I used to repair TV's for a living, and one thing I've learned from that experience is to try keeping your power cables seperate from the rest of the cables in your bundles. Sometimes I'd have to remove a TV and take it to the shop for further repair and this usually means taking the power cord with it. This, in turn, meant that the customer would have to *completely* undo all those intricately bundled cable runs; this can be a real pain in the neck for an entertainment center of at least moderate complexity. Keeping the power cords seperate means easy installation and removal in most cases.

I've also seen instances in which an energized power cord will actually affect audio signals traveling through some types of cables. Naturally, this is yet another reason to seperate your power cords from the rest of the bundle.

tech10171968

I viciously ignore cable clutter. Out of sight, out of mind.

mcjake

When using a cable wrap I highly suggest keeping the power cords seperate from any of the signal cables. I used to repair TV's for a living and, whenever a TV had to be transported to the shop for further repairs, that usually meant *completely* undoing all the neatly-wrapped cable bundles just to get to the power cord. Naturally that means, if the cables were tied together with tie-wraps, the customer would have to repeat the entire process of bundling those cables; this can be a pain in the #$&! if you have an entertainment setup of at least moderate complexity.

I've also seen energized power cords screw with audio signals coming through some types of stereo cables; this is another good reason to seperate your power cords from everything else.

tech10171968

@phquaryn: That sounds really cool.... I want photos!

Gina Trapani

I used a peg board and organized all my hardware and cables onto the peg board. Now I have more space to put my legs under the computer table.

Read more and see the pics at [www.decluttered.com]

ashwani

I just keep the cables as short as possible, using the following method:

Make a loop. Pass one end of the cable through the loop as if you were tying a simple knot. Don't tighten it. Now repeat this until you've gone around the whole loop 1.5 times. Around and around and around. The loop will want to twist over itself, so give it a little help. If you do it right (and the hard part is estimating the size of the loop so that you go around it exactly 1.5 times) then pulling on both ends of the cable will not cause your loop to come undone.

Every cable i own has had this treatment - who needs a 6 foot camera-> USB cable???

nutbastard

When I went off to college long ago, my Dad made an ingenious DIY cable organizer for me. He took heavy fabric (from a couch cover, maybe?) and cut it in a big circle, then made a kind of arrow on one end by cutting triangular slices at 2 and 11 o'clock (the slices are about 4 minutes deep, if that makes sense). Then he cut a slit in the opposite side. Put the cables in the center of the circle like filling in a burrito, wrap and stick the arrow end through the slit. Years later, I still use it. It is easy to open so I can move cords around (I do that quite a bit).

phquaryn

I've used clear spiral wrap to bind cables together and these 3M clips for keyboard/mouse cables coming from a tray:
[www.amazon.com]

I learned not to put anything I had to move in the spiral wrap, though (or leave enough slack for movement).

Capsaicin

I kinda... don't. Largely because my living arrangements aren't permanent. Some day, when I have more than half of my desk set up and it's not in my bedroom I might concern myself with it.

My desk surface is glass, which makes hiding anything difficult. I also tend to clutter the desk itself.
The cleanest "surface" I have is my computer's desktop. Two icons!

EchoD

I use both twist ties and a spiral cable wrapping product. It doesn't really beautify the area, but it does make the mess manageable since I'm always adding new components or swapping out things.

Robobagins

Over the years I've followed the business method of downsizing and consolidation. I've moved from desktop to laptop eliminating the need for several cables there. My network gear and storage ahs moved down to a simple wireless router and a small mini-itx board with a couple drives acting as a file server moved into a closet out of sight. Printer, scanner, etc replaced with an all in one unit that is network accessable.

enine

When I moved into my new place and had to set up my whole desk again, I noticed that my monitor stand had a hole in it, obviously meant to run cable through (somehow I'd missed it before.) Since the monitor is a USB hub as well, I was silently thanking the designers for making it really easy to snake all those cables through one space. Cleaned up the back of the desk a whole lot. (It's a Dell widescreen, and I'm an idiot for not noticing the cable pass a lot sooner.)

