Zip ties!

robmcbell

Beautiful!

ALL viable options, many cobbled together from available resources.

I'm sure we'll see some great suggestions too.

Good one, LH!

strider_mt2k

hello,

where can I get the addon's for the jerker desk? specifically the computer holder on the side? I checked in store in ikea, and could not find any...

qrius

@RetepNamenots: You should eat more fiber. ;)

strider_mt2k

I think the Spiral Wrap from [panduit.com] is way cool! The only thing is that I don't need 30 meters of it.

Thanks,

Kent

kdyer

I rely on zip ties, but one of the coolest items I've ever discovered is from my favorite supply house, mcmaster-carr. (I know they're available many places, but McMaster.com is like nirvana for DIY'ers).

The device is a small plastic anchor with a sticky back and a screw hole. The front has loops for running a zip tie through.

So, you stick this to the wall, underside of a desk, surface of a desk, etc. If it will be holding weight you put a screw through and into the surface, then you pass a zip tie through and cinch the bundle of wires/cables right up against the anchor.

I run these under the back edge of my desk so that the wires are totally hidden. I then put one on the surface of my desk to keep my various laptop-docking cables all at the ready (no more falling behind the back of the desk!)

The item is here:
[www.mcmaster.com]

and you can also find reusable zip ties as well as 456,000 other products on this amazing site.

--Jason

Jason

I did number 2 a few months ago after seeing it originally on LH, (similar desk to mine actually, so I got the Ikea one as well).

It's made a world of difference, now I've just got one cable going into the plug on the wall :)

Thanks

RetepNamenots

@kdyer:

That spiral wrap is available in places like lowes and home depot in shorter lengths of black. I've used it before.

enine

@strider_mt2k: Lol! thats horrible.

The declutter ideas are nice tho.

Lazarus

Quick note with binder clips: it looks like you could just clip around the cord to the same effect. With no need to pull the clip apart each time, it would be easier to remove if you need to take a laptop or cell phone charger to go.

thesladev

@qrius: I dunno about specific add-ons, but I hung my computer from my desk using table leg mounting plates like the top item here: [www.rufkahrs.com] (I got 'em at Home Depot). Those attach to the bottom of the desk. Threaded rod ("allthread") screws into these and through holes in the corners of a rectangle of MDF or plywood. Bolts and washers underneath keep the shelf from falling off.

The only drawback is the allthread is a bit rough to bump against, and some might say it's ugly, but you could use PVC or aluminum tubing to spiff it up a bit.

jswilson64

@strider_mt2k: Dammit! you beat me to it!

B1663R

The binder clip trick is gold! As are many of these other tips, wow.

Myles

My favorite way to get rid of cable clutter is to get rid of the cables. I go wireless with everything I can; the only cables in the back of my desktop are the power cord and the speaker connection.

vitonis

@thesladev: I think the idea with the binder clip is to string the cord through the "handle" and then use the "clip" part to attach it to the back of your desk. That way the cord slides freely but doesn't fall back behind the desk. Then when you want that cord you can just pull it towards you. If you "clip" it I don't think it will do that?

ninjamurf

I am another zip tie fan!

GeorgiaBoot

I've done numbers 4 and 1 myself. They work really well. I really like the pegboard under my desk. It neatens things up incredably.

RickS

I plan on getting rid of the rats nest of cables behind my TV by upgrading my AV receiver. Instead of 2 Component, 1 S-video and 1 HDMI cable, I'll have one single HDMI cable. Nice, nice, nice.

smitty1123

I took the #1 route. I wired my whole house with cat6 cable, and ran it all to a central location, which is next to my electrical box in the basement, all mounted neatly on pegboard attached to the wall.

The cable and the telephone lines already run to the same location, so keeping it there was really a no-brainer.

thejoker2099

I am so glad I found ionhub multi charger. In no time, I got rid of all my other chargers, in my car and in my apartment!

JazzG

Or you can buy an IDAPT. A universal charger that can charge three devices at the same time.

You can find more info here www.idaptweb.com and you can buy it through Amazon UK.

It is actually the only charger that allows you to forget any wires in your desk, and it works perfectly with most phones, all iPods, NDS, PSP,...

awerty

I did number 2 again 20 minutes ago. Hoorah!

RetepNamenots

Will you please get rid of "Master the Art of Earbud Cord-Wrapping".

We all commented on exactly how destructive that was last time it was posted. Winding a cable like that is guaranteed to destroy it.

At the very least add a warning "Convenience will shorten the life of your headphones".

stepnet

slight unrelated, but the best way to coil cables without introducing knot, kninks, or snags is the over/under method. when i was taught this, i was surprised that it wasn't universally [or at least mmore widely] know.

[stagecraft.theprices.net]

dekay46

@stepnet: Sounds like you have to wrap it super-tight 5 times a day in the dead heat to actually affect the wire, but ok, I'll add a warning.

Gina Trapani

Has anyone tried the Cable Captures? I saw them at Office Depot but didn't buy any. I wasn't sure how well they'd work. Looks pretty cool, truthfully. [www.cablecapture.com]

Chuck Cheeze

Just a heads up to the people using tie-wraps on their cabling: cat5/5e/6 cables are sensitive to tight bends, twists and pressure on the insulation. Tie-wraps are fine as long as you wrap up the cables in wide loops and don't pull the tie-wrap too tight. Not much point in unnecessarily degrading the functionality of your network cables.

hooked-on-tronics

I did a free #7 the other day with an empty shoebox. It had a hole in one end, so I ran the power strip's cord out of that.

