In a previous post I introduced you to a surprisingly capable little Zigbee button that integrates seamlessly with Home Assistant. Originally, I used it for various smart home automations, and I still find new ways to benefit from its reliability and long battery life. Today, I want to share my latest use case: tracking chores around the house.
I’ve set up an automation where my boy uses the button to log when he completes household tasks – such as clearing the dishwasher. Each time he presses the button, a helper counter increases and the nearest Alexa device announces both the number of completed tasks and the corresponding allowance. In my example, every task is worth $2. When it’s time to reset (after payment), he simply long-presses the button.
The Automation Explained
The automation works in two parts:
- Short Press: Increments a task counter (
input_number.boy_task_counter) and then announces the updated count along with the dollar amount (calculated as the number of tasks multiplied by 2). This is where you can customize the “cost” per chore by changing the multiplication factor from 2 to any other value. - Long Press: Resets the task counter back to zero, so your boy can start fresh the next time.
You can easily adapt this automation to suit your home’s needs. For example, you might change the entity IDs, adjust the announcement message, or alter the cost per chore. Just locate the multiplication factor in the announcement message and update it if you want each task to be worth a different amount.
Updated Automation Code
alias: Button for boy's tasks
description: ""
triggers:
- device_id: ecdb8ef27705ca6a07c367c5d8e59763
domain: zha
type: remote_button_short_press
subtype: button_1
id: plusone
trigger: device
- device_id: ecdb8ef27705ca6a07c367c5d8e59763
domain: zha
type: remote_button_long_press
subtype: button_1
trigger: device
id: pause
conditions: []
actions:
- choose:
- conditions:
- condition: trigger
id:
- plusone
sequence:
- action: input_number.increment
metadata: {}
data:
amount: 1
target:
entity_id: input_number.boy_task_counter
- variables:
tasksnum: "{{ int(states('input_number.boy_task_counter')) }}"
- data:
data:
type: announce
target: media_player.kitchen_echo
message: >-
{{ 'You completed ' + (tasksnum | string) + ' tasks, and you should get ' + (int(tasksnum * 2) | string) + ' dollars' }}
enabled: true
action: notify.alexa_media_kitchen_echo
- conditions:
- condition: trigger
id:
- pause
sequence:
- action: input_number.set_value
metadata: {}
data:
value: 0
target:
entity_id: input_number.boy_task_counter
- data:
data:
type: announce
target: media_player.kitchen_echo
message: Task counter was reset
enabled: true
action: notify.alexa_media_kitchen_echo
- delay:
hours: 0
minutes: 0
seconds: 3
milliseconds: 0
mode: single
Customization Options
Here are a few areas you can tailor:
- Entity Names: Change
input_number.boy_task_counterto any name that fits your setup. - Cost per Task: Modify the multiplication factor (
* 2) in the announcement message to adjust how much each chore is worth. - Announcement Messages: Tweak the text in the
messagefield to match your preferred style or language. - Trigger Devices: If you have more than one Zigbee button or different device IDs, update the
device_idvalues accordingly.
With these simple adjustments, you can have a tailored automation that not only keeps your home running smoothly but also motivates your little helper with a fun and interactive way to track chores.
Happy automating!
