apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I am curious about this as well. Currently I have a not very bright nightlite plugged into a surge protector in my closet. I would love a different idea.

If you have an outlet in the closet or really close to it you can get those lights from Ikea, their called NON 9.99 for a set of two. I use them everywhere in my dark dungenous apartment and they work pretty well.

They have a fairly long cord on them and you can hang them upside down either with some strong tape (not masking, but the kind on those 3m plastic hooks) or they provide screws and you can screw them into the ceiling. You will have to figure some way to snake the cords around in there, but it should work pretty well and it is a good value. I bought my first set back in April and have only had to replace the lights in one of them since.

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15579&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=46917&langId=-1&categoryId=16082&chosenPartNumber=20027414

Home Depot, Target and other stores like that carry battery operated flourescent lights that are rather bright. A friend recently had the same problem and bought a couple of these. No cords, but they sure do require a lot of batteries. Trade-offs... They cost around $10 - $15.

I saw these stick up bulbs at the drugstore tonight. I'm not sure how great they are, but might be a good solution for your closet. http://www.stickupbulb.com/

Try an Osram Dot-it much brighter and lasts a long time. My husband and I had one of the other kind in our en-suite for night time visits to the loo. As we are light sleepers the click-on woke us up! The Osram are much more expensive, we paid about 50 eurocents for the old kind the Osram were 8 euro, app 5$.

The led version of those stick-on lights is much better; official site: http://tinyurl.com/32m2xj, I think they can be found less on Amazon.

I apologize for not having a recommendation but a warning. Please do not buy the push on/off type of light as pictured in the post. I bought a bunch of them a while back and they didn't mount well, were not particularly well made and just devoured batteries. They also sapped my enthusiasm for solving the dark, unwired closet/under counter lighting problem in my home. I'm hoping to try the Osram Dot lights at some point in the very near future.
Good luck!
Regards,
Don

I guess it would have been too much for me to read the entire post before submitting my useless comment...jeez! Sorry about that.
Don

led lights from cb2:

http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=120&f=2686

@ meredith - i can't believe I never noticed those LED splash lights on the CB2 site before! Those are exactly what I need for our bathroom and a few other spots. Have you (or anyone else reading) used them? I'm wondering how bright they are so I can determine how many I should order.

Costco right now has a three pack of LED puck lights. Slightly similar as to the one pictured, but smaller, nicer looking, brighter, and they come with batteries. You can attach them with a screw, or with the included sticky backed velcro tape. I just got some for a washing machine closet, and bedroom closet. They work great.

2nd the recommendation on the Costco lights--just got a set and like them.

if you're going to go for stick-up LED puck type lights, go with the original sylvania DOT-it lights:

http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-Self-Adhesive-Bright-White-Silver/dp/B000CNB6VW

3 LED's, really bright, reapplicable adhesive, aluminum body in different colors. i have a couple, and use on in my closet, and keep one in my car. their great used as a flashlight, too.

This is Elizabeth, following up. I got two packs of the LED puck lights from Costco, and like them a lot, but they're still not giving me quite enough light (the bedroom closet is big enough to walk into.) So I think I'm going to try one of the "stick up bulbs" and see how it works too.

Thanks everyone!

I have seen fittings which were mounted on the door frame. They hold a bulb and at the back there is a spring loaded push button which is activated by the opening or closing of the door.
Trouble is I cannot find them. I suspect that they may not comply with electric codes and are no longer made

I'm using a lantern purchased in the outdoor/camping section at Target that I'm hanging on a hook in my closet. It's working really well and I can take it down and move it around when needed. i also have a spot-on light stuck by my shoes and I like it too. Those tap lights show just suck.