As I’d mentioned in previous posts, I am dropping a lot of money on fancy electrical switches and outlets to hype up the look of my house’s interior. It’s not cheap at all. But another aspect of this plan is that it is slightly overwhelming. Product-wise, I have 3 different switches, 2 different outlets, and 4 different wall plates. These products are used in varying combinations in 9 different living areas. As I go room by room, I need some sort of way to know what I will need so I can place an order and have the parts ready to go.
While shopping for the best prices, I found that the website lumens.com had as good or better prices than a lot of others. When I went to place an order for the master bedroom, I discovered a great feature that’s earned my future business with that supplier. That feature is “My Projects”. For a contractor, I think this would be invaluable, but even just for me it has a lot of value.
The Projects feature is, at its core, a saved shopping list. But each project can be divided into different rooms, with descriptions and notes for each. I was able to add the switches, plates, and outlets for each room into my project so I could see easily what was needed. The project shows the total for everything you need and you can add the entire project to your shopping cart or just one item from one room. It’s a great organization tool.
While I was building my list, I found I missed a couple of switches for one room. The Projects page provided a great feature “Copy to another room”, so I found the switches in another room and copied to the room where I needed them. I didn’t need to use this, but “Move to another room” was another option. It’s very well thought out.
So, the future damage for all outlets, switches and wall plates is currently $776. Yikes. However, using this tool, I can just work on switches and do the outlets later. It will remember what I need where.
