa made a suggestion.

The quantity is wrong

Count what is really there, then say “There are…” to set the right number.

I made a mistake by voice

Try “Undo that”. If it cannot be safely reversed, put it right with a stock check or in the app.

Someone else changed the stock

Alexa always works from the latest numbers and may ask you to confirm again. Undo never wipes out someone else’s change.

The connection dropped

Do not assume it failed, and do not say it again straight away. If Alexa could not confirm the result, check the quantity in ThingzSafe first.

Changes are blocked

Check that you are connected to the right household, that you have a Pro subscription, and that Alexa is not set to read-only.

Privacy and safety

What Alexa says, and what it keeps private.

  • Alexa reads out names, places, quantities and whether something is available.
  • It does not read out values, private notes or contact details.
  • Every voice change appears in your change history.
  • Alexa stops working if you disconnect it or your Pro plan ends. Your inventory is not deleted.

Need help, or have an idea?

Contact ThingzSafe. Tell us what you said, what Alexa replied and what you expected. Please do not include passwords or sign-in codes.