If you have a dark spot in your home that doesn’t get as much light as you like, boy do I have a solution for you: a compact, battery-operated, motion-sensing light that requires very little setup and maintenance, and costs so little that you’ll be wondering why you didn’t get it sooner.
I recently started using a few of these in my own home after I moved, and they’ve completely changed the feel of the place in ways you wouldn’t expect for such an affordable little accessory.
Don’t know what I’m talking about? Check out these OxyLED battery-operated lights on Amazon. They’re marketed as “under cabinet” lights, but you can use them anywhere. And they come in a 3-pack for $17.99, amounting to just $6 per light—cheaper if you can score them on sale!
Jon Martindale / Foundry
Ever since I moved into my new house, I’ve been finding all sorts of inadequacies in it, not least of which is a lack of light everywhere. Cabinets, crawl spaces, linen closets, stairways, even the storage shed in my back yard—they’re all perpetually dark. And having just bought the house, I don’t have the funds to hire an electrician and install lights, nor do I want to run unsightly extension cords everywhere.
But a battery-powered light that I can just stick to the wall or beneath a shelf or on an appliance? That’s perfect for my needs! The light itself is just a short strip of LEDs with a metallic back, which attaches to a magnetic strip that’s stickable onto anything using some double-sided tape. Fit it with four AAA batteries (rechargeable ones would be best for this) and you’re good to go!
Jon Martindale / Foundry
The light has a built-in motion sensor, so it stays off until it detects motion. It also has a built-in light sensor, so it doesn’t turn on when it’s bright. If your closet gets adequate sunlight during the day, the light will only turn on during the night or maybe when it’s cloudy. It’s pretty bright—about 56 lumens according to the manufacturer—and rated for around 9 hours of continuous life. (I use my closet about once or twice per day and my light has been going for months without needing to be recharged.)
The magnetic strip and double-sided tape they come with are more than strong enough to keep them on the wall. And since you aren’t screwing in or wiring anything, you can easily move them around. Just take off the light, peel off the magnetic strip, replace the tape, and re-attach it wherever else you need it to be.
Jon Martindale / Foundry
And did I mention how cheap these OxyLED lights are? You can spend less than $50 and outfit your entire house with these, illuminating every closet and out-of-sight space with ease. And if you do indeed use rechargeable batteries, the upkeep is minimal. Keep one extra set of AAA batteries charged and swap them out as needed.
I’m so glad I got these. If you need to brighten up any part of your home, this is a cost-effective way to do it. I highly recommend it!
Get a 3-pack of battery-operated motion-sensing LEDs for only $18