Organizing Electrical Cords

Organizing Electrical Cords

Take empty toilet tissue or paper towel cardboards and use them to store extension cords, Christmas string lights, or any cords in them. They work great.

By Patricia G. from Brewton, AL

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Store Cords in Toilet Paper Rolls

Another use for a paper towel cardboard holder is to put your appliance cords in them. Even if the cord doesn't disconnect from the appliance, it will protect the cord and keep it from getting tangled in the drawer.

By webduck from Port Orchard, WA

Mark One Side of Electric Plug

Add a dash of White Out to a black electric plug or a black marker to a white plug, and you will always know the correct side to stick it into the wall outlet.

By Tarlo from Trinity, FL

Organizing Electrical Cords on Small Appliances

Tired of your electrical cords getting tangled, like your curling iron hairdryer or other bathroom apparatus with a cord? Save the cardboard holders from the toilet paper tube and insert cord into empty cardboard tube place on shelf or wherever. No more tangles of cords! This is better for the appliance also.

By Paula from Lexington, KY

Organizing Computer Cords

Tired of getting all of those computer cords that come out of the computer mixed up, one for the phone, one for the camera and more? I seem to always have one or two labels left on a sheet of labels; I take these single labels and fold them in half over the cord close to the end that goes into my device (camera,etc.) and label it. At my computer I have put a cup hook right above the computer under the desk top and the ends of those cords lay in that hook right in easy reach, labeled for me to get easily.

I also make a bright dot of fingernail polish on the front side of the plug so I know I am starting the cord correctly into my device. If you have ever broken the pegs off in your camera or computer and had to have it repaired you will understand why.

I do the same with electric appliances, put a dot on the top side since there is only one way the cord will go in the outlet, saves me having to turn it over.

To save batteries on my camera I found it has a sound telling me when my pictures are deleted after transfer. I was constantly forgetting the camera was still on and getting so involved in the pictures that I was running batteries down. You might want to check yours.

By latrtatr from Loup City, NE

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Disguising WiFi Box and All Wires

I watch TV from my chair and seethe at the constant blinking WiFi box. I hate all those wires too. Recently I restored a fabric covered storage cube. It is the fourth of a set, three of which are now under my kitchen sink. It has been sitting in front of me waiting for me to find tape to secure the bottom.

Suddenly last night, everything came together. I popped the box, without a bottom over the WiFi and tucked all the nasty wires inside. Now I have a decorative cube near my TV, which by fortunate coincidence is colour coordinated with the tables in the rest of the room.

Wow, do I feel good about this. I am going to do something similar with all the other obnoxious wires we have to live with, under my desk for all the computer spaghetti.

By Joan from France

Organizing Cords

Have lots of cords for your electronic devices, computer equipment, etc. and constantly forgetting which cord goes to what? I was until I came up with this simple solution.

I take the stick on labels that they sell to label your files with. Very inexpensive and easy to work with. I write what the cord is for on a small piece of the label, cover the label with tape. I use the clear plastic packaging tape because it's bigger and also sturdier--- and fold it over and secure it onto the end of the cord that plugs into the wall.

To make it easier, I use bright green ones for all my computer cords. Also, to make it easier to break down and re-plug in everything on the back of my computer tower, I put a label on the end of the cord that plugs into the tower, plus one on the other end that plugs into the device, and one on the tower itself and on the device where the cord goes in, plus a 4th label identifying what the cord goes to. All 4 of these are labeled with a number. This way, when I go to re-plug everything in, I know what cord goes to what and how and where to plug everything back in.

It used to be really frustrating for me whenever I had to take the tower in for repair or whatever, but now it only takes my a couple of minutes to set everything back up again when I get it home!

By Cricketnc from Parkton, NC

Use Colored Price Stickers to Mark Accessory Cords

I found an inexpensive way to mark the multitude of wires behind my computer. I had read about using colored tape at each end of the cords, to trace which plug belongs to which accessory (printer, modem, etc) but I didn't want to go out and buy several different colors of tape.

So I used the small round colored pricing stickers I had left over from my last yard sale. I wrapped matching colored stickers around each end of each peripheral that I needed to identify.

Even if you don't have the stickers, buying a pack of them for about $2 is a lot cheaper than buying 4 or 5 rolls of tape to use a few inches of each!

The same method could be used for TV/Home theater systems with surround sound, DVD and cable box setups.

If you have more items than colors, you can use two or three color combos when you run out of different colors.

By Mary T

Label Your Cords to Prevent Pulling Out Wrong Ones

Behind my entertainment center you will find a variety of cords running to power bars. Pulling the wrong one when changing something can start a chain reaction of having to reset everything.

