Power strips are always a mess. Even with the best cord-control gear, your power strip is probably still something you want to hide away behind the desk or TV stand. But what about by your bedside? Get the best of both worlds — tons of outlets for charging all your gear and the benefits of not having to look at it — by dropping the power strip into your nightstand's top drawer.
Reddit user Imnotableimjustcain put this idea to good use, creating a perfectly hidden in-drawer charging station by just putting a power strip in the drawer and running the cable out through the back of their IKEA MALM nightstand. It gives you plenty of room to charge everything that sleeps when you do — like your phone, tablet, or eReader.
The great thing about this tip is it doesn't require a lot of setup. Your nightstand probably already has a small gap above the back of the drawer, so all you need to do is find or drill a little hole in the back of the nightstand so the power strip cord can sneak out to a wall outlet. Remember to leave slack so the drawer can pull out. Fasten the power strip to the bottom of the drawer with Velcro tape for stability and you're ready to charge up everything for the night!
(Images: Shutterstock, Reddit)
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Great idea. I have my powerstrip sitting on top of my nightstand because it's too short to reach the floor but this is so much more pleasing to the eye. Will be doing this tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.
Good idea!
I like to mount power bars to walls so that they're off the floor (they usually have wall mounting holes on the back of them) . I did this behind the TV stand so there are no visible cords running underneath it. I also once attached a powerbar to a kitchen cart so I could put a bunch of often used appliances on it and when I moved it there was only one plug to plug in (and it made it look way more organized).
This is brilliant. I only wish I had a drawer in my nightstand so I could do it!
@Carrotsticks, I love the idea of mounting power strips on a wall. I never really noticed the mounting holes on the back. I have a couple that I'm going to do this weekend.
One refinement - 3M sells these little cord clips which keep the end of your charger from falling off the back of the nightstand, so you never have to go hunting for it again. And they come off easily because they are part of 3Ms Command product line. Here's an amazon link - but they come in clear, too, and different sizes.
http://www.amazon.com/3M-Command-4-Clip-5-Strip-17017/dp/B00006IBLM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1352398363&sr=8-4&keywords=3m+cord+clips
This makes sense organizationally...but there's something off to me about having that many plugs next to my head while I sleep...
Crap. I've been fighting with a powerstrip on the floor behind my nightstand for a few years. Can't believe I didn't think of it myself!
Since most people charge their phones/tablets/thingamajigs and doohickies at night, plugging the power strip into an electric timer on the wall outlet would save power. Even when not charging, those rechargers are drawing "vampire" power 24-7. Have the timer set to turn on in the evening and turn off about 2 or 3am or so.
Does anyone know -- is it safe to close the drawer while the powerstrip is on? Or should the drawer be left open? I've always wanted to do this, but I don't want to set the house on fire.
Mike_In_Hawaii, awesome idea for saving power!
I've done this too, but instead of a power strip, I've installed one of those multi-usb port thingies that allows me to plug in phone, ipod, kindle, and portable radio and charge them all at once. The nightstand drawer is relatively shallow, so this solution works well, and I only had to drill a tiny hole in the back of the nightstand to fit the cord through.
The ports are about $3 at the office-supply store.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-4-Port-High-Speed-USB/dp/B002FFT8Z6/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1352407126&sr=8-9&keywords=multiple+usb+hub
Mike_In_Hawaii, awesome idea for saving power!
I've done this too, but instead of a power strip, I've installed one of those multi-usb port thingies that allows me to plug in phone, ipod, kindle, and portable radio and charge them all at once. The nightstand drawer is relatively shallow, so this solution works well, and I only had to drill a tiny hole in the back of the nightstand to fit the cord through.
The ports are about $3 at the office-supply store.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-4-Port-High-Speed-USB/dp/B002FFT8Z6/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1352407126&sr=8-9&keywords=multiple+usb+hub
situationalefty -- how do you power it? Is it plugged into your computer?
situationalefty -- how do you power it? Is it plugged into your computer?
A legitimate concern! A large power adapter (a.k.a. a 12/24VDC:120VAC converter) can generate quite a bit of heat, especially should several be in close proximity to one another in an enclosed space. However, I would guess (i.e I'm not an expert) that fire would be of low risk and failure of the adapter would be more likely. I guess it depends on the situation. That is, ambient temperature, size of drawer, wattage/heat loss of the adapter, etc. I would go ahead and try it, but on a trial basis. Periodically check the temp of the adapters by touching them first in an open air test, and then comparing that to the temp (by feel) of the adapter in the enclosed drawing. If it gets very hot, you're likely on the road to competent failure or worse.
@mdorothy,
The usb multiport has a single usb-cord connector that runs to an adapter at the power source. So there is only one cord plugged into an electrical outlet, powering all four usb ports.
Add some ventilation! If you look at furniture that comes with enclosed spaces for electronics, it always has some vents in the back. In a small space, that stuff can overheat.
Yeah, there really isn't a fire risk here, but there might be an overheating problem. It might be okay if you simply remove the entire back of the drawer, which will provide enough ventilation for the heat to escape.
Great idea Mike in Hawaii!
If anyone plans on putting in a powered USB hub to recharge phones or tablet I would say that is a very bad idea. Powered hubs are notorious for having poor quality current and voltage and for being underpowered. For example, plugging in an iPad 3 or 4 straight into a powered hub will cause it to take forever to charge compared to the Apple charging adapter which provides much more power. Stick to the power strip as in the picture but make sure nothing is overheating. Two large holes can also be drills into the rear of the nightstand for ventilation if needed. That's what I did for a hidden desktop computer. Also, having a wireless router in a drawer, like in the picture, is not a good idea if you want a strong and reliable signal, especially if the network is 5ghz.
One last thing, I wouldn't recommend powered hubs for external USB hard drives either. They can ruin your drives. Use them only for devices not requiring much power and for non-storage needs.
http://www.emfsafehome.com/emf_recommendations.htm
Why would you intentionally create increased EMF's in the bedroom?
Considering that power strips often live behind furniture like sofas and entertainment units, if there's air space around the strip, chances are none of the plugs will generate enough heat to start a fire.
The timer is drawing power too so there is no power savings.
I completely agree. Power companies (particularly in this technological society we've become) have put the hush hush on the problem behind EMFs (Electro Magnetic Frequency), but it's the reason why you're doomed to sell if you have power lines or cell towers by your house and the reason electric blankets lost their popularity in cold climates back a couple of decades ago. It's best to set up a station like this in another drawer location rather than having the EMF's beaming onto your brain for 6-8 hours when you sleep. Probably one of the oldest studies out there (if you can still find it) was on Navy Electricians who were found to have a much higher occurrence of brain cancer than the general population.
My drawer is too full of junk for the power strip, and instead I have it zip tied to the back of my bed's leg. You cannot see it, but I can easily fish out the ipod/iphone charger for nightly powerups.