@AndyFromTucson: Oh yes, I use Ziplocs, too.

Gina Trapani, Lifehacker Editor

This is clever, but I have ended up just using quart size ziploc bags to store small cords. Its faster than coiling them neatly and you can have a whole box full of various cords without them getting tangled.

AndyFromTucson

Holiday lights may be a bit of a stretch, its hard to imagine how many actual bulbs you could cram in the tube at once. But this is definitely something I'll keep in mind for my extension cords... I'll no longer have to try so hard to keep track of all the twist ties they come with!

LastVigilante

I am pretty sure my grandmother has been doing this since the Depression.

heathermylove

The secret to Christmas/Holiday lights is wrapping paper tubes.
Not the inside of the tube, but the outside.

Cut an empty tube in half, cut a small notch in one end, tuck the cords plug in that notch and tape it there. Now evenly wrap the lights around tube tightly, cut a notch at the other end, tuck the end of the string in there and tape.

Now you have little light logs that are easy to pack and unroll next year.

The problem with it is that from the time I discovered this as a teenager I was then in charge of lights every year after until I got my own place and stopped decorating.

Bob Brown

I've been recycling the elastic bands that the post man sometimes uses (here in London) for the exact same purpose... Works an absolute treat! In fact better than this solution IMO because they're more versatile and discrete... Try it!

encosion

I remember I used to keep these things when I was in grade 4... I would build castles or whatever with them. Yeah I was a loner who sucked at sports. Damn.

Dooga

These are all great tips, damn! Whenever I get a new product of some sort, I keep the "heavy duty" twist ties and use them to keep wires from unraveling. These are all great supplementary ideas.

karmaghost

I have been using this to keep my blowdryer cord from getting tangled. It's especially nice for packing when flying.

mlhoward516

When I moved [locally], I bought the giant size Ziploc bags and stuffed all my daughters bed linens, pillows, and stuffed animals in them. Just sit on 'em to squeeze some air out and zip 'em up tight. It kept everything clean and tidy. As a bonus, I think the stuffed animals are still in the bag (and their little screams stopped a while back...).

BrianW62

Like AndyfromTucson, I also use the Ziplock method (my iPod earbuds, most notably). A number of years ago, I bought a bunch of the velcro cord wraps and there are a few left that I haven't "deployed".

cv

@cv: If theres a Walgreens or other drug store near you, see if they have EZY Doze Pill Pouches. Their the perfect size for storing ear buds

mlhoward516

I remember playing around with toilet paper tubes and doing all sorts of craft projects with them when we were little. We called them Toot-Ta-Toots becasue kids would invariably put their mouths to the end and pretend to trumpet.

Then I realized that it was just a roll of absorbent cardboard that is kept in the grossest room in the house where aerosolized urine and feces from the toilet would waft through the air. Additionally, people would grab onto this thing while in the process of their "cleansing procedures."

Now I feel like barfing.

Bob Brown

Naaah, I like using Ziplock bags. In a pinch, I've repurposed the bag for another task and grab a new one when I return home. Far more flexibility this way.

Perhaps someone else would prefer to use the Pill Pounch though.

cv

@Bob Brown:
Just the reason we're not allowed to use them in school any more here...

TheFionut

Or - for $3.99, you can buy 100 plastic cable ties at Home Depot. They lock in place permanently and are great for securing lights, wires, and all manner of cables. Plus - you can use them to help your outside X-Mas lights stay on the house without making permanent modifications to your eaves/gutters.

Dr. Chim Richolds

@AndyfromTucson: I use Ziploc bags as well. The gallon size ones are good for Xmas lights (though, the really long strands stretch the limits a bit). One strand per bag and, next year, no ball of lights to untangle!

dittrich

There's one important point you all seem to be missing - after using your toilet roll tubes, don't forget not to throw the cardboard bit into the bin - RECYCLE THEM!!

bodger99

Super bugs probably owe a lot to the hygieneaphobic who feel the need to use 'product' on anything and everything they touch... The discovery of germs brought about the axiom that just because you can't see something, doesn't mean it's not there... But that shouldn't imply, that 'bad' things in microscopic doses are bad for you... Our immune systems need stimulation!

encosion