Phones, tablets, and laptops are a part of most people’s personal and professional lives.  And all these devices come with chargers, cables, cords, and earbuds that, if not properly maintained, can end up a giant tangle of messy cord clutter.

To avoid this fate, I’m sharing my favourite ways to tame cord chaos.  These are simple solutions to neatly store cords when not in use and ways to hide them in plain site when you are using them.

Keeping Cords Organized When They’re NOT Being Used

1) Labels

It’s common for people to have multiple devices and for everyone in a household to have their own devices, which can lead to a lot of charges and cords floating around.  Make it fast and easy to identify what cord goes with what device by labelling them.

If you have a label maker, use it to create labels.  Or it can be as simple as using tape and a marker.

2) Tie Up the Cords

Throwing cords loose into a drawer, bin or on a shelf inevitably leads them to getting tangled up with each other and everything else in the space.  Avoid this fate by “tying” up the cords to neatly store them.

A couple of easy and free ways to accomplish this are to use items you already have around the house like elastics, twist ties, jewelry bags and toilet paper rolls.

If you have a little bit of a budget to spend, cord ties and/or clips are a great option too.

Whichever method you use, the key is that the cords are contained preventing the messy (and frustrating) tangle of cords.

3) Contain The Cords In Their “Home”

Even tied cords can get messy if they’re not contained in a designated home.  Adding dividers to the drawer, bin or shelf solves this problem.  The dividers stop the cords from sliding all over or getting buried under other items.

If you don’t have a drawer to spare you can use a hanging shoe pocket on the inside of a closet door to store cords when not in use.

Another great idea is a photo case.

Finally, mini bead boxes can be used as well.

Hiding Cord Clutter in Plain Sight

Of course, cords must be out when charging devices and I have some solutions for that too!

1) Charing Stations:

All devices need to be charged at some point.  Instead of having to look at the cords and devices on your desk or countertop, try hiding them in plain sight.

I LOVE this DIY charging station using a Kvissle paper tray from Ikea.

You can also use a basket on your countertop.

Or just a decorative box with some holes cut out of the back for the cords.

A wireless charging dock is another way to go.

Finally, if you know an electrician or are doing a renovation, you can put the outlet right in the drawer.  How smart is that?

Cords ALWAYS In Use

Here are some ways to hide cords that are always in use, for items like computers, printers, modems, televisions.

For cords you need to keep out to plug devices in and out of at your desk, adhesive cord clips are a great way to stop them from falling to the ground and looking messy.

A cord box is a sleek way to hide power bars and multiple plugs.  You can also use cord clips underneath a desk to get the cords off the ground and out of sight.  See the difference these two steps made in the office space below.

A decorative basket on the floor works great in an office or living space as well.

Check out how Design OCD used a magazine holder to hide a modem on her desk top.

For more ways to organized your whole home with magazine holders, click here

Finally, if possible, tuck the cords into the furniture like I’ve done here with my Cricut machine.  I drilled a hole through the back of the stand and the drawer and fed the cords though.  Now,  the excess cord and large battery sit unseen at the back of the drawer instead of hanging and taking up space behind the stand.

Conclusion 

Cords are inevitable in our lives today, but messy and frustrating cord clutter is NOT!  Use these simple tips and ideas to tame the cord chaos in your spaces once and for all!

What’s your favourite way to tame cord clutter?  Let me know in the comments below.  And if you like this post, please share it!

Happy Organizing!