Comments on: DIY charging station

By: chaotic kitten

chaotic kitten — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:10:13 +0000

I loved this idea so much I linked to it from my blog. I’m waiting to finish my prettiest bottle of bath bubbles to give it a go

By: Outlet-Hanging Charge Station For Your Small Gadgets | ????

Outlet-Hanging Charge Station For Your Small Gadgets | ???? — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:44:08 +0000

[...] and more information about how to make it work for your wall. Cellphone Holder for Charging via UncluttererShare/SaveFirst Look at Ubuntu 9.04 "Jaunty Jackalope" BetaOpera 10.0 Build 1413 [...]

By: DYI Charging Station « brazoscowgirl.com

DYI Charging Station « brazoscowgirl.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:43:14 +0000

[...] Unclutterer has a great way for you to use a lotion bottle. Zakka Life had the original idea, but took it down after comments. I wish I could tell you what the problem is, but the comments are gone. [...]

By: Carol

Carol — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:40:23 +0000

This concept is wonderful. If you like it, check out a wonderful handy product made just for this purpose at http://www.cpdocks.com. The EZ Mount (includes a handy key hook) and the Plug-in Shelf are both UL approved, so no plastic touches prongs of live electricity. It’s all one piece with a handy shelf for your cellphone or PDA and a cleat for your cord. My neighbor has one and loves it!

By: chaotic kitten

chaotic kitten — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:58:28 +0000

I love this idea. And maybe a plain white one isn’t pretty, but a lot of cosmetics bottles come in all sorts of colours and designs now, so I’m sure there’d be a way forward.

Thank you

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:29:51 +0000

@Wes and others — If an item has utility, it’s not a “unitasker” in the way we use the term. Toilets, fire extinguishers, and clothes hangers are perfect examples of useful, single-use items. It’s when an object only has one use AND doesn’t get used that it qualifies as a “unitasker.” If someone used this charging station on a daily basis, it wouldn’t be a unitasker.

By: Wes

Wes — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 21:31:29 +0000

I have to agree with an earlier poster. It does seem that this is a unitasker. It holds a cell phone, but so could a desk or a table that’s already there. Or the floor if you have to I guess. If the holder isn’t mounted to the wall then you have to find a place to put it when your cell phone is unplugged creating clutter. If it is mounted to the wall, if you decide to go to another room, you’re left without it and need to install it on other outlets.

By: Ted

Ted — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:48:37 +0000

Looks like a fire hazard to me.

By: Splomo

Splomo — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 20:28:11 +0000

For safety, to keep the plastic from possibly touching metal plug parts, make the hole a little larger and hang the whole rig on a childproof cap placed in the vacant outlet adjacent.

And for those who think it’s ugly, one could stow it behind a curtain or a piece of furniture where it will be handy, yet out of sight. I like it … gotta make one!

It has me thinking … the maple syrup jug has an interesting shape. And the kids’ shampoo comes in fun colored bottles. Looks like I’ll be raiding the recycling bin, especially for the plastics not picked up by my community’s curbside service.

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:08:31 +0000

As for leaving the charger plugged in all the time, I had mine plugged into a Kill-A-Watt for sometime, if the phone was not conected it did not use any mesurable power, less then 1 watt,

By: Annie Pazoo

Annie Pazoo — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 02:27:58 +0000

This is genius – recycling/upcycling, and functional. And since the hole could be positioned so that the plastic doesn’t rest against the prongs, it seems pretty safe to me (a cell phone doesn’t weight THAT much). Great idea.

By: RoaringSilence

RoaringSilence — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 22:13:59 +0000

The idea of screwing it into the wall is wonderful for several reasons:

- it keeps the weight off the plug

- you won’t have to put the station somewhere when it’s not in use

- Of course you don’t leave the charger plugged in when not in use (saving energy), so you can just put it in the station as well.

And to everyone who said this is ugly: get a little creative people! Paint it or glue rhinestones to it, or a Boba Fett mask or something! lol

By: infmom

infmom — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:02:18 +0000

Our “charging station” is a small wooden crate originally designed to hold CDs. It sits on a shelf in the office next to a switched power bar. The chargers are stored in the crate until the time comes to use them, at which point we turn on the power bar and plug in the charger.

Keeps all those wall warts neatly corralled, and we don’t use power unless we need it.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:47:26 +0000

Seconding Bill. It seems really dangerous to bridge anything across the prongs. I could see it being safer if it was somehow mounted to the plug itself.

By: Outlet-Hanging Charge Station For Your Small Gadgets - Softsaurus.org

Outlet-Hanging Charge Station For Your Small Gadgets - Softsaurus.org — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:05:40 +0000

[...] Craft blog Zakka Life put together a simple tutorial for making a cradle that’s perfect for single, regularly-charged items—the kinds of things you dump out of your pockets upon returning home. The project is similar to previously reviewed Socket Pocket, with a big difference in price tag. The Socket Pocket is $15; the DIY project pictured here is made from a bottle of lotion. Assuming you have a similar empty bottle from your own bathroom, the only cost is the few minutes you’ll spend making it. The tutorial at Zakka Life has step-by-step pictures and more information about how to make it work for your wall. Cellphone Holder for Charging [via Unclutterer] [...]

By: Outlet-Hanging Charge Station For Your Small Gadgets [DIY] - 794th Edition | Technology Revealed

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:02:25 +0000

By: Karyn

Karyn — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:43:26 +0000

I just sit my phone on a shelf next to the power strip. It looks fine, no worse than the old-school phone-on-a-desk, but a lot more compact.

By: Java Monster

Java Monster — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:42:19 +0000

That’s a nice idea. If only I had an outlet like that, with no other powerchargers nearby.

I just let my cell phone or PDA rest on the counter next to the wall phone to charge up after everyone else has left the house and my husband can’t complain about the cords.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:35:39 +0000

I’m going to try it.

It’s not pretty, but it’s no more unsightly than a charger with the wire running to the device on the floor. You could always decorate the outside of the lotion bottle.

The plastic would not have to rest on across the prongs of the plug and how much does a cell phone + 1/2 lotion bottle weigh? The plug would be supporting the weight of the charger anyway.

I will make mine slightly deeper to hold two devices and so the charger can be oriented with the cord pointing downward.

By: bmk

bmk — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:21:11 +0000

Here’s an idea that’s perhaps not beautiful, but certainly easy!

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=np1942&s=5

My charger has a little beveled edge where the cord goes over without touching any live electric components.