Here's a pic:
[lifehacker.com]

Gina Trapani

I prefer the "rats nest" method, let the anal retentive among us worry about keeping their wires in order. I got bigger things to worry about.

Take a look behind my HTS
[i.pbase.com]

It't don't look any better under my desk or behind my computer.

Qwertinsky

Over the years, I've basically noticed that there was one bundle of cables that never budged so I ended up bundling things together with one of those slotted cable organizer tubes or velcro wraps.

The other cables were more or less temporary, so they couldn't be tied down too permanently, so I ended up with the IKEA cable tray and started to pin up a piece of cloth to hide the ugliness. This seems to work the best since it is easily reconfigurable, quick, inexpensive, and aesthetically pleasing.

Deprong Mori

I get pretty anal about cable clutter. For both my office PC and my home theater setup, I actually drew out diagrams of all of my devices and their associated cables (I imagine that using "mind mapping" or flowcharting software with a GUI that lets you move things around dynamically would be a higher-tech way to do this).

Once I had my diagrams, I figured out which cables had approximately similar paths (for instance, most things on my desk have cables that either run to my PC, my UPS, or my USB hub), and grouped those cables with split loom cable wrap. Not only does this reduce the number of apparent cables, but using white split loom makes the cables almost disappear against white walls or baseboards.

For my home theater setup, I also went the extra step of rearranging components so that it was easier to group their cables. Video game consoles are now all in their own (well-ventilated) cabinet, running through a remote-controlled A/V switch, so there is only one set of cables (also in split loom) running from that cabinet to the receiver.

And yes, as mentioned earlier, power cables can be detrimental to video and audio signals. I'd suggest either keeping power cables away from A/V cables, or invest in A/V cables that are well-shielded.

Andy S.

@chris-mcc: right? weird.

manducasexta

I use bubble gum to stick them all together.

Capone

i have basically a diaper for the underside of the cart my home server sits on. the computer is an old dell inspiron 4100 running ubuntu. it sits on a 3 tray cart that fits under my "organizational table" (i've never had much use for desks) when the lid is closed. i like being able to drag it around, and that's what necessitated organizing the cables. it has 4 external drives attached to it, which means six bricks: one for the laptop, one for the USB hub, four for the hard drives. i cut a piece of canvas larger than the bottom tray (maybe six inches larger on each side), then made slits in toward the center from each corner. i used the resulting thin pieces of fabric as ties, and tied it around the upright parts of the cart on each corner, slinging the bricks underneath. i like that the bricks are out of sight and aren't crowded together too closely.

my other favorite cable-taming tool are twist clips for plants like the ones shown here: [www.allotment.org.uk] they're ridiculously cheap. i got 30 for $0.99 at the $0.99 store. they work very well when you have a cart or something you want to keep the cables next to. they're very easy to undo and replace. i like that they hold the cords loosely too; it makes it easy to move things around a bit.

since i pull the server to different sitting areas in my place, i like to keep the power cord and ethernet cable (old skool) together. i use binder clips, removing the handles once i've put the clips on the cords. it's very clean looking.

here are some pix of my setup: [flickr.com] . the wicker bicycle basket on the middle shelf holds cables and adapters that i use frequently. infrequently used ones are stored away.

note the dog in the picture of the back of the cart. he's the reason that i only use the velcro ties sparingly. dog hair loves velcro ties, and it's hard to get off them. the dog loves the ties - he actually destroyed an entire roll of them. but that's a separate issue. maybe i should market rolls of velcro as a chew toy.

manducasexta

Why is the person in the picture wearing gloves to manage cables?

chris-mcc

Well, I have an iMac so that helps quite a bit. :) But I also have the ikea cord management thing underneath my desk. I run all of my power cords under there, and keep my USB hub and eyeTV in the ikea rack as well.

