Top tips to wrangle power cords

In an increasingly connected and technology driven world, the benefits of such advances are obvious – and unfortunately, so are the drawbacks. Piles of cables and long, tangled wires snaking across your carpet and hiding behind or underneath pieces of furniture are often the unwanted side effect of owning lots of power-hungry devices. While we dream about a world without wires or cables, here’s some handy and cheap solutions:  

Creative labelling

Forget awkwardly rummaging around under a desk or behind entertainment units trying to figure out what cord belongs to what device – labelling is your friend when it comes to making your life a little easier. You don’t need anything fancy here - bread tags or clothes pegs marked with a permanent marker or texta will do the trick. There are also more aesthetically pleasing labelling options available from your nearest office and stationary store if you feel so inclined.      

Shorten with DIY bone wrappers

Sometimes the main problem is that the cords are a great deal longer than necessary – this can often lead to messy, unsightly piles of cords around your living spaces. Here’s an inexpensive solution for you: with some rubber mat or thicker style cardboard, cut out a small bone shape, then snip both ends – attach the cord to one end by sliding into the slit, then wind it around the middle, and attach at the other end. Check out this handy tutorial if you need further detail on this little DIY project: http://lifehacker.com/237815/diy-cable-shortener  

Tie them up

Even just tying cords together in groups can make a big difference to how organised your cords are. Using proper cable ties, or some twist ties from your kitchen, tie cords together in small groups, attaching them at intervals along their length. It may not be the prettiest solution, but hey, it gets the job done doesn’t it? This will not only make it easier for you to find what cable belongs to what device, but also prevents any tangling.  

Divide and conquer

Separating your cords is the key to preventing a tangled mess – and there are a number of homemade solutions you can create to fulfil this need. Foam pipe insulation, or even a small plastic box, is all you need to fashion your own cord separator. Slice the foam insulation down one side after cutting to an appropriate length, stow the main length of the cords inside and pull one end through the slit. If you are using a box, hide the cords inside the box and cut out a number of holes to pull the ends of the cords out of. There are also a number of rubber and plastic stick-on solutions available online or at your local storage solution store if you are happy to spend a little bit of cash – this may be particularly appealing to those that have a large number of unmanageable cords.    

Store the spares

Storing extension cords while they are not being used can be a pain – no matter how you wrap them, they always seem to emerge tangled when you pull them out. Solve this problem using leftover cardboard tubes from paper towels or toilet rolls – simply wind your cords up in a compact manner and slide into a tube. This makes stacking the cords up in a drawer or on a shelf much more practical and tangle free!