How do I tame the tangle o cords at my desk?

March 20, 2007 12:07 PM

LifeHack: Does anyone have a clever way to hide multiple cords at an exposed desk before I trip on them?

I have a refinished 1920s secretary's desk with kneehole for my home office. Given the number of tech toys I have, there is a plethora of cords hanging off the desk. The desk has a shelving unit next to it to hold the CPU so the cables droop behind the desk then up to the CPU. All told there are about 6-10 power, speaker, mouse, keyboard, and USB cords running from various locations on the desk. I need some ideas to hide the appearance of the cords and possibly contain them. I would prefer to DIY instead of buying a solution. Any ideas?

posted by Koffeeman to computers & internet (10 comments total)

lifehacker.com covered this a while ago...

http://lifehacker.com/software/cord-management/cordless-workspace-redux-the-gina-edition-239904.php
posted by tomw at 12:21 PM on March 20, 2007

Places like Home Depot and The Container Store also carry flexible conduits in various colors if the suggestion in tomw's link isn't feasible. You can also just use twist ties.
posted by Burhanistan at 12:26 PM on March 20, 2007

I've used some of this stuff successfully. It has a split running along its length so you just slip the wires into it. You can get it at Harbor Freight, Home Depot, Radio Shack, etc. for mayb $5-10.
posted by Doohickie at 12:32 PM on March 20, 2007

Cable Ties.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 1:13 PM on March 20, 2007

I just set up my desk and here is what I did. Using twist ties, I shortened long running wires (speaker wire, etc) and then twist tied the bundles to either the monitor cable or tucked behind the printer/power supply. The few cables tied to the monitor cables are up off the ground and are hidden behind the desk.

Just use a whole lot of twist ties and you'll be fine.
posted by Diskeater at 1:19 PM on March 20, 2007

Shitty green velcro for tying off plants is cheap and comes in long rolls. You can get the stuff dedicated to computer cables but there's no compelling reason for it other than appearance.

Marginally less cheap, you can find the stuff in the fabric section of Walmart.
posted by phearlez at 1:40 PM on March 20, 2007

I second what Doohickie said. They sold them at Ikea, six feet for $5.
posted by furtive at 4:06 PM on March 20, 2007

I third what Doohickie said. I use those tubular doohickies myself.
posted by ericb at 5:02 PM on March 20, 2007

use velco to shorten the chords only as long as they need to be and then connect the power strips to the underneath part of the desk.
posted by any major dude at 5:05 PM on March 20, 2007

I have no input, I just want to say I have never seen that loooong power strip shown in tomw's lifehacker link. Thanks!
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:07 AM on March 21, 2007