aNewDomain.net — If you’re like me, you deal with too many cables at work and home. There’s one or more PC power cords, mice cables, keyboard and monitor plugs and cables, a KVM switch and much more. For those of us who have a test environment at home, that ball of black spaghetti is a blight in a home office. Thankfully, virtual machines have greatly reduced the number of cables running behind my desk. They aren’t done away with completely, but almost.
Wire management solutions typically require using mounting brackets on the desk or binding the wires with clamps. This works right up until you want to rearrange the room or need to replace something. If you’ve set up an off-the-shelf solution, you have to factor that in when you move the equipment.
Before. Image Courtesy: Dino Londis
After. Image Courtesy: Dino Londis
Here is a low-cost solution that is extensible, portable and aesthetic — well as aesthetic as wire management can be. Hide those wires, surge suppressors and everything else in a wicker basket. For under $10, a wicker basket with a hinged lid and holes for handles in the sides (see picture) can replace that ravel of black spaghetti at your feet.
This little trick works in any area where wires multiply. When TVs were CRTs, we could hide all that wire behind the entertainment center. But now that it’s mounted to the wall, the TV, Roku Box, Xbox, Wii and DVR each have two or more cords. Just get a basket big enough to hide them all. It’s not perfect, but it will definitely work.
Now if someone can tell me how to handle remote control management …
For aNewDomain.net, I’m Dino Londis.
Based in New York, Dino Londis is a senior commentator at aNewDomain.net. He’s also an IT Pro alum at National Lampoon and teamBYTE. Email him at Dino@aNewDomain.net.
nice lifehack, sir :)
-RAP, II