Friday, September 21, 2012

My Tips: Feeling Wired

Not me- my computer! I use my computer to charge all sorts of things and it can get out of hand. I only have a laptop too, so that is a single cord for power! I thought I would spend a little time today showing some easy- and budget friendly!- ways to organize computer and charger cables. I mean sure, you could go out and spent $100 on a charging station from a place like Pottery Barn, but why not try some fun DIY first?

1. Labeling the wires

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If you have 10 things plugged into a power bar, this would be very handy to know which one you are unplugging! And you can use anything you find around the house- bread tags, masking tape, paper and string- whatever works!

2. Use cord clips or cord hiding strips

There are tons of products on the market that aim to organize all those cords running down the wall! You can use small clips like these ones to neatly trail a cord to an outlet that perhaps is far away from your desk.

3. Bulldog Clips
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Here they use bulldog clips to hide all the chargers behind a desk, but keep the charger end easily accessible! So smart! I also use Bulldog Clips in my office to organize cords in a different way. I often charge my phone and ipod at my desk, but the cord for both is very long and gets in the way. I wrap them up into a coil and secure with a clip! Now the cord is just the few inches that I need.

4. Hiding and Organizing
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Emily at IHeart Organizing used a media box (from Ikea perhaps?) and added in dividers and labels so she can always find the cord she needs! I keep all my cords in a basket on the kitchen counter, underneath my "charging outlet" but they do get all tangly so I may have to steal her idea! In the second photos, they used a similar box to hide all cords, but have them available to charge right away. This is a little better than the method in number 3 above, because you can easily grab the charger out of the box if you are traveling!I would just watch out if some of your chargers tend to get hot when charging.

5. Make a little holder for charging items
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How cute is this? Ashley at Make It and Love It made this cute little holder from a lotion bottle! Now, I have a few reservations about the safety of this being hung by a live outlet, but it is a nice way to get your phone off the floor if your best outlet is down there (you don't want to step on it!). Check out her tutorial here.

So that is my little tutorial on cords and charging! I feel I should also do a TV cord post, but maybe that will be for another day :). I am one of those boring people with a non-mounted TV and I just have a power bar tucked in behind my TV stand (my stand actually has a built in spot for this) but even it could use some bread tags on it!!

How do you corral all those cords? Which product do you love up here?

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