Clean up the basement--Confessions of a cord horder.

Like a lot of computer geeks I have a lot of extra "stuff" in boxes, closets, garages, corners, drawers and wherever. Most of the time that works out just fine as long it's out of site, out of mind.

Cables however are never easy to store in boxes. It was time for me to get the cables out of the boxes and off the floor, and this was what I did.

Step 1: The look

Ok, I have a few boxes of cords and cables on the floor.

Comments

[hintss]

IDE cables would make great boys on presents!

I just realised that! (pulls out cable, makes a bow, finds an old hard drive and a floppy drive in the way)

[aTOMx]

I've been sorting my cables for the last two days.  It's been 6 years since I sorted through them.

Thanks, this is probably the way I'll go to clean 'em up for a while.

[masmarius]

neat idea... well done and funny instructable.

[Baytonian]

Nicely done my man.  This is how it should be done.  Thanks for sharing!

Baytownian

[CybergothiChe]

Yeah...I reckon...it's Miller time

[GorillazMiko]

cool, nice stuff i always like to work with cool things like this.. if i am allowed to, ill do this in my room :-)

[radiorental]

very nice, an alternate suggestion is to use a piece of wood with nail spaced about the width of the cables (ends up looking a lot like a long rake) and you hang the cables by the connector. Looping them over the bar like that will mean you have to be a little more careful when you want to extract one. I hate cables

[Murf]

Another idea (which is not mine and I tkae no claim to) which is ogod for laptop/PDA/gadget users who want to organize batteries/cords/powerpacks etc is get a "behind-the-door" shoe holder (basicalls a sheet with a bunch of pockets "designed" to hold a pair of shoes. Instead of using it for shoes, try putting cables and such in the pockets. Of course, if oyu have as many cables as ColumbusGEEK this isn't quite an option.... great instructable though... I might make a portable one (as I'm moving into an apartment later this week) that I can store in my closet and pull out (on caster wheels) when needed. Thanks for the great instructable... funny stuff :P

[Myself]

Ooh, the shoe-holder is a good idea for small cords. I've been using surplus zip-lock bags from work, since they keep cohabitating cords from tangling while they sit in a box. The main problem with the shower-bar is that removing one cord can shift the adjacent cords, and after a while they get unbalanced enough to start sliding off. If the bar was packed in the first place, this can trigger an avalanche. Individual hooks screwed into the wall prevent this. Also, for longer cords, double them up then tie them in a big loose overhand knot. If that's still dragging on the floor, double-double them before tying. Sooner or later you should arrive at a cable bundle that'll hang happily from a hook, is so thoroughly wrapped up in itself that it won't tangle with other cables, but is easily untied for use.

[iman]

ow that would hurt :O

[iman]

try http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/wec.shtml lol

[radiorental]

awesome! I've always wished for this, maybe if I put one either side of my head I can turbo charge my mind?

[Neodudeman]

Hurray! Good Work!

[ColumbusGEEK]

A buddy of mine read this and came up with a better title for it. Phoenix @ 6:54 That's a guide that should be called: "From a messy floor to a clean floor (a guide to making your wall look like shit)"