“My most useful and most hated home appliance.”

Look, I’m the first to admit that I’m a touch paranoid. I worry every cold will last for an eternity. I worry I’ve misread the parking sign and will return to my car only to find that piece of paper stuck to my windscreen which can mean one thing.

I worry that my five grey hairs are the beginning of the end. And – almost more than anything else –  I worry I’ll come home from work to a burnt-out shell in place of my, once rather pleasant, apartment.

It's why I don't have scented candles... and it's no way to live.

Since I was a teenager I've struggled with my hair straightener. It's such a useful appliance and yet, it's probably my most hated.

The carpet of my former bedroom at my parents' house is marked with tell-tale Vs burned into the mint green shag.

Almost every morning I leave my house, lock the door, get half way down the laneway and think, hmmm, better just pop back and check the straightener's off.

My text conversations with my housemate are littered with fretful questions about it (among queries about our toilet paper stores).

Recently, I was house sitting for my mum and dad and by my mid-morning meeting was so anxious their house had been reduced to ashes, their tiny cavoodle trapped within the ruins of my childhood home, I actually coaxed a friend into popping by just to check on her way to work.

Essentially, I'm a mess. But the fear is real. Too real.

And one day - the one day I take for granted that little crocodile appliance is sleeping soundly - it will ravage my bedroom to within an inch of its life with fiery teeth (at least, that's what my brain says).

EXCEPT, now there's a solution for that. (For fretful people with an affinity for well-groomed hair? Yes, for them. The lunatics.)

Telstra Smart Home™ connects smart devices in your home and lets you manage them from your smartphone or tablet via an app.

As in, it lets you switch appliances on and off even when you're not at home.

It also lets you monitor them so you can know unequivocally you've turned your straightener off. And your iron. And your heater.

All you have to do is grab yourself a Test Automation and Energy Starter Kit, which comes with two Smart Power Plugs for your appliances.

It's super affordable, easy to install, easy to use (it also has all kinds of other nifty features) and, most importantly, it means you'll never have to text your housemate in a panic again.

You can find out more about getting started with Telstra Smart Home™ here - and basically, start living in the fret-free future today.

Jo Robin: 1, straightener: 1 million 0.

What do you always second guess when you leave the house?

This content was created with thanks to our brand partner Telstra Smart Home™.