I also stolethis idea from lifehacker. I run my iphone cable, ipod shuffle dock, a USB extension cable, and camera cable from just under the desk to the back of my desk. This keeps my cords in reach but still hidden.

BethanyBoo

I actually redid my setup this past weekend. Bought a four foot long Tripp Lite surge protector with 15 outlets and re-corded everything. Zip tied the bajeezus out of everything and put up a shelf underneath my desk (THE JERKER!!!!) to sit my small form-factor PC on. More desk real estate! All my cables are wound up around themselves with Power Strip Liberators from Cyberguys for the wall-warts. What I can't wind around themselves, I zip tie. I just need to put together an ABS monitor riser and I'm golden. My desk is kinda messed up right now with paperwork I haven't sorted and water bottles and the like. When I get that cleaned up, I'll definitely take some pictures of my setup.

Liberators: [www.cyberguys.com]

Tripp-Lite Surge: [www.tripplite.com]

misterlee

i use the "piece of foamcore behind my desk to hide the cables" method. if i dont see it, its not messy, right?

xhopeisalivex

To address the replies along the lines of "I've got a rat's nest, who cares?"

Less cable clutter means it's easier to clean under the desk. Less dust and debris near the computer tower means less dust and debris making it's way into the machine and less heat retention on the components. Cooler components, longer life.

That aside, it's just more pleasing to the eye to not see 30 random cables pooled in a nest under your desk every time you come in your office.

JFitzpatrick

A couple of different things. One is to simple twist ties. I have a twist-tie dispenser that allow me to make twist ties of any size. This allow me to tie cables together any way I want and at as many places as I want. I also make use of built-in cable organizers. My laptop's stand has one and my desk has two pairs, each pair having one going under the desk and the other going behind it. So I have no cables under my desk, all are behind. Next I make use of hubs to minimize the distance cables have to go. My laptop stand has a slot in the front, so through there I put the cables for things I need easy access to (memory card reader, mini USB for camera and mp3 player, a USB extension for USB flash drives and misc connections). This puts them literally right at my fingertips. Those cables are plugged directly into my laptop docking station. Other things that can be further away, like the wireless receiver for my keyboard and mouse, are plugged into hubs behind my desk. Finally, things that I don't need easy access to, like my router, cable modem, joypad and remote wireless receivers, and external hard drives are placed on my shelves by my more remote USB hub. I also put my printer and scanner there since the shelves are close enough that I can get to them easily but are not taking up space on my desk. I had to drill holes in the back of the shelves but the printer and scanner hide those. There is also a surge protector there to plug everything into. That means running between my desk and my shelves I only have 4 cables: 1 usb extension cable, 1 ethernet cable, 1 power cable, and 1 coaxial cable for the cable modem and TV (there is a splitter by the TV).

TheBlackCat

I'll post pictures this evening when I get home. My Dad will be pleased!

phquaryn

I have the rat's nest, but I also took a labelmaker and labeled all the cords at the plug. Makes it a hell of a lot easier to untangle things when you only have to untangle one cord, and you know which cord it is.

loudguitars

My cables are more along the lines of "rat's nest" also. Some cables that have to cross the floor along the wall to get to the surge protector are wrapped, but the rest are bunched behind the computer, out of sight, out of mind.
But I do label the power cords at the surge protector so that I know what I'm unplugging...

Posco Grubb

I believe the Ashwani's pegboard was featured before. It inspired me to do the same thing to my desk. For several months, I had one cable bundle running from my desk to my PC which only had 1 power cord, 1 DVI, and 1 USB...everything else was connected to the desk (including sound card).

Since I moved into a new house, I consolidated down and removed a large portion of my USB products. I no longer need the peg board, and have everything bundled in wire ties and cord wrap.

And it's all Chinchilla proof! :)

vilsackj

@ruindpzzle:

The best thing to do if you have cables that need to be plugged in and unplugged frequently is to place a USB/FireWire hub in a convenient location. My Dell monitor happens to have four USB ports built-in, plus a built-in card reader (four card types), so temporarily plugging things in is a no-brainer.