I use labels of any kind or masking tape to write big on it and label the end of the cord. I usually put the label about 3 inches before the power bar so I can read what it is I am searching for. It saves so many headaches and time undoing mistakes!

By Joyce from Benson, MN

Preventing Tangled Cords

I found a great tip to keep computer cords or any cords organized. Hook a bread tag to each cord and label what cord it is. This will keep you out of a tangled mess of all those computer cords we have!

Source: mrsjanuary.com

By coville123 from Brockville

Organizing Extension Cords and Other Wires

I bought a 50 cent tin to match the decor of the room and cut a square hole in the back. We pushed all the phone cord and extra computer line through, hooked it all up, put the lid on the tin and now all the mess is "contained". I do have to dust the tin once a while.This looks great and could be done in any room or even on the floor.

By kurtzfolk from Van Wert, OH

Store Electronic Chargers In Ziplock Bags

I have 5 chargers for my electronics. I keep from getting them mixed up and tangled up by sticking them in their very own ziplock. The quart size is perfect. I put on the front in marker what device the charger is for and they get stored nice and neat in my desk. You can also put the handbook in there if you need to.

By Debradj from IL

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Labeling Small Appliance Cords

This is more of a time saver, but sometimes saving times saves money. Anyway if you have several small appliances sharing an outlet in the kitchen like I do, just use a permanent marker to label which cord prong goes to what for example: can opener, blender, toaster etc. then no more guessing which one to plug in.

By Melanie

Store Kitchen Appliance Cords in a Coffee Can

I have various electrical appliances with detachable electrical cords. I didn't really like storing the cords inside the appliances because of scratching and didn't like them lying around in my cupboards or drawers. So, I was looking at this pile of electrical cords and was trying to come up with something to store them in. I had just finished off my coffee and had an empty container sitting there. The lightbulb went off! I cleaned out the container and put all the electrical cords inside. I wrote "electrical cords" on the outside of the container and now whenever I am using my rice cooker, one of my electric skillet, my fry daddy, etc.; I just pull out the container and get the appropriate cord and plug in my appliance.

This way the inside of my appliances don't get scratched, the cords are not laying around in my cupboards or drawers, and there is one less coffee can in the landfills. Plus, I don't worry about my toddler getting the cords and hurting himself with the pokey ends. It works for me, maybe this could work for you.

Source: Me, myself and I.

By kurlyque from Northern California

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Keeping Track of AC Adapters

All of my AC adapters are black and all belong to different items. I purchased a white permanent marker and wrote on each one (i.e. cell phone). Then I used Velcro strips to secure the cords and store them all in a storage container that I got at a yard sale. They're on my list each time I go to get one. Big money saver. Now, I'm not guessing which goes to what, they're organized in one place and in a Thrifty container.

By keeper60 from NC

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Keep Electrical Cords From Tangling

By Paula from Lexington, KY

Recharger Cord Labeling

We all have those "rechargeable" appliances. Sometimes the cords all look the same. I could not match up cords to appliances when we relocated. Not only was it frustrating to match, but also time consuming and expensive to replace. There was also to fear that the wrong charger would damage the appliance. To solve that problem, I add a "tape label", duct tape folded over the cord and the name of the appliance written in permanent marker on the tape or use a silver permanent marker to write on the plug if there's room. as soon as I remove the item from the box. No more mismatched cords.

By Gena from Elkview, WV

Cord Maintenance

Do you have any electrical cords hanging around your house and you don't know how to keep them neat? Fold them up and insert them into an empty toilet paper tube, then store them in the utility drawer.

By Spooky J from Fitzroy Harbour, Canada

Use Hair Bands to Secure Electrical Cords

Wrap up excess electrical cord and use a hair band (thread covered rubber band) to keep in place. It keeps it neat and out of the way.

By Jamish from Ransom, KS

Mark Electronic Cords When Moving

When moving electronics, I find it helpful to mark my cords so that when I am ready to set them back up, the cords are not a tangled puzzle. I mark each cord with a different colored dot of nail polish. Then, I mark where it plugs into with a dot of the same color. This makes setting them back up a breeze - even if just moving a TV and VCR from one room to another.

By April from NW, MO

Keeping Cords Under Control

My pet peeve is the cords hanging behind my TV or an open table. Recently we had some problems with a bad cord and had problems making them all neat and out of the way.

I went to my kitchen to get a zip tie and found the child safety lock used to put 2 cabinet doors together and keep the baby from opening the cabinets. The long plastic slider was perfect to put a group of cords together and then snap close the ends. I rolled the cords up, fastened each with a zip tie then slid them on to the safety latch. Then I was able to hang the safety latch on the back of the table. This can be opened easily to replace or remove cords and closed again to keep them neatly and out of the way, out of site.

By susan