I can organize pretty much anything. The exception are cords and cables for electronic and computer devices. It’s as though I have some sort of mental block when it comes to turning that tangled mess into neat and tidy. Usually, when I see a mess, I can’t wait to dig in and sort, purge and set up a nice organized system. People I run into ask me all the time if my house is organized. Yes, I tell them, I do practice what I preach. Although, my secret to success is to have very little “stuff” therefore less to organize.
However, the mess under the desk in my office is downright embarrassing. It’s one of those out-of-sight out-of-mind places that just never seems to get organized. I mean, really, who wants to crawl around under the desk, unplug all those cords, detangle them, wrap them nicely and plug them back in? Not me! Although, like any project you procrastinate on, now that I’ve confessed to my mess, I have a feeling I’ll have to do something about it. Darn.
In an effort to help myself and those of you suffering from the same issue, I did a bit of research. I do admit to having done some cable organizing for clients when absolutely necessary and I often turn to my trusty cable ties. They come in all sizes, are inexpensive and they really do take care of a mess. I also discovered these nifty re-usable cable wraps at Home Depot a few months back when I needed to corral some wires for a client under her television.
Bread bag clips are a great idea for labelling your cords or there are fancier looking things by Dotz. To attach cables to a wall I have used the removable cable holders by Command Adhesive. They are small and clear so blend into the décor quite nicely. The other item I’ve used under a desktop to run wires in is a cord channel available at your local home improvement store. They are meant for “hiding” cables running down your wall from a light fixture or television, but are just awesome mounted up under the desk. Just peel off the sticky tape and, voila, mounted in a few seconds.
There’s also the issue of the phone chargers and printer connection cables being all over the floor. You know what I mean. When you go to plug in you have to dig around looking for the right one. There’s a great gizmo called a Cordie by Quirky that sits on your desk and holds all those cables. Very cute.
If you have to use a power bar try mounting it to the wall. I’m a huge fan of getting things off the floor. It automatically makes any space look and feel more organized.
There are all kinds of other more expensive fancy gizmos for managing cables, but I think, like any organizing project, it’s not really about the fancy container but more about the way things are organized and what you put in place to keep them that way.
How have you organized your electronic wires and cables?