Deprong Mori

@nutbastard:
I have no idea what you mean, pictures?
@phquaryn:
pictures too please.

@Qwertinsky:
I almost agree with you, but when you start having to plug and unplug stuff, the rats nest is a pain in the ass.

ruindpzzle

Reuseable Velcro cable ties. Love 'em.

[www.google.com]

canneberra

@mcjake: Me too. It's the road to hell but it's a heck-of-a ride!

Jim (The Canuck One)

*looks behind desk*

apparently I've just shoved everything behind my massive subwoofer, yet kept the audio cables separate to avoid interference.

There aren't really that many cables though, so maybe thats why this is the neatest mess of cables in the house. (Behind the TV is a completely different story)

shibathedog

I bought a pack of large mug hooks from Home Depot and screwed about 6 of them into the back of the desk. All of my cables get held in the hooks, and I can easily get to any of them, remove them, or add new cables. I've never been happier.

bigvince1981

for those that want another idea you can get a section of PVC pipe and split it in half (or even a third, if it's big enough) so that you have to "C" shaped peices. you can then mount that under the desk and run your cables through it. zip ties optional.

PaladinMJ

I use Cable Clamps.

[www.cableclamp.com]

Same principle as the velcro ties, but I don't like to use those because they attract too many dust bunnies and cat hair tumbleweeds.

The Cable Clamps come in two sizes that I know of.

swellmel

Velcro brand cable ties are awesome... zip ties are one thing but then whenever you move something or a component goes bad you have to cut a ton of ties to get it out... with velcro ones you just undo it and no waste... I found a pack of 50 of them on Ebay for $11 shipped (compared to $20+tax in stores) but you may be able to find them even cheaper...

minig0d

In a word, www.cableclamp.com , and no, sadly, I did not invent them or have any other association with the company.

mheatley

Yup the Ikea thing is perfect, I use it myself.

aphex242

I hate Cable clutter as well. My method is go to Home Depot or Lowes and by the biggest bag of zip ties you can find. I buy 8" ones. Make sure you also buy the thinnest so you can cut them easily. Then just go to work on your cables. It is a pain and especially hard with a glass desk, Ahhrggg!

You can semi see my cable management in this youtube video..

[www.youtube.com]

GeorgiaBoot

Zip ties are definitely worth the price. The under-table cable holder thing from Ikea is also a good investment and can be mounted onto any desk you can take a drill too. Final stage for me was building something to hide all of the other junk (cable modem, wireless access point, power strips, CPU, etc). So I built a very basic box that looks like an old fashioned radiator cover. The box is just wide enough to conceal the CPU and other loose bits- it doesn't take up any more floor space than the CPU.

nat lyon

I hate cords ... lol ... but I let the rats nest fly... I am always unhooking different contraptions.

mysticgeek.htg

What I found to be the neatest and easiest method is to braid certain cables together, like all of the CAT5 cables that go to my entertainment center, they are braided so it looks neat, and it's organized.

I introduced this method at my workplace, and now we have all of the network cables braided at every networking and imaging station. It organizes the cables, and it reduces the time of untangling them all.

xAnarChisTx

PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

In tidying up, you're going to wind up running your power cables along side your other cables and they may get wound up, increasing radio interference!

Don't believe me? Wind your audio cable around your power cable a few times and crank up the volume...

For those with analog VGA (15 pin) video you may notice radio interference as a result. Similarly if you, like me, have a cordless mouse and keyboard or a Wacom tablet, running the USB cable from those along (or worse around) your power cable could lead to erratic mouse/keyboard/pen behavior.

Best bet? Either run power separately from all other cables (that's what I do) or leave power cables on the floor and bring everything else up off the floor.

Good luck!

walletandgromice

Zip Ties, Zip Ties, Zip Ties, Zip Ties, Zip Ties, Zip Ties, and more Zip Ties.

