The first solution that comes to mind is to hide all of your cables somehow. The question is how – and it may seem easy, but it’s not all that simple when you got to put it into practice. Some prefer to organize their cables under the desk, but how to you avoid having some that dangle around? Some others come up with artistic ways of hiding them or making them look more interesting. As they say, each to their own, and for this reason, we selected some of the best ideas in terms of cable management – just for you.
Hide them under the desk
If most of the clutter you’re dealing with is situated right under your desk, then one thing you could do is to organize them. There are various things you can use that prevent cables from dangling. Cablox, for example, is a smart system that hangs under the desktop, providing something to attach all cables to.
If you want something simple, you can take a look at the video above and see how this guy uses hot glue and a stapler to fix cables onto the desk. For this reason, it’s useful to have a wooden desk because it can be easily stapled. However, if you don’t want to damage it that much, you should know that hot glue actually holds on very well, and it doesn’t do anything bad to your desk. Other interesting tools that can be used for cable management can be found at the IKEA shop in your town. Their SIGNUM series comes with various systems like this one that help you collect of all your computer cables, as well as other ones and put them in one place.
Shorten cables
When I say shortening, I don’t mean cutting your cables to make them shorter. There are various tools that you can use to wrap your cables around and diminish the length so that you don’t fill the space with unnecessary cables.
Hide them under the carpets
If your cables just can’t be shortened, and there’s no way to hide them under the desk, one thing you could do is to use the carpets you have in your house. This is a dangerous method to use, though because you could always step on them and destroy the cables. Given this aspect, you should make sure that you place them in a safe area – not under the area with lots of traffic, not under a table or a couch, etc. To avoid having ugly bumps under the carpet, you can use narrow or flat ones that are easy to hide. Also, don’t place the cables directly underneath, but try to run them between the carpet itself and the carpet pad. This way, it will be less likely for them to get pinched. If necessary, you can also use tape to make sure they’re stable rather then moving along within the carpet.
Label your cables
It’s true, it won’t help you get rid of the extra cables dangling around, but it’s a useful trick to take into account. Whenever you get confused between cables that look the same, (and this happens a lot when you have plenty of them), you need to get them organized. One way to do this is by using labels – simply stick a label on the cable with the name of the device it corresponds to. You can then group similar cables together and separate them from those that have nothing to do with them. This will also help you when you need to unplug something and don’t know what. It happens quite often that we need free space to plug something in, but what happens when you’re not sure what goes where? Rather than wasting time trying to figure out where a certain cable goes, you can just take a look at the label.
Wrap them up to avoid tangling
One of the major damages of having a mess of cables in your house is tangling. Some cables are more rigid; some others are more fragile – however, all of them can tangle if you’re not careful enough. While it may be quite difficult to get rid of the entire amount of cables or hide them somewhere safe, you can protect them by wrapping them like a bracelet. It takes a little bit of time to do it, but it’s definitely worth it. This trick will also make cables look nicer and more fun, so having them lying around will be a lot less annoying. The result will be a more rigid cable that can still be wrapped, but is harder to destroy. You can also try this one if you have pets at home – everybody knows that cats love playing with cables!
Hide cables in closets
The same as we hide cables under the desk or our carpets, we can also use closets or other furniture to do the same. All you need to do is drill a few holes that are large enough for the cables to go in and out, and then use some grommets on the rough edges so that your cables don’t get pinched. For a more esthetic look, you can avoid having too many holes by drilling two of them next to each other – like a bigger hole, but still separated. Make sure that the cables won’t be affecting the way you’re currently using the cabinetry or your closet before getting started.
Create art instead of hiding
Last but not least, why not create art? As we’ve seen before, it’s not always necessary to hide your cables when you can turn them into something more attractive by using your imagination. One easy way to do this is by organizing cables in such a way that they create an object of art. You can use them to draw a flower, a waterfall or circuit-like patterns, just like the one in the image above. Take advantage of the existing furniture that you could create the wall-art around, use paint to make the cables stick to the wall, and let your imagination go wild.
