apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

powerful minds must think alike!

i've been wrangling extra cords trying to figure out the best solution. zip ties are great til you need to use the cable. i want twist ties instead, or just rubber bands, even! gasp. i know.

but yeah, i don't even know what any of these cables are for. where i got them? that's a bigger mystery.

kdkaboom - We go ahead and use the zip ties in our house, just because they are always on hand and are guaranteed to fit every time. We don't mind the need to clip them each time, although some of the things that get swapped out most often live in baggies for just this reason.

Each time we move or reorganize, we make sure to dig back through our boxes. If things haven't been used in a year or two, then it's probably safe to say we won't need them. You might also keep a post it note in one box, so if you find something that needs a cord but you don't have it at that time... you can write it down and then when you find a random cord or cable later on, check to see if it's what you were missing (our milk like minds often forget such things!). That way, you don't throw out anything you could potentially need!

I use a small bag for every cable (or for a set of tools/cables for a gadget). The bag has to be transparent, so you can see the content. I can throw all this bags in a box without worry about messy tangle of cables.
AND … I try to minimize the amount of cables.

I honestly have so much in terms of electronic/computer cords/extras that I have one of those big striped boxes from Ikea full of stuff. This itsy bitsy box business would work for like the average person but I am *cough* a geek and as such would need insane amounts of boxes in various sizes.

*sigh*

If it makes you feel better alisaan, we don't just have the 3 boxes, we have more like 20 :)

I use

So...that link totally messed with the previous comment:

I use the Emu boxes from Ikea - they're cheap, come in a set of 2 and the metal design isn't too much of an eyesore.

I like the bag in the box idea. I will modify my current procedure.

Heh, I just got rid of all of my PS2 adapters (donated them to Goodwill). You really still need those?

kdkaboom - I held on to every twist tie I got, and considered taking a bunch from the grocery store. I actually found a roll of green ones in the gardening section of a hardware store. Just pull and cut.

I just recently went the way of ziplocks and zip ties for organizing our cable collection. To make it easy to put cables back when I'm done I keep a small bundle of zip ties right in the box with the cables. Put a pair of diagonal cutters in the box too and you're good next time you need to use a stored cable.

I divided my cables into three broad groups:

1) Audio & video (RCA cables, coaxial cables, etc.)
2) Computer & telephone (Ethernet cords, USB cords, telephone cords)
3) Power and miscellaneous (Spike protectors, extension cords, power bricks)

Then I used those beaded zip tie things - the ones you can open and close again - to tie up cables that I think will get used often. I used the cheaper zip cables you can't reopen to tie up stuff I don't think I'll need - eventually I'll purge the ones that don't get cut open for use.

Then within each of the three groups I organized cables by type - things like long RCA cables, short RCA cables, coaxial cables, HDMI cables, etc. - and put each type into labeled Ziploc bags. For the larger cables, or for large groups of cables, I used the giant-sized Ziploc storage bags.

Finally, I bought three large transparent Rubbermaid lidded storage tubs, one to store each of the three broad categories of cable and keep them from getting dusty.

Oh, and I have a fourth group of stuff which aren't cables - including things like monitor stands, boxes I want to keep, cable organizers and the like - which I put into a giant sized lidded plastic tub.

I also have two more tubs that are reserved for storing all of the cables I'm actively using for when I move - one for the computer setup and one for the A/V system. That'll make my next move much easier, since there's no chance of misplacing the cables I'm currently using. (I hope!) Right now the tubs are holding small equipment boxes and packing material pending the next move.

Anal, but when you move as often as I do, necessary. Although like I said, I'm hoping this system will actually allow me to easily pare down the number of cables I'm lugging around going forward. And on the whole it was pretty cheap to setup and so far pretty easy to maintain.

Better than the tangled mess it replaced, anyhow!

Velcro cable ties RAWK!!! but seriously, they're the best for quick access to your cables when you need them but not the strongest hold.

Twist ties. Extra bonus for being free.

These are great ideas! Send us in pictures of your storage systems! We'd love to see how everyone else organizes!

-Sarahrae

These are good Ideas but the best Product I have found are by a new company called Dotz. I actually learned about them on this site a few weeks ago. I orderd one of each and they are awesome! The quality is unsurpassed, they are fully reusable, and they actually made my cord mess look clean (and cool). Here is a link to their site: www.cordotz.com
and here is a link to the article on Unpluggd
http://www.unplggd.com/unplggd/cables-cords/dotz-organizers-keeping-your-wires-clean-085674
I haven't been this excited about a new product in a long time!