Tame Under-The-Desk Cables With A Broken Three-Ring Binder

Tame Under-The-Desk Cables With A Broken Three-Ring Binder

You can buy all kinds of different products to help you tame cable clutter under your desk, but it’s just as easy to make something for yourself. I tamed mine using the metal rings from a broken three-ring binder.

Tame Under-The-Desk Cables With A Broken Three-Ring Binder

You know how it is. It’s the weekend, you’re kind of bored, and there’s that three-ring binder with the broken front cover you’ve been wondering what you could do with. At least that’s how it is in my life. I started my little experiment by disassembling the binder with a box cutter. I kept the front cover, because I figured a nice, vinyl-covered piece of heavy cardboard might come in handy (more on that later).

Tame Under-The-Desk Cables With A Broken Three-Ring Binder

I removed the vinyl from the ring holder using my box cutter and a pair of needle-nose pliers. Be careful here. Some of the interior metal edges on that ring holder are a little sharp. Next, I used the pliers to pop out the rivets that used to fasten the metal to the vinyl backing so I had some screw holes to use.

Then, I just screwed it in under my desk and routed the cables (see the lead image). Now, it’s a simple matter of pressing the lever to open the clips and release my cables whenever I want, which makes adding and removing cables super easy.

Tame Under-The-Desk Cables With A Broken Three-Ring Binder

Oh, and that back cover I saved? I came up with a couple of ideas for that too. Add a binder clip and it actually makes a great clipboard. It even has a little pocket on the back for saving extra scraps of paper. You could also add a bit of no-skid carpet tape to the back and turn it into a pretty decent mouse pad.


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