Inside, I used twisty ties for the cords, and let them hang out just far enough to place the gadget on top of the box when plugged in.

So far, it's got a cell, camera battery, and AA battery charger in it. Not bad for 10 minutes of work and using a box otherwise sitting empty :)

ry_ry

@vitonis: How do you power your moniter, desk lamp, and usb devices?

mferrari

Nice.

too bad i can't afford any of these.

thelastdestroyer

I like the options except the foam hider. I'd be wary of chargers gathering heat you'd normally not notion except that they're insulated here and it'll build up. foam vaporization/fusion= unhealthy/messy.

Kin

In addition to the binder clip trick: Use a big one and make it a dock! I think this was on LH, as well. Anyway, here is the Instructables page on this, and here's what my version looks like.

Alips

We do the wirebasket and the diy cord manager stuff here in the office. It's great, I hate kicking the wires on the floor. Good article!

slightlysarcastic

Neat post! I am currently working on getting my networking equipment up off of a shelf in my garage with a rats nest of wires and onto a pegboard. Pegboard is pretty cheap at Home Depot and it looks a lot nicer.

I also bought a UPS to power all of my networking equipment so that everything remains operational in case of power failure. I figure the smallish UPSes will work for a good Hr or so but I haven't tested it yet for actual time.

See a picture here of my project in progress.

ddrager

To keep your newly organized cables dust free, blast them with cool air from your blow hair dryer once a week.

computermom

For laptop users you are going to love this!!!

[www.bluelounge.com]

metalhaze

@strider_mt2k: props for first post with the number two joke!

stever

I have to say one thing that is never mentioned in controlling cable clutter is making your own cables. Certainly some things are a challenge but phone, ethernet, coax, speakers - these are all cables that you can easily make to your specific needed link.

mudrummer

@mudrummer - you are so right. For a while now, my bedroom PC has had a bunch of spaghetti underneath the desk; at points it got so bad, that I would tangle my feet and pull out some plug unwillingly. When I decided to put a TV in the living room as a media center, I measured everything first and got the cables to fit. It's kind of extreme, because if I want to move it, I don't have too much room to maneuver.

I've also fixed the cables in the bedroom - with some plastic ties - the ones that come with most cables - and a feature of the desk I had not figured out: there is a small portion in the back that appears to be a part of the back wall, but in fact it rotates to hold your cables. DOH!

civascu

I use a clear plastic over-the-door shoe organizer to store cables that aren't in use. I never have to hunt through drawers or boxes of tangled wires when that special cable is called for!

(Photo of my organized cables here.)

Atomische

I use these from this tip from awhile back:

[lifehacker.com]

They're super cheap, quick and re-usable. And come in handy if you have a ponytail!

rickmagers

Hello,

I have just seen the video about storing the earbuds, but I use a much more effective method, the Earbud Clip, its a simple plastic clip that keeps the cords tangle free. I think I bought it from eBay.

phillipssam

I did a variant of Number 7 a while back for my entertainment center. Check it out here

rainierez

Velcro cable ties work the best, and they are pretty inexpensive as well. Get a large roll of it and you can cut them to whatever size you need!

Jason LeDuc

These are some great ideas. As for the DIY cord wrappers, I find that thick cords or simply a lot of cord can be too much for them to contain. I hadn't heard of using foam pipe insulation before. A while back, I bought a PT-80 labeller (from Brother's P-Touch series). Staples was offering it at a good sale price. It has been extremely handy! I label my electronics and power cords, both at home and at work. It makes life easy when I go searching through a mess of cords for the right one for a particular item. It's also great when I go to a power bar and want to locate the correct cord to unplug.

cheesebubble

Here is a charging station I just made and posted, helped clean up my desk.
[www.instructables.com]

tyep

Ah! You left out daisy chaining! That is by far the most effective cord trick I've ever found. You can quickly and cleanly change the length of any cord without even having access to its ends.

[www.instructables.com]

credford

ZIPLOC BAGGIES.

I'm pretty sure at this point, nobody's reading the comments list because it's too long. But as a professional network engineer, let me share something about how to STORE your wires (not connected to the gadgets, but when you need to put them away in a drawer).

Don't wrap them around themselves, etc etc ... just spool them and put them in baggies, one wire to a baggie, and throw ALL the baggies into the same drawer. They don't snake around each other, you can see what kind they are, and you just toss them around like so many bean bags. It's the ONLY way to store wires when they're not connected.

mgmead

Twisties provide an inexpensive solution.

x = twist
| = one of your cables running between the twists

xx|xxxx|xxxx|xxxx|xx

jhstarr

... OK, so it took me a week, but thanks to this post I have finally got my amazingly messy cord collection under control and it looks neat and tidy! This is something approximately as likely as snowballs in hell, so once again we have proof that Lifehacker is a force to be reckoned with! Thank you Lifehackers!

Also, I did it on a total budget of AU$2, so I may do a writeup at some point for all the other broke Lifehackers out there! I'll leave a link and photos if I get around to writing it up.

Ricky Buchanan

cool setup, not digging the high mount... but maybe under desk mount w/clear plastic? I used to make the fiber glass stuff in shop and my first few jobs, actually we used to put Op emblems pieces in it... and that is Ocean Pacific for your younstas!

Cool stuff and I figure it would take sooo much heat to create and catalyze, it will hold up to electronics.

cserenil

I absolutely love the binder clip idea! Every time open up my box i unpug everything just to be sure and the heavy power cable falls down behind my desk SO ANNOYING!

Time to go steal some jumbo binder clips from my teachers....

jf713jf