Simple Cable Earphone or Headphone Organiser

This instructable will show you how you can use an old credit card, or similar, to make a simple earbud organiser.

Step 1:

Find an old plastic card of some type. I used an expired gift credit card.

Commercial organisers tend to be too small for my liking, leaving the cable with a permanent coil after use. I found a credit card to be just the right length.

I cut out a notch at the top and bottom about 10mm deep. If you're wrapping a much longer cable than a set of earbuds or similar, make this deeper to keep the cable. There is no harm in doing 10mm and testing it first, as you can always cut it more!

Secondly, on the side right in the middle, cut a notch about 3 times wider and deeper than the cable you're going to use.

I bent the cutouts backwards to make a smooth corner for the cable, but if you want to store this card in your wallet, you'll want to cut the notches completely out so the card is perfectly flat afterwards. Your call.

It should look something like this:

Step 2:

Start with the jack under and just a little to the side of the middle cutouts, and then wind the cable through the little notch on the side.

Step 3:

Then got up the back to the top, and start wrapping it around the card. Don't go crazy tight, but you don't want it super loose either... somewhere inbetween is great.

Step 4:

Depending on what you're wrapping, you'll end up with something at the end of the cable. Make sure you have enough length left to wrap it under the whole lot, as seen in the next step. If you're short on the end, just unwrap it half a turn!

Step 5:

The end can go through the starting notch.

Step 6:

Like a playing card, you should be able to bend it in your hand to make room for the end to go under the whole lot and be clamped in place. Provided you didn't wrap the cable too tightly, this should be very easy to do and you'll be able to do this whole operation without letting go of the card in your hand.

Step 7:

Pop it through, release the bend and you're good to go!

If you want to kick it up a notch, when wrapping the cable use the "over under" method to prevent twists in your cable.

Voila! All done!