Ask Engadget: Best accessories management solution for cluttered desks?
By Darren Murph 
posted March 18th 2010 10:31PM
posted March 18th 2010 10:31PM
Anyone got a great mechanism for keeping these adapters and cables in some sort of order? We're certain the neat-freaks in attendance would love to hear your input in comments below."I am overwhelmed by power cords and travel chargers and am looking for a good way to organize them until I need them. The top drawer of my desk is no longer cutting it. I've got too many power cables and AC adapters to count. I can't be the only one with this problem. Is there a solution? Thanks in advance!"
2 words
Public Storage
@abedinthehouse
or just throw them all away and get one universal plug
.......oh wait, there no such thing as a true universal plug....yea ur screwed
@abedinthehouse
check this good DIY solution
http://www.decluttered.com/
Get some rubberbands and wrap it around the wires...take out the wires you don't need...
Trash can.
You don't need all the crap you have. Think about what you really use / need and streamline your setup. You can probably replace everything on your desk with a laptop, wireless mouse, phone/mp3 combo, and dropbox.
These are AMAZING:
http://www.bluelounge.com/cabledrop.php
@pvjohnson
they look really weird..
@pvjohnson
that is cool....
@pvjohnson do they work as well as the look? i wish they weren't in such obnoxious colors. then i might buy them.
@pvjohnson Why are you trying to sell pen*s heads to everyone....
...creeper
@pvjohnson I got a bunch before xmas. They are awesome. You can put anything about as thick as an Ethernet cable in them. Great if you have a laptop, don't have to crawl under the desk to get those cables off the floor anymore.
@pvjohnson
Yes I love these! I bought mine off of thinkgeek. Makes everything so much neater. One thing I'm worried about is if I want to move them I don't think the glue will still work, I guess I can always add some of my own glue though.
@pvjohnson no camel toe comments?
@pvjohnson
yeah! they are amazing... ripoffs!
you can get these from staples http://www.staples.com/Staples-Metallic-Soft-Grip-Binder-Clips-Small/product_657190
just feed the cable through the hole and you're done!
and guess what? no worries about sticky glue residue.
@pvjohnson
Bluelounge has good stuff...
@pvjohnson They asked for "best" not "most erotic". Do they make these in larger sizes?
A box.
BETTER IDEA GET A GIRLFRIEND.....
@TheSunman89 they have to get walked, paid for. Its too damn expensive and in the end u get nothing because apparently she is dumb as a post. No joke, solid metal post/pole.
@TheSunman89
i'm going to go out on a limb and give OP the benefit of the doubt. it's a valid observation that a girlfriend might be of great help both in organizing your stuff, and in deciding what is no longer needed as others have suggested. but let's be realistic: just go downstairs and ask your mom.
just add shelves on top of your computer and organize the clutter, but it will keep adding on.
Seriously though, I wrap everything up and keep them in a box tucked away on the side, and just take them out on an 'as need' basis.
And the things I ALWAYS need, are always connected to the plug and I have the wires all lead up to the side of my desk with a little station I use to keep all the wires ready to be plugged into whatever I need.
I call it my device center.
As for travel chargers, Keep them in the car or get an universal one that charges most of your traveling gadgets off in a small box to the side.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/bec4/
These work so well!
Caple Drop Cable Clips
@TheFinch CableDrops are overpriced. Get some velcro strips and use those instead. Super cheap.
http://www.tvsnob.com/pictures/frustrated-guy-clarkk.jpg
ZIP TIES DUH!
Also try these:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/c78a/
and
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/62ec/
a Mac
I don't know how big your desk is, but I use this on my nightstand, and it's really nice for charging my gadgets and keeping my chapstick near and ready as well as my binary watch and pens.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/gear/a65b/
@Physicsguy89
I bought that from ThinkGeek and the power strip that came with it kept knocking out my electricity in my house. So I had to put a different powerstrip in it. It was weird. I've kept the vampire strip thinking maybe someday I'll lend it to someone I don't like so their power can go poof!
