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I don’t remember exactly why I bought my first Kasa smart plug. According to my Amazon history, it was May 9, 2021, and I can’t remember what I was doing then except spending lots of time at home. But I do know this: I don’t want to remember life without one. Or 10. They’re so good, so helpful, so useful, that now I have 10.
Why did I go from zero to 10, and why should you? Turning every outlet in your home into one you can control by app or voice assistant opens up a world of possibilities. I have houseplants under grow lights in darker corners of my home, and can turn those on and off if I’m halfway around the world. I can put them on a schedule when I travel, but still turn them off if someone uses my apartment. I can leave an appliance running, and turn it off while running errands. I can use my smart plugs to make it appear someone is home for safety. I have a bedroom air purifier set to turn on one hour before my usual bedtime and to turn off in the morning, right as my living room air purifier is scheduled to turn on (doing this with a coffee maker or fan is an absolute no-brainer). Beyond automation and energy savings, I use one so that I can turn a lamp on without having to strain to reach behind my couch to find its switch. For hard-to-reach outlets, they are an absolute game-changer. I can think of a thousand more uses.
Right now, a two-pack is just $11.99, down from $19.99, while a four-pack is $19.99, down from $29.99, after clipping their respective on-page coupons — so it’s a great time to snatch some up.
All this automation might sound complicated or technically intimidating, but I promise it’s easier than you could dream possible. All you have to do is plug one in, push a button to connect it to your Wi-Fi, add it to the phone app and live your life. In the more than two years I’ve been using these every day, I’ve never had an issue with dropped connections or an inability to find Wi-Fi. The Kasa app is straightforward, and if you prefer, you can simply use Alexa or Google Home instead (or both).
One thing I love most about the Kasa mini smart plugs is that if you only use one, it’s small enough to leave the other socket of the outlet free without covering it up or making it impossible to plug something else in.
Kasa also makes their smart plug in a weather-ready outdoor power cord form, which is great for seasonal displays, holiday lights or landscape lighting, or as indoor power strips for which each outlet can be controlled individually (I have one of those, too, plugged in behind a piece of furniture I never want to move).