Computer Cable Management on the Cheap

This will show you how to clean up that cable mess below your desk . I have read multiple articles on this site about great ways to manage your cables. I believe this method is extremely flexible for various cable paths and extremely cheap!

Materials:
1) Large (2 inch) Binder Clips - under $4 for a box of 12
2) 3/4" Wood Screws - under $1 for a box
3) Washers - under $1 for a box

(Optional)
Velcro Straps

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Tools:

Screw Driver or Power Screw Driver

Step 1: Unplug, Untangle, & Gather the Supplies

Unplug all the devices and separate the cables from each other.

Gather your supplies. I am using 3/4 inch length screws because my desk is 1 inch thick. It is important that you take the time to measure your desktop. Pick a screw length that is at least 1/4 inch shorter than the thickness of your desktop. A sure fire way to ruin your day is to finish the project and find that you now have 8 screws sticking up through your desktop.

Step 2: Mount the Hardware

Power Strip:
I would recommend mounting your power strip first. Mount the power strip in a centralized location. I typically place it closer to the wall in the middle of the desk.

**Tip - Use a pencil and scrap paper to make a map (rubbing) of the mounting holes on your power strip. Then when placing the screws, screw them right through the paper into the desk. When you are finished placing the screws then rip the paper away.

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Clips:
I like to place multiple clips around the power strip because this is going to be an area with lots of cables. Then place other clips where you need them.

Step 3: Routing the Cables

Now you can route the cables through the mounted clips. If you are a purist, you can take the time to mount enough clips to separate out your power cables. This might keep your power cables from causing distortion in your other cables. I didn't do this because I have never found it to be an issue.

Step 4: Route Cables to Dedicated Areas

I routed my cables to designated areas. In this case, I am routing cables for my PC and an Xbox 360. I have mounted a clip in the back above these areas. This allows for a cleaner look by grouping the cables.

Step 5: Finished Product (Comparison)

After I plugged everything back in, I added some velcro straps to keep the bundles tight.

Thanks for reading.

Comments

[Jonesemon]

I would really like to do this seeing as how my cords and cables behind my desk are equally if not worse then yours previously were, but I have a fairly thin-topped desk (about 3/4 of an inch) and more storage beside and under the top than needed. The desk you used looks perfect for this guide, so I was wondering what kind of desk I should look for similar to yours. It looks like a plain, no directly attached storage and Plywood top kind.

[bitsy113]

Yes, Yes, Yes! Finally a decent idea I can use behind my entertainment center!!
A thousand time THANK YOU!

[hcaz-301]

Thats a great idea, i will be defiantly doing this when i have the time, i have so many wires it will be a good job to sort them out :)

[MrOctober67]

I wish i could do that, however I got a glass top. So I can't mount anything. My main problem is that all the cords are either too long or too short. Bugs the hell out of me. Ill eventually get something so I can do this

[abstracted]

3m 2-way tape might help with your glass desk

[thirdspaced]

 If some of your cables are too short, you can look for extension cables at Monoprice.com or bluejeanscable.com .    They have about every type of cable you can think of, good quality, and low cost .  Thanks for the feedback.

[abstracted]

nice job..i used plastic rain gutters (eves trough) screwd to the back underside of my desck to catch all the cabling. just plug it all in, let the exess cables lay in the gutter, and out each (uncapped) end down to your power outlet, or powerbar.

[folklife]

I must be the cheapest guy around! I used my kids old Spaghetti Float (the long 2"wide plastic tube with a center hole--like spaghetti, that supports you in the pool).
I cut it into 6"long pieces, and ran a thin wire down the center. I then used a short wood screw at each end and screwed the wire to the under side of the desk.
The I cut slits almost through the tube to grip the wire and allow me to pull put what I needed. Pull out too much? Stuff it back into the slit Cheap and fast..

[舞子]

Thanks for the idea! I'm going to try this for our computer table. But the different length wires really do bug me also.

[Jrob420]

Great idea very creative nice
Also should never ever place any form of electronics on top of your subwoofer especially anything containing a hard drive the huge magnet thats in subwoofers fries nearly any hard drive it comes in touch with
A good safety measure is at least a good 2 feet of distance between sub and whatever it is your using,in this case xbox,depending on size of sub though distance will vary.

[thirdspaced]

Thanks for the info. I did not know that! Lucky for me, I moved the Xbox to the top of the desk shortly after creating the instructable.

