Keeping Your Electronics Organized

These days, it seems like every electronic device comes with a multitude of cords, cables, batteries, and other little odds and ends. Those items can easily turn into a pile of clutter or worse—get lost. You may find yourself asking, “what did this even go to?” “Which cord belongs to the computer?” Well, now you can breathe a sigh of relief. Below, you’ll find some useful tips and tricks to help you with everything from storage to controlling cord-tangling chaos.

Storage Ideas

If you’re like many of us, you probably have a shoebox or a drawer full of various, tangled electronic cords. All over the Web, you’ll find an assortment of great ideas for keeping your cords looking neat and organized. One of the many recommendations includes using toilet paper or paper towel rolls. You either wrap the cord around the roll, or use the rolls as separators, filing each with roll with the folded cords. Another option is to coil the cords into Ziploc bags, which allows you not only to keep cords separated, but also labeled.

Organizing

Separate electronic items by categories such as music, gaming, and TV, to make them easier to locate. If additional controllers, cables, and other accessories are always returned to the same place, you won’t have problems finding them. Getting into the habit might take a while, but it will be well worth the effort!

When you get around to that pile of various electronic components, take the time to go through each item. Test to check if the item still works and try to identify what it goes with. To reduce clutter, throw out or donate any items that are no longer working or are no longer needed. For storage of smaller items, try using a tackle box or bead organizer.

Around the House

If you have a few outlets or power strips in your home office or living room, be sure to untangle cords and label each of them so you can easily identify them. You can also make them less visible by bundling the cords and taping them to the back of a desk or table.

If you have a lot of devices that you use on a regular basis, make space for a designated charging station. Keep memory cards, cleaning cloths, and other handy accessories in the same area.

Tips for New Gadgets

When you buy new gadgets, try to get in the habit of immediately labeling and organizing associated cords and extra parts. Start by creating a designated place to store these items. You can create cable identification tags from the plastic tabs used to close bread bags, or use electrical tape/ masking tape and a Sharpie to make a label. Don’t have the time or patience to collect enough bread tags? Never fear. Cable identification tags can be purchased. In addition to labeling cable cords, you can also reduce the clutter of user manuals by scanning them and saving an electronic copy on your computer.