This Mini “Outlet Shelf” Is the Organizing Hack I Never Saw Coming

Living in a college house with two other girls has taught me a thing or two about maximizing storage. From the different pods we all need for our coffee corner to the various products that make up our full skincare routines, we live a cluttered life. I often find myself wishing for just a little extra space without piling even more objects onto our countertops. 

So when I came across this TikTok video by Sarah Colussi (@sarah.colussi) showcasing the ECHOGEAR Outlet Shelf, I was instantly interested. 

This ECHOGEAR Outlet Shelf is essentially an outlet cover plus a wall shelf. It replaces an existing outlet cover with one that hides cords and provides a mini perch for small household items. It’s about 6 inches deep, 5 inches wide, and 7 inches high, and can hold up to 5 pounds of weight. The product comes with pretty much everything you need to install it, from the brackets to screws, but you’ll need a screwdriver to remove your old cover and screw this one into place. (You should always be extra careful when dealing with anything involving electricity, so make sure to turn off your electricity to the room/area where you plan to switch the cover.)   

The outlet shelf has a 4.5-star average rating from nearly 280 Amazon reviews at the time of writing, with lots of people saying how they use it to store their portable speaker, although you can also use it for your electric toothbrush or all kinds of small (under 5 pounds) items. The ECHOGEAR cover only works with Decora-style outlets, which are the rectangular outlets, so if you don’t have those, you can try an alternative. This WALI Outlet Shelf, which is also less expensive, works with Decora and standard outlets, but it doesn’t have the hidden compartment that hides that annoying cord clutter like the ECHOGEAR shelf does. 

In the TikTok video I saw, the outlet shelf is being used to display an oil diffuser; it creates storage almost out of thin air. While I don’t own one of these shelves yet, it would be perfect for my and my roommates’ shared milk frother that currently takes up precious counter space. We’d love to get it out of the way while still keeping it close at hand. 

I also think it would be so cute to perch a mini lamp on one of these shelves for late-night study sessions, and I could also see myself gifting it to my boyfriend for his electric toothbrush and razor, or when he’s charging the JBL speaker I got him for Christmas. 

If you live in a dorm you might be prohibited from messing with outlet covers, so be sure to check with your RA before buying one of these. If you live in an apartment, this is a quick and totally renter-friendly upgrade to make. Just be sure to keep the original outlet cover to swap back in when you move out.