How to Install a Wall Switch to Multiple Outlets

Turn off power to the light switch from the main power supply lines. If the switch is already installed, use a flat-head screwdriver to remove the cover plate. Test the wires with a circuit tester to ensure they are safe to work with. Remove the screws holding the switch to the electrical box.

Send a fish tape from the switch's electrical box to the first outlet's electrical box. You can choose to send the fish tape across either the attic or the basement, depending on how you want to run the wires.

Wrap a 12- or 14-gauge electrical cable around the fish tape's hook. Reel the fish tape back toward the switch's electrical box. Extend the electrical cable about 6 inches into the electrical box. Cut off the outer insulation and the inner paper insulation with a utility knife. Strip 1 inch off the end of each wire with wire strippers.

Send the fish tape from the first outlet to the second outlet. Pull another electrical cable between the two outlets. Repeat from the second outlet to a third outlet. Each outlet should have about 6 inches of cable extending into it. Cut off the outer insulation and inner paper insulation from each cable and strip each wire's ends.

Loosen the switch's screw terminals with a flat-head screwdriver. Cut a 6-inch-long cable, strip off the outer and inner insulation, and strip 1 inch from both ends. Bend one end of each wire into a hook. Wrap the green wire around the green grounding screw. Hold the wire together with the other two green wires in the box and twist a wire nut over them. Tighten the green terminal screw. Do the same with the black wires and white wires. Push the switch into the electrical box and secure it in place with the provided screws.

Cut the tab connecting the first outlet's two brass terminals with a tin snips. Cut a 6-inch-long piece of cable, remove the outer and inner insulation and strip each wires' ends. Wrap the short green wire around the green screw terminal. Hold the green wire together with the two other green wires and twist a wire nut over them. Repeat with the black wires and white wires. Push the wires and outlet into the electrical box and secure it in place with the provided screws.

Move on to the second outlet. Cut off the tab connecting the brass screw terminals together with a tin snips. Repeat Step 6 to wire the second outlet. Move on to the third outlet. Cut off the tab and wire the outlet the same way you wired the previous two. If this is the final outlet you are connecting to the circuit, you will have only two white, black and red wires to twist a wire nut over instead of three since a cable does not run from this outlet to another. Restore power to the switch.