I've also got a peg board from Home Depot mounted on the wall next to my desk with a hard drive, a network switch, two big Belkin surge protectors, and a few power bricks.

Then I've got most of my wires bundled in together to keep the cutter under control.

This of course all had to be redone when I built a new system a couple months ago, but I'm happy nonetheless.

davidfbecker

@phquaryn: That is very weird and cool.

One thing that I do, that's somewhat related, is use coloured electrical tape to label each end of my cables. So, for example, my computer power plug has a strip of red on each end, the monitor has yellow on each end, the printer has yellow/blue, etc, etc. This means that I can always ensure I'm unplugging the thing I mean to when shuffling around.

sourlime

@phquaryn: Cool, thanks!! :)

Gina Trapani

Let me try that again...
DIY cable cozy

phquaryn

My memory failed me a little. The previously mentioned cable cozy my Dad made me is not circle-shaped. It is shaped like a maxi pad (the kind with wings).

phquaryn

Love Ashwani's solution! Was looking at my desk and don't think it will work for me but I still think it is great. I also have a Dell monitor with a similar cable hold to Gina's. Figured that out during a recent move as well. Right now I am using plastic ties and some rubber cable holds I got on clearance from Office Max. It's organized chaos behind my desk now. Still not the perfect solution but until I find the holy grail, it will have to do. Don't even get me started on my home theater cable management solution. It's like a bowl of spaghetti back there.

FrogBoy

Every time I rearrange my office or move altogether, I take everything apart and rewire into a nice and neat semblance of order; then I get to watch over the months or years as it degrades into chaos.

wildness

I like how the "organizing person" wore rubber gloves so as to not leave fingerprints . . .

EASTKOY

@mheatley: look like handcuffs without a key

luke holder

Okay I'm almost embarassed to ask... how exactly should the Ikea tray be used? I mean what are all those bendy bits for?

Dravidian

@Qwertinsky: Fixed the link [www.pbase.com]

Qwertinsky

Three words: Get A Laptop.

nintendude

@chris-mcc: Because that's how they manage cables on CSI

jorsch

I agree with velcro ties, very convenient, neat and reuseable.

Personally, cable management for me is about placing peripherals more than placing cables.I try to keep adapters near the devices as far as possible, and the main power strip near the computer case since that is where everything goes anyway. Wrap up cables leading to the same device, so it's easy to see what goes where (e.g. power cable+LAN+modem line for the router).

The only problem is shortening cables that are too long; I try to loop them to a more appropriate length, and keep that loop nearer the device side of the cable.

And that aside, try to minimise cable usage, LOL. I have a wireless mouse and plan on getting a wireless keyboard as well. Eventually I'm going to get myself an NAS to sort out my various hard disks as well.

kureshii

I just don't!

After doing everything I could think of, I eventually decided against organizing most of my cables. I quickly tired of having to unwrap everything each time I wanted to move a cable and, as others have noted, trying to find a cable by it's label, only to find the label laying on the floor by itself.

Of course there are exceptions when it's worth it, but I don't even bother with it for my personal workstation. However, I do use twist ties to remove the slack and hide the cables behind furniture, whenever possible.

rogun64

I just tied them in group with zip ties, and some twist tie, and the ones that are too long I made a bundle and then tied it up and then attached them to a grill (the one they use for displaying things)with zip tie. I did the same with the bricks, and power strip.

XavAcid

I've always used zip-ties to organize my cables. $1.50 at Home Depot has always done a better job for me than buying some time of cable organizer. Put a zip tie every 6-8 inches and cut off the excess for a nice, neat bundle of cables.

wrestlingnrj

This allow me to tie cables together any way I want and at as many places as I want. I also make use of built-in cable organizers. My laptop's stand has one and my desk has two pairs, each pair having one going under the desk and the other going behind it.

