Locating Electrical Outlets More Conveniently
A couple of weeks ago, I was in my spare bedroom plugging in my electric Chanukah menorah and cursing the inconvenient placement of the electrical outlet nearest to the window. To be more precise, I was cursing the placement of a heavy bed right in front of this outlet. I had to crawl on the floor to get behind the bed to plug in an extension cord. And I knew that 8 days later, I would have to do the same crawl to unplug it.
When my daughter lived in that room, we had a power strip emerging from behind the bed, providing the juice for all of her devices as well as a clock radio and bedside lamp. After she moved out, we turned the room into my husband’s home office and we moved the power strip over to his desk (another piece of furniture that blocks an outlet!) Since we don’t usually plug in anything over there anymore except for a lamp, it hasn’t been an issue until now.
Not long after, I got an email from one of my favorite websites, Wirecutter. This is a site run by the New York Times to test all sorts of products and weigh in on their favorites. This particular email included a product that was exactly what I needed: an Electrical Outlet Extender by EZ Outlet. It has a rotating plug so that it can go into outlets of any orientation, as well as a 22-inch wand (which can extend up to 34 inches) to allow you position the outlet wherever it’s most convenient. Command-like strips are provided to adhere the new outlet to the wall.
This photo shows you the new outlet positioned on the wall. It is now very convenient to plug something into that outlet. No moving of heavy furniture is required.
In addition to the two electrical outlets, the outlet extender comes with two USB outlets on one edge: a USB-A and a USB-C. Unfortunately, because of where I needed to position it, the USB outlets are on the bottom and not easily accessible. However, if we have guests come to stay (it’s also our guest room), I volunteer to crawl on the floor and plug their cords into those USB outlets!