Cardboard Charging Station Dock and Organizer

This charging station hides the wires while charging multiple devices in a way that allows you to see the display screen of your device. This makes the room look less messy and cluttered because all those tangled wires do not look good. Note: Any module of this project can be repeated for more charging docks of that device or skipped altogether.

Step 1: Materials

You will need:

• Cardboard box
• Extra cardboard
• Hot glue gun
• Devices that will be charged on finished product (to test the size)
• Scissors or cardboard cutter
• Ruler
• Charging cables for the devices that will be charged on the final product (Will be wired into the charging station if you're wondering)
• Power strip (Not shown above)

CHECKthat you have all of these! You cannot complete this project if you do not have something to show for every bullet point above!

Take note of the drawing above in case you need to know which dimension I am talking about in one of the steps.

Step 2: Phone Charger

This is a module that can be skipped or repeated for more space.

Measure the width of your box. Now cut a rectangular piece of cardboard (from your extra cardboard) that is 10 inches X the width (of the box that you just measured).

Create a crease in this piece at 1 inch from each end and a crease down the middle. Then fold into a V-shape as shown in the pencil drawing. We will call this piece a V-support.

Now put hot glue on both one inch sides of the cardboard piece and glue it to the edge of the box so that the middle of the piece is sticking up at about a 50 degree angle, as shown in the photo.

Now, in the side of the V-support that is closest to the box's edge, make three holes (a bit bigger than the size of your charger at the end that plugs into your phone) in the middle of each third of the width of your V-support. View the second pencil drawing for clarification. This allows the charging cables to come through the box at the center of each of three phones.

Step 3: Tablet/ipad Charger

This is a module that can be skipped or repeated for more space.

Cut another V-support but make this one only about 7 inches wide (instead of 10) by the width of your box.

Crease it at one inch in from both ends and in the middle and then fold as before. (See pencil drawing from the previous step).

Glue this V-support behind the first V-support, but make sure it is glued at about a 50 degree angle. See the photo.

Now, instead of cutting three holes for chargers, only cut one hole in a location that makes sense for your device's charging location, most likely at one end of the V-support.

At this time, cut the flaps from the bottom of your box so that the base looks like the cover picture. This allows easy access from the bottom into the box.

Step 4: Accessories Box

This is a module that can be skipped or repeated for more space.

Draw the rectangular shape from the pencil drawing above on a small piece of cardboard. Size it based on how big you would like the accessories box to be.

Cut along the solid lines and fold along the dotted lines.

Now glue the flaps from the corners to each side flap to create a small tray with walls.

Glue this box down in the remaining space at the back of the box. This box is to store extra charging cables, power banks, or any other electronic accessories.

Step 5: Charging Cables

This step cannot be skipped or repeated! It is essential to the build! (The main picture above is from the bottom so don't worry if yours does not look like that!)

Take the charging cables for your phones and route them from the bottom of the box through the holes you made. The tip of the charging cable's phone end sticks out just a little through the hole. It should look like the second picture.

Now, do the same with the tablet/ipad charger. It should now look like the third picture. If you want, you can cut a hole for a charger for your accessories box (in any location) and route a charger through that hole if you are planning on keeping chargeable devices in your accessories box.

Now, cut a small hole in the bottom-rear corner of your box and wire your power strip through this hole.

On the inside of the box, plug all of the charging cables into your power strip. You should only be able to see the part of the power strip that plugs into the wall.

Now, plug your power strip into the wall and a phone or tablet into every spot. Each device should be charging. If not, check that each cable is plugged into the power strip. If none of the devices are charging, make sure your power strip is turned on.

Now, you want to find a place to put your charging station. I put mine on a bookshelf that had an outlet in the back of it. If there are any cables showing, push them back under the box.