[chongyixiong]

Wow, those look like 2007wfps you have there. And dual monitor set up too! Great work, how hard would it be to dismantle everything if let's say one of the peripherals, for example a mouse spoils.

[thirdspaced]

Thanks for the feedback. It is not hard at all to get a peripheral free. I think this is a strong point for this system. You just have to compress the clip and remove your single cable. I actually removed a webcam this morning (cannot get it to work with windows 7 beta). It only took me about a minute to disconnect and remove it. Nice eye on the monitors!

[PCfreak]

im surprised your not using the Cable/Phone/Ethernet surge device thats built into your surge protector cuz i noticed that you have your Xbox hooked up with an ethernet cable

[thirdspaced]

I have the main ethernet feed for the room going through a surge protector before it goes into an 8-port switch. All the network cables in the room are all surge protected. Thanks for viewing.

[chongyixiong]

Alright, by the way I gotta say that was a great job on using cheap and practical stuff instead of those expensive and useless cable tube thingymajigs.. Man, you should work for IKEA and implement this system into their current production computer tables or anything along that line. Kudos!

[tebbybabes]

This is an excellent instructable and an excellent idea. I got so tired of my own rats nest, and found this page. Well, after 2 hours of work, including the shopping, I'm more than happy with my space under my desk! Thank you!!

[thirdspaced]

Awesome! Your setup looks great!

[tebbybabes]

Thank you. It's the bees knees. And I have you to thank for giving me the idea!

[kevin_kane]

Thirdspaced, how did your mount the UPS in place? What is holding the UPS up underneath the desk? Thanks, great job.

[thirdspaced]

Many of them have mounting holes on the back.  I just attach screws to the desk and mound.  I have some pics of this in Step 2.

Thanks for the feedback!

[David McWhite]

Genius. That is the simplest most effective thing I've seen on here in awhile. Thank you!

[sawatzky]

speechless. Thankyou.

[albylovesscience]

sweet setup i have 4 awsome souround sound speakers the fisr pare are insignia speakers the second pair are two sharper image surround sound speakers with a sweet media center am/fm cd player by sharper image then a 17 by 13 inch envision monitor almost as cool as your setup

[jonfleck88]

The best way to organize cables and wires is to use carabiners and Velcro straps.

[RelyNupon]

carabiners and ZIPTIES lol

[thirdspaced]

Not a bad system. Might hang a bit too low for my desk. I guess I could try mounting the carabiners differently. How expensive are the carabiners?

[jonfleck88]

There $0.99 at Home Depot or Lowes.

[rednhez]

I have to admit when i first looked at the supplies i thought this was going to be stupid. but like a great Instructable i found myself making that " ahhh " noise. very clever, mounting the clips to the bottom of the desk is a great idea.

[BlackHatCracker]

I agree! Great Idea... Although mine looks worse than yours... I need to try this and see if I can get mine to lool as clean as yours...

[Harmodius]

This is very clever. These fasteners are very much cheaper than carabiners. Hook and loop fastener has disappointed me because the adhesive backing lets go in time when heated, as by power adapters, USB or FireWire hubs or other items one might want hidden underneath a desk or table. This method lets the cable conduits (the fasteners) trick the cables themselves into holding up the hubs or power adapters. Very well done indeed (and frugal).

[tyler_sav]

this is an awesome idea I will incorporate it into the computer desk I'm building by the way logitech rocks

[Hiroak]

This is a great idea, a why didn't I think of that idea. Why do you have your monitor long way's?

[thirdspaced]

I usually view web pages and documents on that one. It allows me to see most of the page without scrolling. Thanks for you comment.

[Padlock]

Wow. That's one heck-of-a setup. Nice Computer(s).

[impulse94]

Awesome -- I'll be doing this one this afternoon.

[redhornet]

good idea i must do it to my pc cables... thanks 4 sharing...

[MixMasterM]

Great idea with good results. Simple and cheap too. I'll have to try this out for the rats nets of cables crammed behind my desk.

[DanAdamKOF]

Oh wow, this looks really easy to set up. I'd try this myself if my computer desk allowed for it (my keyboard tray would get in the way).

[cflowers]

Very nice system! I featured in on The Daily Hack. Keep up the great work! :)

Charlie Flowers
DailyHack.net
twitter.com/charlie