Nothing makes a home office look more disheveled than a tangle of cords behind the desk. With so many devices these days, in a blink of an eye, what was once organized can become a frustrating knot. Take control of cable management in a snap with a few ingenious tricks and DIY hacks.
Box’em Up
An empty shoebox makes the perfect cable hub for your desk. Completely customizable, you are only limited by the number of holes you need. Carefully cut a hole for each device you have; one for your computer charger, another for the Bluetooth speaker, and, of course, a couple for the ever-popular USB cord. Now, simply poke the end of each cable through for easy access. Labeled and decorated to match the room’s decor, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
Clip them in Place
No space for a cable hub? Try binder clips at the edge of your workspace. Although visible, cables will be secure and orderly when your devices are unplugged. And, don’t be restricted by the black ones; many office supply stores sell them in a plethora of colours.
Label them
Repurpose bread tags to clearly identify each of your cables. This is particularly helpful for the cables behind a desk. When removing an item, you will never pull the plug on the wrong gadget. You can even go as far as printing labels for the tags, though writing on bread tags with a permanent marker works just fine.
Catch them in the Gutter
The gutter typically used outside on your house to collect debris, can be brought inside to collect cords. Buy a piece of white gutter from the hardware store, cut it to the length of your desk, then securely attach it to the wall behind your desk, about an inch below the desktop. Now lay a power bar inside the gutter for electronic devices to plug into – and magically watch several cords behind your desk become one! To make cords shorter, simply roll or fold them and secure with a twist tie before laying them in the gutter.
Make them a Conversation Piece
ApartmentTherapy.com recently discovered that a standard Lego mini-figure hand is the perfect size for holding most small electronics cables. As they said, this might be the most #awesome thing to ever happen to cable management! Stand your favourite Lego character on a Lego base and “hand” them a USB cord to hold.
Photo by James Stamler
