Read time: approximately 3 minutes
Do you find yourself frustrated with the clutter of your very necessary personal electronic devices?
After a weekend of playing musical cords and still ending up with dead headphones (to which I have become very attached), I decided that it was necessary to find a solution to the issue of all the clutter that is a direct result of our many electronic devices.
The first step in controlling the clutter resulting from your electronic devices is designating a permanent place where the devices will be parked.
Think of this as your electronics garage. The place that will serve as both a parking garage and recharging station for all your personal electronic devices.
It may be necessary to designate more than one area. If multiple family members reside in one home, avoid future conflicts by assigning each person their own space.
The place you choose should be in a convenient location and have easy access to an electrical outlet. No matter how badly you want to hide the clutter, if the spot that you choose is not easily accessible, then this project is destined to fail.
After choosing a designated spot, devise some sort of physical garage.
The physical garage does not have to be fancy. The purpose of having a physical garage is to create a boundary for all the device clutter. Somehow, a pile of clutter organized in a pretty container looks less cluttered than a pile of clutter laying helter skelter on a countertop.
I’m not much of a DIYer, so crafting my garage was out of the question. However, after seeing multiple (pricey) recharging stations online, I knew that I already had something that would work.
A wooden plate holder, turned sideways, allows me to keep my devices organized and is easily accessible for the cords. (The featured post picture is my actual dresser.)
Whatever you use, it should look nice (to you), have the ability to keep the devices organized and provide easy access for recharging.
Managing all the cords is one of the biggest challenges in controlling clutter from electronic devices.
In an ideal world, all charging cords would be interchangeable.
We do not live in an ideal world.
Therefore, we have to figure out a way to manage the cords.
Managing the cords begins the minute a new electronic device enters the home. Take two minutes and put a label on the cord. Don’t bother with a fancy, computer printed label. The easiest, quickest way that I have found to label cords is with a piece of painters’ tape and a Sharpie.
If you already have a pile of cords (who doesn’t?), simply start by labeling the cords that go with the electronic devices that you currently use.
Labeling cords as you bring home new devices has the potential to eliminate the box of random cords sitting in the far corner of your closet.
To keep from having a mess of cords, make sure that each device has it’s own, labeled cord.
It would seem that less cords would be better. However, if each device has it’s own cord, then the need to plug, unplug and move cords becomes unnecessary.
Wherever your parking garage is, permanently plug in a cord for each device. This is not a cord that will travel. This is a cord that stays plugged in. The value is that when an electronic device needs to be charged, the cord will be readily available.
If it is necessary to take a cord on the road (hey, I’m kind of enjoying the vehicle analogies here, lol), consider purchasing a second cord.
Out of sight really is out of mind
Especially when it comes to cords.
When I put a lamp on a piece of furniture, I situate the lamp so the cord goes behind the furniture and remains unseen (as best as possible).
The cords for my devices are no different.
The reason I chose the top of my dresser was that I could put the cords down behind the dresser and plug everything into one power strip. If I can’t see it, the clutter bothers me a whole lot less.
If you have a cord that’s not quite long enough, consider purchasing one that is. The small cost is worth the ongoing benefits that come from keeping a cord ready to use.
Try to make sure the space you choose has the ability to hide the cords.
If our electronic devices are here to stay then, so is the clutter that goes with them. But by taking just a few little steps, you can begin controlling the clutter resulting from your electronic devices before it becomes a big problem!
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