@barbtx
Haha, that's strange. I don't use that one, I needed a bigger one.
Tie-Wrap !
@huffy15
Better than tie-wrap, use double-sided velcro. Much easier to fix when you have to change anything and it holds it just as tight. You also don't have to worry about cutting something when removing them.
@Locri I use mini grip to cut them and when you have to bring 3 dvi none-cheap cable together it's difficult with big tight cable ! But it's my choice you got yours !
Incremental steps.
-The Seagate FreeAgent Go Dock+ is an external drive dock and a USB hub. It's cleaned up my desktop a bit and I swap out various (Seagate) drives. (They have several dock flavors, so shop with awareness.)
-Label everything. If you can't label it, you don't need it. (OK, you can wait 6 months to get rid of it in case you know what it's for then.)
-Box/drawer in the office & box in the basement/attic. (nearline & archive)
it's hard to tell without knowing what all your gadgets are. Have you tried consolidating a bit ? My next phone will have a huge screen, a standard headphones jack, and no keyboard (prooly HTC HD2 or Dell Streak), and I intend to use it for EVERYTHING, with an external Bluetooth keyboard on the side.
Aside from that, I might need a USB memory stick, but that's it.
Good cable management is an art. However, for starters,
check you need all the cables you have plugged it, then:
1-Unplug eveeeeerything
2-Start plugging stuff back in, starting with the things you unplug least.
3-Use Velcro cable ties to shorten any overly long cables.
4-Make sure cables going to different locations sit neatly on top of each other in a logical fashion, rather than wrapped around or coming up from under each other.
5-Repeat; Refine.
Mmm... OCD-tastic.
I really like these:
http://www.cablecapture.com/
I'm a furniture designer/builder. What would people like built into desks?
@Ninzoris
Cupholders that accomodate mugs and have a moat around them to isolate liquid spills. And integrated surge protectors and usb hubs would be pretty sweet. A bookstand that folds down flush when not in use wouldn't hurt (yeah, I still read paper books). Also, a decent surface for using a mouse without a pad.
@Ninzoris A hole or something of the sort to put cords through so that they won't be all over the place even if the back of the desk is flat against a wall. Maybe one in the drawer to store smaller electronics without having to loop cords everywhere, as well.
HERE. this works marvels, if you feel like drilling into your desk. it routs perfectly, and you can cut it to length, not to mention, the cables can come out at different lengths. its called 80-20, you may know it from an article in popular mechanics, it has cable management harnesses, and work wonders.
http://www.8020.net/
@mrmechanic18
I mean that's a way to use 8020, but I mean you could just build the entire desk from that and plan it so you avoid such clutter to begin with.
I bought a recharging station, similar to this one: http://www.potterybarn.com/products/bedford-smart-technology-recharge-station/?pkey=x%7C4%7C1%7C%7C10%7Crecharge%7C%7C0&cm_src=SCH
It works very well for my cellphones and bluetooth headset, without having cords strewn everywhere.
Trash can.
http://www.powermat.com/us/products/?gclid=CNv70oyDxKACFaVH5wod0nWXaw
Not perfect but getting closer. Not a big fan of stick on monkeys / plastic cord grabs as they advocate sticking junk all over. They dont solve the problem they add to it.
Cabledrop seems like a great product. You'll need to get a Computer Table that'll embrace all your accessories. Wire clutter is here to stay for sometime....unless you can afford to splurge and go wireless on any and all accessories that can go wireles.
If you want a charging valet, here's the Cadillac of them:
http://www.onvoo.com
My folks bought me the Madison for Christmas a year back, it is SWEEEET...
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=109&cp_id=10520
I like the hook and loop ties.
Rebuild your entire desk out of 8020 (http://www.8020.net/) (no really) and make it modular to start with. Then, attach some conduit to help guide permanent cabling, (with wire ties as well) and finally put yourself a usb farm (hub) flush with the desktop, so you don't need 100 cables going back to your desktop.