Ear buds are a wonderful way to connect your ears to your mp3 player but they have an awful tendency to turn themselves into knots that only a mathematician could love. Thankfully my wife's terrible vision has provided me a way to avoid those mathematically intriguing knots. Below is a simple way of turning extra contact lens cases into ear bud cases.

Step 1: Cut the Contact Lens Case

Remove the caps from the lens case, then cut a small slot in each bowl (see the second picture). The amount of material you need to remove will depend on the size and design of the "handle" portion of your ear buds. The last image in the Instructable shows some white buds that needed a longer thinner slot than the black ones. The slot should be big enough to allow the bud to rest entirely in the bowl of the lens case. If it rises above the lip of the bowl, then the caps will not screw on properly.

The easiest way to cut the cases is to heat an exacto knife in flame. If you don't use heat then use a very sharp blade and go slow. The plastic is a little brittle and is prone splitting if you apply too much pressure.

Step 2: Screw, Wrap, and Tuck

Once you have made the cuts, insert the ear buds and screw on the caps. The caps will hold the ear buds in place while you wrap the wire. Most lens cases come with indentations which make wrapping the wire quite easy. It is important to wrap the wire loosely especially for the first few wraps. Wrapping the wire tightly will place a lot of stress on the wire, particularly where the wire joins the handle of the ear bud. The repeated stress will eventually break the wire inside.

Once it is wrapped you can tuck the plug under the wire to keep the it from unwrapping.