Can-Car

My plan for my new PC is to have a clean table with only a wireless mouse and keyboard on it. Super clean.

The monitor will be wall-mounted with the cables run inside the wall.

I also plan to build a wooden stand for the CPU so that I can tuck wires into it, while elevating the case off the floor.

jefuchs

I tie my cables with gold chains ...

Lawk Salih

@uvreactive, @nutbastard, @xAnarChisTx:

Coiling, looping, and braiding cables is a bad idea. You're setting up magnetic induction in the cables, which will reduce their effective distance and increase noise. With audio cables, it will introduce noise. With data cables, it will introduce errors. You may not see any problems because of error-corrective protocols, but your throughput may drop drastically.

I cite the case of a friend who used a 50-foot category 5 cable to connect his hub to his computer, over about 3 feet of space, with the excess coiled and zip-tied. Best-case throughput was around 20 KB/sec. After uncoiling, it was 500 KB/sec (10Base-T).

dphelan

I was REALLY tired of the cable clutter for my desktop computer so I mounted my flatscreen monitor to the side of my tower. I cut a hole in the panel (that is hidden by the monitor) to run the cables inside and my father-in-law helped me solder an internal outlet into my power supply. With a wireless network card the only cables I have to plug in are one power cable, a mouse & keyboard, and a USB printer. It's portable, there's easy access to the jacks on the back, and I can cheaply upgrade the parts like any other desktop PC.

gabtrat

I painted a piece of plywood white and mounted it to the wall in our walk-in closet behind the open entry door, so it's hidden most of the time. I mounted all the house phone and ethernet distribution, the cable modem, a router, and a gigabit switch to it with screws. I then used stick-on wire clips to route all the power and data cords. A power strip mounted along one edge of the board supplies the whole shootin' match. Photos at .

instig8r

I attached a couple of hooks to the walls of the area under my desk where my computer sits (sometimes as a footrest, haha) and I hang my coiled cables that I'm not using on those.

uvreactive

I recently bought a desk from my brother and it is the best desk ever for this. It's from Storehouse and what it has is a cubby hidden underneath the desk, so no need to go buy hooks or and hardware add on. Even more brilliant is that this cubby has a whole drilled into one of its side walls. So in a drawer where components are held you can run the wire back into this cubby. It is so great. I have an iMac so no worries about display cords and I use wi-fi so no ethernet cords either. I use a USB hub that I keep, you guessed it, in the cubby. Only two wires go into the back of my iMac. A power cable and the USB cord from my USB hub. All my cords are seperate but kept tied to themselves in twist ties, I just used the twist ties that come with the products, very cheap and no trips to the stores. I also keep the surge protector in the cubby and so from the wall to the desk there's only two wires. One power cord for the Surge protector and a cable cord to my router. Other than that everything is beautiful. Even more brilliant for easy access the back of my drawers open up on hinges, so I don't need to pull things out I just step behind the desk, open the door and I have access to my cord and peripherals. I hate cords and there are absolutely none visible at my work space, thank you bluetooth keyboards and mouse for the help as well. And thank you storehouse for a great looking desk with great design for the computer age.

JoshMac

RE: Spiral Wrap

I use spiral wrap, the trick is to cut it in pieces 3 inches long or so. Use a piece about every 12 inches or so, depending on the cables.

A clever person can remove a cable without losing the bundle with this method!

wolf359

For power cords, at least, I like Belkin solutions:

[catalog.belkin.com]

kongjie

It's not just the cables that plug into the computer than annoy me - it's the power cords as well. It's such a waste of electricity to have all of those gadgets drawing power when they don't need it. I still haven't found the best way to keep my power brick tidy when I plug things in and unplug others - and those eco-friendly power bricks that switch off via remote seem to be pretty temperamental.

Shinykatie

I have a bunch of these:
[www.lowes.com]

I clamp the cable to the back edge of the table my computer is on and it does a nice job of consolidating them without making it difficult to remove/rearrange stuff.

ppiddyp